Book Review
Feb. 19th, 2025 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariA Tale of False Fortunes
by Fumiko Enchi
This historical novel is set in late 10th century Japan and covers the ill-fated loive between Emperor Ichijo and his empress Teishi. Their relationship falls under the threat of court intrigue and politics, as the regent Michinaga works to undermine Teishi so that he can put his own daughter forward as consort. It is a tragic story, affecting the fates of Teishi's brothers and ladies-in-waiting.
A Tale of False Fortunes is an unusual novel in that the author/narrator presents it as her retelling of a once-glimpsed Heian era manuscript. She includes excerpts from two real tales of that era to back up the illusion of authenticity, and relates the story very consciously as something that happened long ago. It gives the novel a dual focus, making the events both remote and intimate. Despite some of the distance, this is not a cold novel, and the love between Teishi and Ichijo is warm and affecting.
by Fumiko Enchi
This historical novel is set in late 10th century Japan and covers the ill-fated loive between Emperor Ichijo and his empress Teishi. Their relationship falls under the threat of court intrigue and politics, as the regent Michinaga works to undermine Teishi so that he can put his own daughter forward as consort. It is a tragic story, affecting the fates of Teishi's brothers and ladies-in-waiting.
A Tale of False Fortunes is an unusual novel in that the author/narrator presents it as her retelling of a once-glimpsed Heian era manuscript. She includes excerpts from two real tales of that era to back up the illusion of authenticity, and relates the story very consciously as something that happened long ago. It gives the novel a dual focus, making the events both remote and intimate. Despite some of the distance, this is not a cold novel, and the love between Teishi and Ichijo is warm and affecting.
