Joyce Lebra

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers; this book started out with a lot of promise but quickly became frustrating and pointless. I think that more insight as to why the relationships were the way the were would have been helpful. As it was, I lost interest long before the end of the book.

This was good but not as well written as Memoirs of a Geisha. The Scent of Sake tells the story of one brewing family in the 19th century. Interesting insights into traiditonal sake brewing and Japanies culture prior to westernization.

This was a very good story, and reading how the book came to be, made it all the more wrorthwhile. I was shocked at the ruthlessness shown by Rie in her business choices and then surprised that I wasn't taken aback by the same hardness with the family. It all ran together and wove a groundbreaking story for her time that was full of scandle.

Japan is my passion and I have 400+ books about that country. I was disappointed by this book. The characters seem "wooden", I didn't learn enough about them for them to be sympathetic. The story takes place during the transition from Edo era Japan to Meiji - a time of extreme turmoil, change in culture, political systems, etc - I wanted to learn more about how this change would affect the people living thru it.