Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #393713 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Across the Nightingale Floor more than lives up to its billing as an exceptional new literary sensation, from the tragic excitement and drama of a sacked village on the opening page, to the later multi-layered court intrigues and tales of family revenge by ancient Japanese dynasties. The engaging story and appealing characters combine incredibly well to produce a highly readable book that should appeal to many different-aged readers.

Takeo is just 16 when he loses his family to the evil Lord Iida and it seems like incredible luck when he is saved from death by the noble Shigeru, rightful heir to the Clan of the Otori. As Takeo travels into new territory and towards a new, unknown life, the tribal rivalries, romances and histories at large in this new world are revealed to him. These are treacherous times. Everyone is at risk, and few can be trusted. Takeo also has a special gift--inherited skills that mark him out as different from other men. He is at once desirable and highly dangerous to those in power. His life is soon in danger.

It's a fascinating landscape and a riveting story; it's genuinely very difficult to put down once you've started it. Unusually for a children's book with so many characters, several with strange-sounding names, the story is easy to follow. The writing is exceptional, with very few words out of place. The author, a pseudonym for Australian writer Gillian Rubinstein, is generous enough to paint the characters and scenery in great detail, yet keeps the writing clipped enough for the plot to move along at a steady pace. Importantly, there are no slow bits.

The book does not flinch from adult content and is certainly a mature read. There are numerous deaths, several beheadings, torture, cruelty and even a little lovemaking. All, however, are within context and not gratuitous. (Age 12 and over.) --John McLay

Review
'The most compelling novel to have been published this year' Amanda Craig, Observer

The Bookseller, 19 July 02
An intense love story at the heart of this novel makes for a book that's hard to put down. Lian Hearn is an exciting new crossover author.

Customer Reviews

I'm not sure how I feel about this book...
Across the nightingale floor was a little step away from my usual reading material but the rave reviews intrigued me so I gave it a shot. I rashly bought all 5 books in the series and now I'm doubting the widsom of that.

Just because it's aimed at a lower age group, doesn't mean it has to be childish (think Harry Potter) but if I'm honest, I found it quite slow despite the killing and violence and love interest. The lead character finds he isn't the person he thought he was and discovers special talents he didn't know he had. He falls in love with a girl he shouldn't and loses most of what he holds dear.

I'm not actually sure how I feel about the book. I liked it enough to get through it and I kept turning pages to see where it was going but I never really connected with the charcters and I'm not left hungry to find out what happened next. Considering I've already spent money on the remaining books, I expect I'll get around to finding out eventually though.

It has a feel of feudal Japan to it and reminded me in parts of 'House of Flying daggers' (which is one of my favourites), and that may be why I persevered with it.

It's aimed at younger readers but has adult themes running though it and perhaps that's where my ambiguity is coming from....it's adult enough to make it enjoyable, but not enough to make it engrossing.

I don't know. I'm torn, hence the 3 stars.

It's not a bad book though. Despite all the violence and killing, it's actually quite a gentle book and I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend it to younger readers.

Think of it as 'House of Flying daggers' meets 'Crouching Tiger' for a younger audience.

Imaginative history.
Across the nightingale floor is a mixture between real Japanese history and Hearn's imagination.
Set in feudal Japan we follow a young boy (Takeo) who sets out for revenge against the war lord that killed his family. He is accompanied by a self appointed mentor who teaches Takeo how to master special abilities he has been born with such as acute hearing and stealth.
The story is original and has some terrific scenes in it. The book misses out on five stars because I felt it could have incorporated a lot more of the surrounding beauty of the Japanese countryside and tradition into it.
Adults of all ages will enjoy this tale.
As for it being childrens book I'm not so sure. It has no scenes of an explicit nature but it does have a few gory ones and it does deal with sexual attraction. I see no problem with a young person reading this book but I'm not so sure the average child under twelve would be interested in the subject matter. I would suggest from the age of fifteen upwards as this is the age of the lead character.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read and am looking forward to the next installment.

An incredible book
I have always enjoyed fantasy novels, but long ago got thoroughly sick of the d&d mages and mercenaries, evil-dark-lord-of-the-north-taking-over-the-world-with-an-army-of-trolls. This is the sort of fantasy book that grabs my attention now, and it really did grab it by the throat.

As you'll have realised, it is set in Japan, and I think that it must some time in the early modern period as the 'hidden' people amongst whom the main character, Takeo, grew up sound remarkably like Japanese Christians. It has all the clichés, two lovers torn apart by war, etc, etc, but it is far from a cliché. Takeo is far from 'flat' as I've seen one reviewer describe him, he is an enormously complex character dragged this way and that by his upbringing amongst the Hidden, his powers and ties to the 'Tribe', his inheritance from the Otori and his love of Kaede. His struggles to resolve all of these different currents will take far more than one book, and having read the second (Grass for his pillow), will take more than two. If you are looking for a beautifully written historical novel with breathtaking characterisation and some magic thrown in (and let's face it, who isn't!) then this book (along with the other two in the series) will be just your cup of tea.