Critical Praise

"Schaeffer tells her story in epic style....She conjures up a society defined by both exquisite beauty and bloody battles."

——Lesley Downer, New York Times Book Review

"Love, poetry and severed heads on pikes: A novel with some of the majesty of Cold Mountain immerses you in the complex social world --- and heinous cruelty --- of medieval Japan."

——Laura Miller, Salon

"Susan Fromberg Schaeffer is, was, and always will be a wonderful writer."

——Alice Hoffman

"A haunting tale of thwarted love and unsolved mysteries...achieves a transporting magic."

——Publishers Weekly starred review

"A spare, subtle, moving love story that builds and sustains its own utterly believable world."

——Elizabeth Ward, Washington Post Book World