The Commoner: A Novel
by John Burnham Schwartz
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Book Summary Information
Author: John Burnham SchwartzEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-22
ISBN: 0385515715
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Book Reviews of The Commoner: A Novel
Book Review: From Freedom to Subjugation in a Luxurious Setting
Summary: 4 Stars
If you like prince and princess stories, this one will probably appeal to you.
In all of the fairy tales about prince and princesses, the authors wisely end the story after they fall in love or marry by saying some version of "and they lived happily ever after." But do princes and princesses really live happily after marriage? Sometimes not, as we all know.
Why? Royal persons of all kinds are figureheads subject to lots of arbitrary rules and restraints that would drive a normal person crazy. If the person married isn't from that background, can depression be avoided?
In The Commoner John Burnham Schwartz bases his fictional story on the public events in the lives of the Japanese Imperial family. Using good imagination, he describes what it might have been like to leave a carefree life to become the consort of the Crown Prince.
His narrator is Haruko, the bride of the prince. You'll feel like you are reading about a slave's life in places. Many people will find this book evoking tears of sadness or regret on Haruko's behalf.
The book's main strength is making Japan and the Imperial family accessible to Western readers. That strength carries the first half of the book which is by far the more interesting part.
The book has a few weaknesses:
1. Everything is built up around dramatic scenes, and the tone is always too high to reflect real life.
2. The book's resolution is a weak one that doesn't adequately deal with the issues the author raises.
3. Other than Haruko, the characters are not as well developed as they might have been. As a result, the story is often flat unless some visceral event takes place.
4. Haruko's life becomes an occasional sketch of a scene after she becomes a mother. With so many blank places, Haruko becomes distant to us.
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