Across the Nightingale Floor

by Gillian Rubinstein

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Tales of the Otori (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
3,175	96	1,602	(3.92)	122

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

Heaven's Net is Wide by Gillian Rubinstein (2007)
Same series: Grass for His Pillow, Brilliance of the Moon (Tales of the Otori)
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (2006)
Bridge of Birds: A Novel of Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart (1984)
Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka (2002)
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (1990)

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (1995)
Same series: Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy)
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (2006)
Same series: Throne of Jade (Temeraire)
The Briar King by Greg Keyes (2002)
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (1995)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (2010)

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▾Member recommendations

20
Shogun: A Novel of Japan by James Clavell (leahsimone)
21
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AHS-Wolfy: Historical fiction set in Japan with a light touch of fantasy.
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The Initiate Brother by Sean Russell (Anonymous user)
Anonymous user: Another fantasy set in a feudal Asian society. Epic and satisfying -- be sure to read both The Initiate Brother and Gatherer of Clouds.
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Tiger (The Five Ancestors, Book 1) by Jeff Stone (benfulton)
benfulton: Tiger is aimed at younger readers, but the less fantastic story.

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▾Member reviews

English (92) Swedish (1) French (1) Danish (1) All languages (95)

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Showing 1-5 of 92 (next | show all)

I love the writing style of these books. Simple, easy, and yet enough to seize you and not let go. I read this book in a couple of hours, unable to put it down. Despite the simplicity of the prose, you really get to care about the characters. (

)

shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 |

Engrossing, well-written tale of an alternate feudal Japan. I stayed up late reading this one, and rushed to the library for the next today. (

)

satyridae | Apr 5, 2013 |

I'm not rating this one since I technically didn't finish it. However, I am counting it for my challenge because I listened to roughly 3 hours of audio. The audio was good, however, I found it sometimes confusing to follow with all the names. I'll retry this at some point, but next time I'll read the book rather than listen to it.

Jaguar897 | Mar 31, 2013 |

I really enjoyed this book and felt it far superior to the other Asian-inspired fantasy I just read, Eon.

I know that Takeo can seem too perfect but after the idiocy of Eon it was like a breath of fresh air an allowed me to focus more on the story. The story itself while being far from original was told well and kept drawing me along wanting to know more.

The ending wrapped up a lot more plotlines then I expected from the first of a series enough that you could almost regard this as a standalone but with just enough left open that I look forward to reading the sequel.

Highly recommended (

)

Shirezu | Mar 31, 2013 |

1 of 18 books for $10 today 5.12.2012

velvetink | Mar 31, 2013 |

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▾Other authors

» Add other authors (27 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Gillian Rubinstein	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Gray, Kevin	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Nakasone, Aiko	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Tales of the Otori Trilogy by Gillian Rubinstein

Contains

Across the Nightingale Floor, Episode 1: The Sword of the Warrior by Gillian Rubinstein

Across The Nightingale Floor, Episode 2: Journey To Inuyama by Gillian Rubinstein

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▾Common Knowledge

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For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Series (with order)

Tales of the Otori (1)

Canonical title

Across the Nightingale Floor

Original title

Across the Nightingale Floor

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2002-08-22

People/Characters

Takeo/Tomasu

Otori Shigeru (Lord Otori)

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Carnegie Medal Shortlist (2002)

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Jugendjury 2004)

Peter Pan Award (2004.01|Winner, 2004)

New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2002)

ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2004)

(show all 8 items)

Epigraph

Information from the Spanish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

A prophecy governs their fate. Blood, honour and love rule their harts.

Cuentan
que la cierva que se aparea en otoño
con el arbusto de lespedeza
engendra un único cervatillo.
Un muchacho solitario
emprende un largo viaje,
con la hierba de almohada.

Manyoshu, vol. IX
N° 1.790

Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
The country of the eight islands

Dedication

Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Für E

First words

My mother used to threaten to tear me into eight pieces if I knocked over the water bucket, or pretended not to hear her calling me to come home as the dusk thickened and the cicadas' shrilling increased.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

Information from the Spanish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Alfaguara- Serie Otori

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Across the Nightingale Floor

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0330493345, Paperback)

'The most compelling novel to have been published this year' - Amanda Craig, "Observer". In his palace at Inuyama, Lord Iida Sadamu, warlord of the Tohan clan, surveys his famous nightingale floor. Its surface sings at the tread of every human foot, and no assassin can cross it. But 16-year-old Otori Takeo, his family murdered by Iida's warriors, has the magical skills of the Tribe - preternatural hearing, invisibility, a second self - that enable him to enter the lair of the Tohan. He has love in his heart and death at his fingertips...The stunningly powerful bestseller, "Across the Nightingale Floor", is an epic story for readers young and old. Set in a mythical, feudal, Japanese land, a world both beautiful and cruel, the intense love story of two young people takes place against a background of warring clans, secret alliances, high honour and lightning swordplay.

(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 09 Nov 2010 01:23:50 -0500)

(see all 2 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

In a novel set in a land much like feudal Japan, a young boy named Takeo becomes a pawn in the ceaseless battles between rival warlord clans in a culture ruled by codes of honor and formal rituals.

» see all 8 descriptions