En las montañas del Japón rural de 1861, la piel pálida y las delicadas facciones de Sachi hacen que se sienta diferente. Y lo es. Cuando cumple once años, una princesa imperial se la lleva al palacio de las mujeres del castillo de Edo. Allí, en un ambiente de intrigas y rivalidades, conviven tres mil mujeres y el joven shogun, gobernador de Japón. Sachi será la elegida para convertirse en su concubina. Sus privilegios, sin embargo, pronto son sólo un recuerdo, ya que al estallar la guerra civil la joven debe huir para salvar su vida. En un Japón en pleno cambio, en el que no hay lugar para la pasión y ni siquiera existe la palabra amor, Sachi se enamora de un joven guerrero. Pero antes de que pueda imaginar un futuro con él, debe resolver el misterio que subyace en sus orígenes y que amenaza con destruirla.

I read many favourable reviews about this book,and many of them were gushing with praise for it. A Japanese “Gone with the wind” With a gorgeous cover. Can you imagine I was so eager to get this book in my hands?

The plot boils down to this: Sachi is a peasant girl who is adopted by a princess.The princess is going to be the shoguns wife. Sachi grows up in the Edo castle and learns the strict protocol of the castle and using a halberd. The heroine becomes noticed by the shogun and becomes his concubine.

Cue one creepy sex scene (first time nevertheless..poor girl)and some bawdy jokes about "picking mushrooms" by some older women.And then we have the shogun unexpectedly dying,adding to the unrest of the land.

War breaks out and Sachi and a handmaiden flees the castle,Sachi posing as the princess.They met up with some ronin samurai and decide to travel with them. After this I lost grip on the plot….except for the love story between Sachi and one of the samurai. What was his name again?


And as for the editing....

First of all someone hand this author a book about synonyms!

There is only so much repeating of words one can endure. For example someones hair is described as “bushy” throughout the whole book and everyone seems to have “plump” lips.And the plot structure is lacking,feeling sketchy and not that well thought out,the same can be said for the characters up to and including our maincharacter.

Fascinating history yes but it reads more like a history book than a novel sometimes.

And even if I found the love story touching sometimes..it didn’t have that extra oomph! Like in the real “Gone with the wind”

Just about readable.

If you are interested in the authors claim that there was no word for love in japanese culture up until the 19th Century. Here is her take on it. No sources though so I dont know...

http://www.lesleydowner.com/2008/02/15/how-do-you-fall-in-love-when-your- ( )

Un libro bellissimo, letto in brevissimo tempo... Uno dei miei libri preferiti, che spero di poter rileggere presto!! ( )

For a review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2016/08/19/the-last-concubine-lesley-downer/ ( )

A beautiful story set in Ancient Japan. ( )