"[Picking Bones from Ash], so firmly anchored in a sensuous reality, veers into a dream world. A reader has the sense that even the author was driven by her most powerful character: the original mother, raising her daughter alone, shunned by villagers, forced to make decisions that haunt her descendants." —LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Mockett succeeds where many others fail: making the reader care."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Solid and graceful. . . .Mockett combines the best elements of a mystery story, ghost story, magical realism and the complex difficulties in deciding what is 'best' for our elders and offspring." —MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
"Mockett presents a well-written and notable story of three generations of strong-willed women, each in search of something just out of their grasp; the sacrifices they make for their daughters; and the unseen repercussions of choices made long ago." —BOOKLIST
"A book of intelligence and heart. As Mockett reveals, the ghosts of our mothers are always within us."—AMY TAN
"Deeply preoccupied with girls, talent, and power."—MAUD NEWTON
"A voice so authentic and eloquent it is hard to believe this is Mockett's first novel." —LARGEHEARTED BOY
"Picking Bones from Ash drew me in from the first sentence."—THE FEMINIST REVIEW
"[A] poignant debut novel. . . .Amidst greediness, rationalism and misguided hope, [Mockett] beautifully illustrates the fervent presence of ancient and recent pasts."—POP DAMAGE
"I don't know when I last read a novel with two such captivating heroines as Marie Mutsuki Mockett conjures up in her intricate and absorbing novel Picking Bones From Ash. Like Satomi and Rumi, Mockett is 'fiercely, inarguably, and masterfully talented.' An immensely satisfying debut." —MARGOT LIVESEY
"Picking Bones from Ash beautifully interweaves the stories of three women with their own individual strengthsÉI definitely recommend you take this unique journey through these women's lives."—THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS
"Marie Mockett is a remarkably engaging writer who manages to pull her audience into the protagonists' worlds from her first sentence. Her evocative descriptions of Japan conjure up images of a geography and culture rarely experienced by Westerners. . . that linger in the mind long after the reader has turned the final page." —THE F WORD (UK)
