Again and again, just when we think she has found a deep internal strength to endure or even overcome adversity, Nori lapses into a shrill childish tantrum. Unfortunately, Nori’s own metamorphosis into a strong young woman is inconsistent and a bit confusing. Lemmie’s sweeping historical backdrop, from the post–World War II decline of minor royalty through the expanding liberations of the 1960s, is breathtaking. Seeing Akira as the only hope to redeem the family’s honor, Nori’s grandmother is dismayed to witness Akira and Nori's deep love for each other. Meanwhile, Nori discovers that she has an older half brother named Akira. Nori's life will be hard, and Lemmie's debut novel traces her journey from being hidden in her grandparents’ attic, beaten, and subjected to painful bleach baths to lighten her skin to being sold to a brothel and groomed for sale to the highest bidder to being rescued and finding freedom from her grandmother's abuse. Nori's grandparents are horrified at Nori's very existence: Her skin color, which reveals that her father was an African American serviceman, is visible proof of their daughter's infidelity. As she abandons her daughter, Nori's mother gives her a bit of advice: Obey your grandparents. Born into a noble Japanese family during World War II, Noriko Kamiza should be a princess, but her illegitimacy makes her a disgrace to her own family.Īt only 8 years old, Nori is left at her maternal grandparents’ manor in Kyoto.
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