The Last Concubine - Lesley Downer

Began reading: 25.4.2015

Completed reading: 3.5.2015

Overall rating: 3.9 stars

At the age of fifteen, Sachi — an adopted daughter of the village’s headman — is chosen by the princess to accompany her in the women’s palace in Edo. The palace is home to three thousand women and one man — the shogun. It is there where Sachi finds herself surrounded by deception and jealous rivalries. These issues are heightened when the princess chooses Sachi to become the shogun’s concubine. After a series of disasters, including an outburst of civil war, Sachi and her friends are forced to leave the palace. An encounter with a rebel warrior brings forth many feelings that Sachi had no idea she could feel; but this is a time where passion and love are inexcusable. Before Sachi can imagine a life with him, she must discover her origins — a secret that includes mistakes that have the potential to destroy her.

The Last Concubine is another historical fiction novel that encompasses Japanese culture and romance. I purchased this book shortly after reading Downer’s other novel, The Courtesan and the Samurai, and I was not disappointed. However, I must warn you, there is a lot of gory material. Overall, I really enjoyed the novel.

The novel was well-written, with good use of descriptive language and philosophical thoughts. I think that this is what kept me intrigued, as it seemed reminiscent of ancient Japanese culture. Here are some examples:

…the pine trees so tall and dark, soaring upwards, the bowl of the sky so blue that it seemed close enough to touch, far closer than the pale mountains that shimmered on the horizon (p. 16).

She was on the edge of an abyss, hanging on for all she was worth. She dared not look down or she would fall for ever (p. 140).

Truly, life was nothing but a series of goodbyes, of meeting people and growing close to them, only to be torn apart again (p. 313).

Life was but the flutter of a sparrow’s wings, a momentary flicker. Everything changed; all things passed away (p. 521).

The plot was simple, as it focused on a girl who rose from a low social class, only to fall in love with someone who was forbidden to her. The idea of not really knowing who Sachi’s biological parents are is what prevents the plot from becoming predictable. It was also great to find out about Sachi’s parents through various plot twists, which kept me glued to the book.

                   

I had realised halfway through the book that Downer had intertwined characters from this book into her other novel, The Courtesan and the Samurai, which was great. I was able to learn the history of some characters, as well as their outcome after the civil war. For example, in this novel, we learn that Admiral Enomoto became some sort of government official for the imperial army. I also enjoyed learning about Fuyu’s history, and how she became the pawnbroker’s mistress and how her character came across Hana in the other novel.

                       

The epilogue was very helpful. I found out what happened to all the characters in the novel, including the princess and Yuki. Unlike Downer’s other novel, I wasn’t left with unanswered questions or wondering about what happened to particular characters.

The only issue that I had was that the novel seemed slow-paced. It really focused a lot on Sachi’s travelling experiences, which bored me a little bit. It would have been great if Downer had extended Sachi’s experiences in the women’s palace, or her experiences with the shogun. The book is 611 pages long, but Sachi’s time in the women’s palace seemed to only take up about 20%.

                      

My favourite character was Sachi, as she was fierce, down-to-earth, curious, adventurous and confident throughout the novel. I really related to her, as she had been described as having a child-like personality. My second favourite would have to be Taki, Sachi’s maid and best friend.

It was a comfort to know that in this vast palace full of women whispering and plotting behind her back, there was one person she could trust completely (p. 118-119).

My favourite part of the novel was learning about Sachi’s life as a concubine, however brief it was. As I mentioned before, it would have been great if the novel had focused more on that part of Sachi’s story.

                       

I highly recommend Downer’s other novel, The Courtesan and the Samurai. My review can be found here. If you enjoyed “Memoires of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes “The Valley of Amazement” by Amy Tan, and “The Pagoda Tree” by Claire Scobie.

Happy reading!

Buy the book: http://www.bookdepository.com/Last-Concubine-Lesley-Downer/9780552155205

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