Picking Bones from Ash: A Novel

by Marie Mutsuki Mockett

Book Overview

A preternaturally gifted pianist, Satomi lives with her elusive mother in a tiny northern Japanese town. Her fall from grace is echoed in the life of her daughter, Rumi, who unleashes a ghost she must... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555975763
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Graywolf Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.9" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful and gripping

Reading Picking Bones from Ash made me remember what it can be like to be thoroughly lost in a book and its made-up world. I read it in one evening, forgetting about such mundanities as deadlines or dinner. Its characters will stay with me for a long while. Marie Mockett is a conjuror; this book is a wonder.

Marvelous adventure and gorgeous writing.

I wonder how much of her lifetime Ms. Mockett spent in Japan. Her knowledge of Japanese culture, customs, and even botany-how far bamboo can grow-is clearly demonstrated in her novel Picking Bones From Ash. Each word is carefully chosen so phrases and sentences run like good music. As soon as you start reading this novel, I felt as though I was entering the world of novel and I could see what was going on in my mind as if I were watching its movie. I could hardly put down this book when I once started reading it. Must be included for Christmas shopping lists!

Excellent debut full of imagination

An unnaccountably strange and beautiful novel from a debut novelist. The coming of age tales of a mother and daughter are intertwined as East meets West in a thriller about a ghost and a family secret. The two stories collide in a comic sprawl populated with a host of characters who each have either a spiritual challenge or at least some kind take on spirituality. In their twin quests for mastery and truth, Satomi and Rumi meet free spirits, tormented artists, cunning forgers, phony gurus, and trapped priests, and most memorably a ghost who hints at an ancestral secret, kind of a transgression hidden within a misdemeanor. The storytelling is fresh and delivered in a lucid, completely original style that showcases Mockett's gift for dialogue and description, and a delightful wit that pokes fun at human frailty without cynicism. The author uses scenes of magic realism in a way that evokes the Mizayaki's flights of imagination, creating some genuinely eerie ghost scenes and a wild and unforgettable ride through the snowy mountains of Japan pursued by demons. Though not everyone will like the post-modern narrative structure, I found the ending (or series of them) a tremendously satisfying piece of storytelling as the plot comes full circle. Entertaining, surprisingly challenging work from a real stylist. Go get it!

finely wrought and beautiful story of mothers, daughters, and searching for identity

This rich and delicate story of three generations of mothers and daughters arcs from Japan to California and back, masterfully approaching the idea that a woman's best route to survival is to be truly extraordinary. The novel connects the stories of Satomi, a wickedly talented Japanese pianist, and her estranged American daugter, Rumi, whose preternatural skill at identifying antiques seems nearly supernatural. A smooth, deftly rendered, and wonderfully bicultural novel.

Don't judge a book by its cover: you would miss this gem

This author has a real talent in story telling and what a great first novel. The author offers her characters as teachers in telling us a wonderful story of life past and present, transporting us over 50 years of the beautiful traditions of Japan; and regardless of our geographic location, our ancestrial past continues to have an imprint on our lives. The story was more a mystery within a mystery, which the author did a brilliant job in keeping the reader focused and intensely intrigued with each turn of the page; but remained faithful to fold back the mist and allowing us see for ourselves that life is complicated and that we have choices in how we choose to live, but above all Love prevails. Told from many people's perspective, which added bounce, depth and intrigue to each of the key characters. I loved the novel for the mystery and then the reveal. If you loved the Joy Luck Club then you will love this book. This novel is made for a movie!