Illiterarty.com Book reviews and blogs by Bridget

Set in Japan right after the second world war, An Artist Of The Floating World draws you gradually and effortlessly into the life of Masuji Ono, a renown yet now disgraced artist from imperialist Japan. The story begins in a manner that suggests that this story is just going to be a fairly standard set of reminiscences from an old man, but the twisting narrative style and artful teasing-out of the story a bit at a time turns this simple and beautiful tale into a heartbreaking and joyful experience to read.