Katherine Govier

Nineteenth century Japan is an era most equate with the end of an era. Japan saw the end of the shogun and samurai as it became open to the West. Although it was the end of many cultural practices and traditions, many beautiful artisans were introduced to the West. One such artist was Hokusai. The Printmaker's Daughter by Katherine Gouvier is a fictional account of the lives of Hokusai and his daughter Ei.

Ei Katsushika was the third daughter of Hokusai Katsushika. Ei appears to the show more much-loved daughter of Hokusai at the beginning of this story. Her father takes her with him around town and affords her freedom that her other sisters never knew. She befriends other artists, poets and even prostitutes in the town of Edo. As she ages, she becomes an indispensable assistant to her father, helping mix paint colors, even working on some of his pictures. In many respects Ei is a free woman in an era when women were never afforded much freedom. She marries, divorces, takes lovers, and assists her father in his work while never learning any of the so-called womanly arts of cooking, making tea, sewing, or even cleaning.

Ms. Gouvier paints a picture of Ei that is often tragic yet filled with wonder. Although Ei has freedom that many Japanese women never experienced during this time period, she remains tied to her father. She puts up with his verbal abuse and has her art demeaned and belittled. As her father ages and becomes either incapable or unwilling to paint, Ei takes over and continues his school and even paints many pictures that are ultimately attributed to Hokusai (some intentionally). Although Hokusai is the best-known print maker of his time, he and Ei lived in virtual poverty much of their lives. Ei's life seemed to come to an abrupt stop when Hokusai finally died. It isn't until she reunites with a former prostitute turned nun - Shino, that she learns to placate society and her family while continuing to do what she wants until her death.

The Printmaker's Daughter is at times hauntingly beautiful in bringing the lives of Ei, Shino and Hokusai to life. There were also times the story seemed sluggish, as a result I found myself having to put the book down because my attention kept wavering as I tried to read. It wasn't until the latter portion of Ei's life is portrayed after Hokusai's death that the story truly became interesting for me. Don't get me wrong, The Printmaker's Daughter is a beautiful fictional account of Ei and Hokusai. This is a well-written and well-researched book with well-developed characters and settings. Sadly I found the research discussion at the end of the book more captivating than most of the fictional story. show less

Going into reading this book I knew absolutely nothing about Katsushika Hokusai. To be honest, I didn't even know this was actually based on a true story. It's loosely based, but really only because there is not a lot of information out there about Hokusai's life, just his work.

The author had to take certain liberties with the character's personalities, but for the most part, these were real people that once lived in a very difficult time. Katherine spent five years researching and writing show more this novel. Five years of interviewing, traveling to Japan, researching, visiting museums and colleges, talking to experts, scholars and anyone else that could possibly help write the story of this man and his mystery daughter, Oi.

I knew nothing about any of this until I started reading. But then I fell in love with the story and wanted to know more (a lot more!), so I did some research of my own. I studied Hokusai and his work, I read up on him and the time that he lived, I learned as much as I could about the courtesans of the Yoshiwara and painting woodblock prints. All this was, and still is, new to me. But I was mesmerized. Enchanted, really. I could talk about this forever. And really, if you have ANY questions to ask me about this book, feel free, because I loved it. Adored it.

I don't want to compare it to Memoirs of a Geisha, because the books cover two completely different topics, but it's hard not to for me, because Memoirs is at this point probably my favorite book. Ever. But I think The Printmaker's Daughter may surpass that for me. If not surpass, it is equal. I think this story was a bit more real in its authenticity. The voice of Oi felt extremely real to me. It was almost as if a Japanese girl was really telling the story. It felt extremely authentic. And Oi had personality. I didn't really feel that way about Memoirs. While I really loved the story, it was because of the characters that I was enchanted. But the protagonist, Sayuri, didn't have much of a personality. Not so with this book. And the settings felt so incredibly real.

This was a book to get lost in. A book to take your time with. I just wanted to savor every word and let the story unfold slowly. And I did. It was magical. Parts of it were depressing, sure, because living in that time for women was not easy. It felt very oppressive for Oi. And also the courtesans. And it was. But through it all, Oi remained strong and steadfast. As impossible and selfish as her father was, she remained loyal and devoted to him until the day he died. Which by the way, was a very long time to live. He lived to the ripe old ancient age of 89. In 1849 when he died, living that long was extremely rare. Oi lived under his thumb, and fame, for his entire life. How oppressive.

Finally, she is starting to gain recognition. People are actually trying to find out the truth. Which paintings of her father's was she actually responsible for? From what I have seen, she is a little more talented than he is. Her usage of colors is just outstanding. And in my opinion, you can clearly tell her work from his.

In closing, this was a brilliant cultural read. I could write for endless hours about how epic I found this book to be. And I learned so much while reading. It was basically my ultimate reading experience. I love reading cultural fiction. Specifically about Asia, but as long as I am learning, I could care less. I will be following Katherine Govier's career. I think she is an amazing writer and this book deserves to be read by the masses. I am SO, so glad I read it. And of course I will be buying a copy for keeps. show less

There is something to be said about a book that can successfully cater to the enjoyment of both adult and child. This was my first experience reading any of Katherine's work, even though she has written so many novels previously. She did an excellent job diving deep into the history behind an amazing number of nursery rhymes; most we knew, some we didn't. Either way, I loved learning how these rhymes came to be.

At one point in your life, didn't you ever wonder why that lamb really followed show more Mary to school? I did, and I couldn't believe some of the stories behind this one, and the other classic rhymes I remember hearing while growing up! Some were definitely not meant to be sung to children, but I found it amusing how they got passed on.

My toddler loved hearing the flow of the classics, but seemed to want to turn the page to get to the next verses before I had a chance to take in the entirety of the historical parts. I didn't mind too much though, it just gave me a better excuse to pick this book up after she was sleeping, or when she was off doing something else.

We sat for a long time because there were so many to choose from, all separated into themes like Outdoors, and To School. My daughter seemed to favour the Curious Characters section the most. The illustrations were unique and as exaggerated as some of the characters were! We definitely had some laughs.

This is one of those books that I will be putting away up high to keep it safe from sticky fingers in between reading. show less

Another great book by Govier - one of my favorite authors. Amazing character development, sense of place, descriptions, dialogue....just lovely. A tad long, but worth the sore wrist!