Grass for His Pillow: Tales of Otori, Book Two (Tales of the Otori, #2)

by Lian Hearn

Grass for His Pillow is the second book in the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn. Don't miss the related series, The Tale of Shikanoko.

Praised for its epic scope and descriptive detail, Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series, was an international bestseller and critical success, named by the London Times as "the most compelling novel to have been published this year." With Grass for His Pillow, Book Two, we return to the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's creation—a land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances.

In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate young love. The orphan Takeo has been condemned to work as an assassin—an enforced occupation that his father sacrificed his own life to escape. Meanwhile, Takeo’s beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Murayama and alone in the world, must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited, as she fights off the advances of would-be suitors and hopes against fading hope that Takeo will return to her...

• ISBN10: 1594480036
• ISBN13: 9781594480034
• Publish Date: 1 June 2004 (first published 1 August 2003)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Riverhead Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781594480034

Reviews

[empressbrooke]

Although I gave this the same number of stars I gave [book: Across the Nightingale Floor], I enjoyed book 2 of this trilogy less than the first one. While things happened in book 1, this book was mostly about the characters being holed up for a winter while making plans about what to do in the spring. It moves the characters forward, as they decide to make plans for themselves rather than allowing themselves to be pawns for other people, but nothing goes into action. It's a shame that an entire book was spent setting the scene for another one, but it still possessed the charm that made me enjoy the first book.