Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Waiting on Wednesday: Picking Bones from Ash














Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts Waiting on Wednesday.


Title: Picking Bones from Ash
Author: Marie Matsuki Mockett
Pub. Date: Sept. 29, 2009


Amazon: Product Description
Three generations of women intersect in this evocative debut novel
My mother always told me that there is only one way a woman can be truly safe in this world. And that is to be fiercely, inarguably and masterfully talented.
No one knows who fathered eleven-year-old Satomi, and the women of her 1950s Japanese mountain town find her mother’s restless sensuality a threat. Satomi’s success in piano competitions has always won respect, saving her and her mother from complete ostracism. But when her mother’s growing ambition tests this delicate social balance, Satomi’s gift is not enough to protect them. Eventually, Satomi is pushed to make a drastic decision in order to begin her life anew. Years later, Satomi’s choices echo in the life of her American daughter, Rumi, a gifted authenticator of Asian antiques. Rumi has always believed her mother to be dead, but when Rumi begins to see a ghost, she wonders: Is this the spirit of her mother? If so, what happened to Satomi?

Picking Bones from Ash explores the struggles women face in accepting their talents, and asks what happens when mothers and daughters dare to question the debt owed each other. Fusing imagination and suspense, Marie Mutsuki Mockett builds a lavish world in which characters journey from Buddhist temples to the black market of international antiques in California, as they struggle to understand each other across cultures and generations.


What's your pick this week?

10 comments:

  1. Haha, unfortunately, it's still "Shirley" by Charlotte Bronte. I'm hoping to make some head-way today! This sounds like a fun pick!

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  2. Glad to see Marie's book is up here! Just wanted to let you know that Marie will be in New England for readings--specifically in Boston (Nov 3) and Portsmouth, NH (around Nov 6 or so), and perhaps one other stop.

    Best,
    Erin (Kottke, of Graywolf, Marie's publisher)

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  3. I agree, definitely sounds good =) I like the cover too!

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  4. I hadn't heard of this book yet, after reading this synopsis, I think it sounds really interesting. The release date for this book is not so far away, I am going to put it on the wish list. Thanks for the heads up!

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  5. Wow ... that title really commands attention. it sounds like an interesting book.

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  6. I have already pre-ordered this book and hope when it arrives that I will have the time to read it immediately.

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  7. I'm liking the synopsis of this one!!

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  8. Wow! Thanks so much for reading the book. You know, when writers-particularly first time novelists-work on a manuscript, we have no idea if anyone is every going to read what we write, or if anyone will ever care. And it means so much to me that you read and enjoyed the book, and found things that resonated with you. So, thanks for sharing this story with me, and for blogging about it. And happy reading to everyone else.

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