The Scent of Sake - Softcover

Lebra, Joyce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061662372 ISBN 13: 9780061662379

Publisher: Avon, 2009

Synopsis

She was taught to submit, to obey . . . but she dreamed of an empire.

The sole heir to the House of Omura, a venerable family of Kobe sake brewers, nineteen-year-old Rie hears but cannot heed her mother's advice: that in nineteenth-century Japan, a woman must "kill the self" or her life will be too difficult to bear. In this strict, male-dominated society, women may not even enter the brewery—and repressive tradition demands that Rie turn over her family's business to the inept philanderer she's been forced to marry. She is even expected to raise her husband's children by another woman—a geisha—so that they can eventually run the Omura enterprise.

But Rie's pride will not allow her to relinquish what is rightfully hers. With courage, cunning, brilliance, and skill, she is ready to confront every threat that arises before her—from prejudice to treachery to shipwrecks to the insidious schemes of relentless rivals—in her bold determination to forge a magnificent dynasty. . . and to, impossibly, succeed.

An epic and breathtaking saga that spans generations as it sweeps through the heart of a century, Joyce Lebra's The Scent of Sake is a vivid and powerful entry into another world. . . and an unforgettable portrait of a woman who would not let that world defeat her.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Historian and author Lebra (Women Against the Raj) makes her fiction debut with this historical novel concerning one of Japan's most ancient practices, sake brewing. Rie Omura, the daughter of a brewing merchant in 19th-century Kobe, decides at a young age to get into the business, even though women aren't even allowed inside the brewing house. Guilt over her brother's fatal accident drives Rie's fantasy to make her family's enterprise number one. Soon, however, the company's success falls to Rie's drunk, delinquent husband, the heir to another brewing house. Rie begins gently suggesting risky but profitable ventures to the men of the office, expanding shipments and wrangling with competitors (in sometimes excessive detail). The family grows alongside the business, as Rie reluctantly agrees to adopt her husband's illegitimate children (by geishas), hoping to build the great brewing dynasty her father always wanted. A paragon of determination and suppressed emotion, Rie can seem stagnant, especially amid a swirl of characters, but Lebra's focused, businesslike style and attention to detail make a fine match for her protofeminist heroine. (Mar.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Avon
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0061662372
• ISBN 13: 9780061662379
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 366