Just beautiful. Atmospheric. Heartwarming and heartbreaking. ( )

A tender, sweet story that I didn't want to end. I will read another book by this author based on how much I enjoyed her characters in this book. ( )

This is a beautiful, short read. Read it twice, and will probably read it again. ( )

I wasn't sure I even wanted to read this book because one of my book clubs had read "Women of the Silk" and had decidedly mixed reviews (leaning toward the negative). But I really enjoyed this work.

A young Chinese boy from Hong Kong is sent to his family's beach house in Japan to recover from tuberculosis just before WW II breaks out. He meets the gardener, and the gardener's friends (who are lepers). He "falls in love" with a young woman, but the "racial prejudice" of her family thwart their feelings.

Tsukiyama is a poetic writer. This is a good book for discussion groups. Much to think (and talk) about ( )

This book contains no Samurai. There is, however, leprosy. And adultery. ( )