- Hardcover
- Publisher: Knopf (2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375413022
- ISBN-13: 978-0375413025
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book that lingers in the mind,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ash Garden (Hardcover)
I read The Ashgarden twice; Dennis Bock has a beautiful style and the storyline flows.The book is filled with lyrical passages as the one when, after Sophie's death, Anton remembers how 'she had tended her garden like weather massaging the land'. It's interesting too how Bock compares the skins of Emiko and Sophie: Emiko's burns were 'like patterns on the skin ... tattoos of fire, and Sophie's skin, revaged by Erythematosis, was 'like small bits of smouldering fire ... wishing to be released from her body'. It's reinforcing the idea that Sophie, in a mystical way, was connected with the awful happenings in Hiroshima in August 1945. I agree with previous reviewers that Bock's characterizations have flaws, and that the scene with the children playing in the snow is somewhat distracting from the story. (But the description of the snow landscape reads like a painting!) Similarly I didn't feel the relationship between Sophie and Stephano, the Italian from Pescara, was convincing enough to be included. However, the deepening relationship between Anton and Sophie is a touching one, and altogether this book is worth to own, to read again and again. Hopefully Bock will bring us more books in the future.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much to contemplate here,
By
This review is from: The Ash Garden: A Novel (Hardcover)
This will likely be one of my more difficult reviews to write. Usually after finishing a novel I have no trouble knowing what to say about the book, not here. This is a novel of contemplation, it is both lyrical, poetic and at times slow. The story of a Japanese girl disfigured by the atomic bomb and the German/American scientist who helped create it, covers some complex philosophical issues. Is the use of a weapon of mass distruction justifiable if it brings about a perceived greater good? (in this case the end of WW2) The opening scene of Emiko and her brother witnessing the drop of the bomb is truly haunting and brilliantly written. While I had great sympathy for Emiko she was not a particularly empathetic character. I felt much more warmth for Anton the scientist and his long-suffering wife Sophie. My reason for not giving this novel 5 stars was echoed by another reviewer. I never felt like I got to know the characters well enough or understood the motivation for many of their actions. This especially applied to Sophie, who seemed both disillusioned and content with her lot in life.There is a lot going on in this book, although it is a quick read it is by no means "light" reading. In conclusion, a line from Anton has been staying in my thoughts, he states he is less haunted by the dropping of the bomb, and more haunted by what the world would have become if the bomb had not been dropped. What indeed?
5.0 out of 5 stars
It helped me deal with Sept 11th,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Ash Garden: A Novel (Hardcover)
"The Ash Garden" is a poetic read that helped me cope with the aftermath of Sept 11th. It's a true literary work, one whose examination of the people affected by the Hiroshima bombings (scientists as well as citizens) is written more eloquently than most modern novels; you are moved by both the content and the author's fluid style. I found myself finally feeling more at peace with the horror that was 9/11; I hadn't expected that a novel would be my helpmate as I've struggled with what has occurred, but it's overall calming force was very welcome. I recommend the novel highly.
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