Reviews

The Mask Carver's Son by Alyson Richman

farmer_annie's review against another edition

1.0

I found this to be a pretty lame and unconvincing story. Also it's quite uncomfortable how values typically seen as eastern or Japanese, like duty to family, avoiding conflict, and upholding tradition are juxtaposed with 'western' individualism. It feels a lot like there's an underlying Eurocentric message that western lifestyles at the time were clearly better in some way.
I never did care about the main character (or any others).
The editing issues/typos were annoying too.

gr8reader's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to the audio version. The narrator's voice definitely added to my enjoyment of this book. I could listen to John Lee read just about anything! Once again, Alyson Richman has written a great, immersing story! This one was very interesting due to it taking place so long ago. You can feel the sense of importance of tradition, expectation and the pull of personal desire. It was a very easy listen. Highly recommend.

kourtneysuzanne's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written

flogigyahoo's review against another edition

2.0

A glimpse into the art world of early 20th century Japan and Paris. Kiyoki Yamamoto is the son of a famous Noh mask carver. He however wants to paint in the Western style. He travels to Paris to study, leaving behind, Noboru, another gifted art student who seemed to return Kiyoki's love. Nothing much seems to happen to our hero and the latter part of the novel was a bit of a let down.
Alyson Richman is a stylish writer. I hope to read another book by her to determine if her style changes since this book was quite poetic at times.