This is the kind of book that unfolds like a delectable seven-course meal. Not too rich and everything cooked to perfection. The characters are well-drawn, and sense of place is unforgettable. If it sounds operatic, perhaps it is. But, I was totally entranced by the forty year journey we travel with this woman and her pragmatic and stoic approach to her life with virtually no family or support system to sustain her. I love novels about the restraints society places on women and how they struggle within them. This woman didn't whine. She didn't capitulate. And, she didn't compromise. What I love about this book is how it shows opportunities and decisions conspire to shape one's life, but outside forces will intrude. We are never truly in control of our own lives. Natural disasters, political forces, and people we randomly meet will change our lives for good and bad. It's enjoyable, I suppose, well written and all that, interesting details, but the main character, apparently designed as a strong, resilient woman, does feel quite robotic, as another reviewer has pointed out. Some pretty awful stuff has been done to her, but she forgives the perpetrator in a weirdly catatonic way. After many years she sees him and is like OHAI, is that you? Let's have some sexx0rz! And he did something worse than rape. Rosenberg, Howard (13 October 1990). "The Ginger Tree: Culture Clash". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2 April 2018.

The Ginger Tree by Christopher Hampton | Goodreads The Ginger Tree by Christopher Hampton | Goodreads

The New York Times wrote of the series "Despite several fine performances, The Ginger Tree turns out to be unabsorbing. The East-meets-West aspects of the story are handled intelligently. The on-location effects are often splendid. But the overall production is plodding and curiously sluggish.". [2] Howard Rosenberg, writing for the Los Angeles Times, agreed and wrote the series "is a slow-evolving come-on with a disappointing payoff." While he praised the first two episodes, the production, and Samantha Bond's performance, he wrote of the final episodes: "As Mary gains assurance, the drop-off in intensity is dramatic. There is simply never any doubt where this part of the story is taking you or how it will arrive there. It's an unsatisfying resolution to a drama that begins so promisingly." [3] Media releases [ edit ] The Ginger Tree is a 1977 novel by Scottish novelist Oswald Wynd published in the UK by Collins Publishers. The novel was adapted into a 4-part TV series by the BBC and Japan's NHK for release in 1989, [1] [2] and subsequently shown as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre. [3] Because of the adaptation, the novel became Wynd's most famous. [1] The novel follows a Scottish woman who falls in love with a Japanese Count, and naval officer, and the culture of Japan, following her from 1903 to 1942. [4] Bond's character gives birth to the Count's illegitimate child and goes on after the child's abduction to work in a leading Japanese department store as the first western saleswoman. She later sets up her own store, only to be forced to leave when Japan becomes involved in war.

A very cinematic book as well. I know there was a TV mini-series adaptation in the 80's, it seems as though it would be a good candidate for an update for the large screen. The story is set just after the Boxer Rising in China and then against the Russo-Japanese War. This is a time when foreigners stood out and often not overtly welcome. As the story progresses further events on the world stage influence the life of the protagonist, right up to WW2. The Kantō Earthquake, for example, is detailed; as it took place at lunchtime the braziers were being used all around the city and thus fires devastated large areas leaving 1.9 million people without shelter.

Editions of The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd - Goodreads

O'connor, John J. (13 October 1990). "Review/Television; In Which an Unhappy Wife Is Unhappier as a Concubine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 10 April 2016.

En resumen, y para aquellos que adoran este párrafo en las publicaciones, no es una historia épica pero sí es una historia maravillosa sobre una mujer, sobre sus años en Japón, sobre su vida, sus amores, sus errores y, sobre todo, su soledad. This is by far the most interesting book I have read this year. The joy of participating in a book club is that you are often introduced to a book you would not find on your own, and that was precisely the case with this 1977 novel. Technically, the use of letters and diaries to draw out the plot was very effective. Mary was able to introduce the characters quite naturally, and develop them through the story. The author is able to get inside the female character very effectively, writing consistently and honestly….