Friday 56 & #BookBeginnings: The Mask Carver's Son

My memories of Paris are never too distant, the colors never too far removed. My palette runs with the blue of violets, the burnt red of sienna, and the saffron yellow of cadmium, yet I remain chalked in a gray-walled studio on the outskirts of Tokyo.
- p. 1

For Friday 56:  
For the past thirty years of his life he felt almost nonhuman. Neither a man nor a ghost. Perhaps something in between, a man made of wood.
- p. 56
About The Mask Carver's Son by Alyson Richman: 1890. Yamamoto Kiyoki is a Japanese art student, dreaming of studying in Paris with the inspiring and vibrant Impressionist painters.

Yamamoto Ryusei is Kiyoki’s father. Ryusei’s art, carving intricate masks for traditional Japanese theater, has been his refuge from loneliness since the death of his beloved wife, and he is revered as the most inspired artist of his kind. He expects his only son to honor the traditions of his family and his country, not to be seduced by Western ideas of what is beautiful. Ryusei hopes Kiyoki will follow his own distinguished career, creating masks that will become the family’s crowning achievement.

But what is a father to do when his son’s path is not what he had planned? And how can a son honor his father, and yet fulfill his own destiny?



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11 comments

  1. This cover and the first line make me want to go to Paris. Ah. Anne @ My Head is Full of Books

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  2. Thanks for sharing. I'm adding this to my tbr! :)

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  3. Lovely excerpts, which conjure up beauty and sadness. Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “WALKING ON TRAMPOLINES”

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  4. This sounds like a fascinating story. As I read the opening, I thought, "This character must be an artist." The author did a great job of making me want to know more.
    My Friday post features HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT.

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  5. Sounds like a good one. And such a gorgeous cover! Thanks for sharing. Here's mine: "Murder on the Hill".

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  6. I like the excerpts and the cover is stunning! I hope you're enjoying this one! It definitely sounds like it has potential.

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  7. Wow....the cover would pull me in to begin with and that beginning definitely did.

    I am going to check this book out...it sounds really good to me.

    ENJOY, and enjoy your weekend.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  8. I like the quotes you chose, Aloi! I love reading Japanese related stories :) here's my 56 below. Have a great weekend

    Lenna
    http://lennajennie.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/day-before-saturday-3/

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  9. Yay! This sounds like a great beginning! I recognized the name from our Travel the World in Books Readathon and the cover is beautiful. Hope you enjoy it!

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  10. Beautiful cover!
    Sounds beautiful based on the beginning!
    Happy weekend!

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  11. Paris is better that Tokyo, I agree but I want to go to Tokyo too :)

    BookBeginning@EverythingNyze

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© guiltless readingMaira Gall