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The Commoner
The Commoner | John Burnham Schwartz
3 posts | 7 read | 5 to read
In 1959, a young woman, Haruko, marries the Crown Prince of Japan. She is the first nonaristocratic woman to enter the mysterious, hermetic monarchy. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress, Haruko is controlled at every turn, suffering a nervous breakdown after finally giving birth to a son. Thirty years later, now Empress herself, she plays a crucial role in persuading another young woman to accept the marriage proposal of her son, with tragic consequences. Based on extensive research, The Commoner is a stunning novel about a brutally rarified and controlled existence, and the complex relationship between two isolated women who are truly understood only by each other. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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review
LuluTheBookBug
The Commoner | John Burnham Schwartz
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Panpan

I was underwhelmed by this book. It was compelling in parts. But when I finished, I spent more time thinking if the inconsistencies in the characters than anything else.

blurb
Megann886
The Commoner | John Burnham Schwartz
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My book club recently had a conversation about cultural appropriation in literature. So now I wonder, can I like this book about a Japanese woman marrying a crown prince when it is written by a white American male? What would be different if it was written by a Japanese writer? How much should the author identity affect the feeling of the story? #quandries

review
LadyZircon
The Commoner | John Burnham Schwartz
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Pickpick

This novel was a remarkable, melancholy story of a look inside the royalty of China. Rich with tradition and imagery that leaves even me speechless, the characters are just as in depth as the very plot that drives them.