The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, Gail Tsukiyama
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, Gail Tsukiyama
1 Rating(s)
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The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
A Novel

Author: Gail Tsukiyama

Narrator: Stephen Park

Unabridged: 14 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/04/2007


Synopsis

Gail Tsukiyama's The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a powerfully moving masterpiece about tradition and change, loss and renewal, and love and family from a glorious storyteller at the height of her powers.

It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows early signs of promise at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of Noh theater masks.

But as the ripples of war spread to their quiet neighborhood, the brothers must put their dreams on hold—and forge their own paths in a new Japan. Meanwhile, the two young daughters of a renowned sumo master find their lives increasingly intertwined with the fortunes of their father's star pupil, Hiroshi.

About Gail Tsukiyama

Born to a Chinese mother and a Japanese father in San Francisco, Gail Tsukiyama now lives in El Cerrito, California. Her novels include Dreaming Water, The Language of Threads, The Samurai's Garden, and Night of Many Dreams.

About Stephen Park

Stephen Park has appeared in the films State of Play, A Serious Man, Fargo, Toys, Kindergarten Cop, and Do the Right Thing. He was a regular cast member for one season on In Living Color and has appeared on Smash, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, White Collar, The Venture Bros., and Friends.  Stephen read Gail Tsukiyama's The Street of a Thousand Blossoms for Macmillan Audio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shotgun on August 03, 2016

Jednoznačně KNIHA ROKU! Myšleno nejlepší kniha, kterou jsem letos četl. Kniha vyšla v roce 2009 a u nás 2011. Ale já se k ní dostal se zpožděním a jelikož se odehrává v minulosti, tak to nijak nevadí. Kniha je v podstatě rodinnou ságou, která začíná pár let před vypuknutím války v Pacifiku a končí po......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on May 29, 2015

This book began promisingly but the longer it went on the more its weaknesses were revealed. After the war ended all conflict seemed to leave the plot and half the book just seemed like a catalog of happenings with no real storytelling. The book begins with the story of two boys who are being raised......more

Goodreads review by Corinne on February 08, 2016

I wish I could give it 4.5 stars. There are books that are so rich, so full of the essence of a place and its people, that they do not lend themselves to being merely "summarized" or "described." Books that do not follow merely one or two characters and their experiences, but truly try to examine a c......more


Quotes

“Gail Tsukiyama expertly and beautifully weaves together the lives of a sumo wrestler and his family, and a Noh Mask Maker through World War II and into the 1960's. She has always been a wonderful story-teller but in The Street of a Thousand Blossoms she proves herself to be a master story-teller.” —Jane Hamilton, bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World

“Gail Tsukiyama is a writer of astonishing grace, delicacy, and feeling. Her lyric precision serves not only to leave the reader breathless, but to illuminate human suffering and redemption with clarity and power.” —Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay