Katherine Govier
Historical Fiction
Harper Perennial, $14.99, 512p, ISBN: 978-0062000361
Also available digitally for Kindle and Nook
From the publisher: Recounting the story of her life, Oei plunges us into the colorful world of nineteenth-century Edo, in which courtesans rub shoulders with poets, warriors consort with actors, and the arts flourish in an unprecedented moment of creative upheaval. Oei and Hokusai live among writers, novelists, tattoo artists, and prostitutes, evading the spies of the repressive shogunate as they work on Hokusai’s countless paintings and prints. Wielding her brush, rejecting domesticity in favor of dedication to the arts, Oei defies all expectations of womanhood—all but one. A dutiful daughter to the last, she will obey the will of her eccentric father, the man who created her and who, ultimately, will rob her of her place in history.
Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker’s Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
Harold happened to be home the day I read the last hundred pages of Katherine Govier's The Printmaker's Daughter, and witnessed such an outpouring of tears that he counseled me to think of bunnies and unicorns. I tried to explain to him that he needn't be worried about my crying, that the experience of reading the best book I'd come across in ten—perhaps twenty— years was worth it. More to the point, all my crying was a testament to the power of Govier's writing, story-telling, and characterization.
Sometimes it's best to say little about a great work.
Buy this book. It goes on sale November 22nd.
Read this book.
Revel in its brilliance.
~Laurie
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