商品の説明

They were childhood best friends. Now, fifteen summers later, Caitlin Ober finds herself back in Japan, reluctantly drawn by her memory of Mie and the events of that hot July afternoon in Kyoto. Teaching English in the remote southern town of Kagoshima, opposite the increasingly active volcano Sakurajima, Caitlin trudges through her school rounds and the oppressive ash that falls daily. She’s determined to ignore the past, not to let it overwhelm her. But a chance encounter with Naomi, a talented but troubled half-Japanese teenager, leads Caitlin on a journey back to Kyoto. Is Naomi someone she can save this time around? Amid the bonfires, temple rites, and ghostly spirits of O-Bon, the summer festival when the dead revisit the living, Caitlin must make peace with her past and future, with the memory of old friends and the promise of new.

商品の詳細

• Amazon.co.jp ランキング: #167237 / 本
• 発売日: 2001-10-01
• オリジナル言語: 英語
• 寸法: .88" h x 5.22" w x 8.26" l, .72 ポンド
• 版型: ペーパーバック
• 292 ページ

内容説明

Caitlin Ober is back in Japan, teaching English in Kyushu. Some 15 years ago, as a little girl, Caitlin lived in Kyoto, but a tragic accident drove her and her family back to America. Now guilt obscures her path, just as ashfall from a nearby volcano covers Kagoshima in dust. In a garden Caitlin meets a teenage half-Japanese girl, Naomi, who may be someone Caitlin can save this time around. Together the two travel to Kyoto during O-Bon, the festival when the dead return. Amid bonfires, temple grounds, and ghostly memories, Caitlin bravely embraces her future. "Ash" is a bittersweet novel of redemptive beauty, of startling images and alluring details.

Holly Thompson lives in Kamakura and writes frequently about Japan. This is her first novel.

From the Publisher
A wonderful guide for book groups, bookstores, and libraries!

About the Author
Holly Thompson grew up in New England and graduated from Mount Holyoke College. She has a Masters degree from New York University’s Creative Writing Program. She has written about Japanese culture for the Boston Globe and other publications in the U.S. and Japan, and her short stories have been published in The Broken Bridge anthology, Wingspan, and various literary magazines. Holly Thompson makes her home in Kamakura, Japan, where she has lived since 1998. This is her first novel.