Grass For His Pillow (Book Two of the 'Tales of the Otori' Trilogy) by Lian Hearn
01/11/2003 . Source: Jennifer Howell 

pub: Macmillan. 305 page hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-4050-0582-3.

Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK.

check out website: www.grassforhispillow.co.uk

A fantasy trilogy that actually looks designed to stop after three volumes and come in at under a thousand pages all in is a rare beast indeed these days. Coupled with the use of a feudal-Japanese inspired setting (very much not generic cod-medieval European fantasyland) plus prose that reads more like poetry half the time and it's clear exactly how much of a find this series is already.

So much so that I'll even forgive it the fantasy staples of a map in the frontispiece and a cast list of characters...

First volume 'Across the Nightingale Floor' began the tangled tale of Otori Takeo as he was first brutally orphaned then adopted by the enigmatic and powerful aristocrat Lord Otori.

Made the heir of a vast estate, matters were complicated even more when he was then revealed to be a member by blood of the equally enigmatic and secretive Tribe. While this new family-tie brought some pretty damn cool abilities (invisibility, extra-sensitive hearing, the ability to 'split' his image to be in two places at once...your average super-hero stuff with all-new samurai twists) it also had a dark side, the Tribe having the monopoly on being scarily good spies and assassins.

Things came to a head with Lord Otori murdered and suitably avenged, only for Takeo to have to sign his life over to the Tribe, giving up both his inheritance and marriage to girl of his dreams, Kaede.

While Takeo narrated much of 'Nightingale', second volume 'Grass For His Pillow' shifts its focus far more onto Kaede herself and is all the more interesting for it. Not what you'd class as the average token feisty female lead - having finished off the evil warlord herself in book one, she was astute enough to realise that kind of girl power pretty much gets you executed in this society and let Takeo take the credit.

Now having to return to her dilapidated family home pregnant by him and still unmarried, some creative lies are called for...

While Takeo's 'boy to man' journey in the first volume and deeper into the Tribe in 'Grass' are more the traditional genre character development, Kaede's plot-lines in book two are something of a departure from the norm. Forever being told she's going to make her husband rich and influential one day, she sees no reason why she can't have that for herself but actually going about it is by no means simple.

For all the literal battles and fights Takeo faces with the Tribe, as much tension is wrought here by her struggle to learn to read and write like a man, to coax her household through the winter without starving or having to accept another marriage proposal and to convince an army to fight for her to claim back her inheritance.

Considering this was first marketed as a YA series, I doubt you will read a more mature or 'grown-up' genre effort this year than 'Grass For His Pillow'. While there were moments when the complex back-story had me a little confused (yes, I was finally grateful for that cast list) the narrative never really drops interest and the use of the Tribe as the bad guys is truly nerve-wracking on occasion.

Yes, the plot moves at a stately pace but this allows the sublime language room to breathe. It devotes as much time to watching a first snowfall as to more dramatic moments, all the while subtly drawing out a deeper theme of individual responsibility and loyalty.

If the two leads did get to marry, their joint inheritances would make them major players in the power struggle to come and could well spark a civil war that would wreck the country. Talk about cranking up the romantic tension...

With Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' and Tom Cruise's latest, 'The Last Samurai', out in cinemas in coming months, this particular aspect of Japanese culture also looks about to hit the mainstream in a big way.

While this trilogy is acknowledged as being a fantasy version of Japan, it also provides the perfect introduction to the complex codes of honour and strict social hierarchy that have such an influence. Third volume 'Brilliance Of The Moon' is still to come and is pretty damn eagerly awaited based on what we've had so far...

Jennifer Howell