The Teahouse Fire Audiobook

" The beginning was slow, but things picked up towards the middle. I did enjoy the ending. Everthing came full circle wihtout being too neat about it. The temae (tea ceremony) as described was very interesting although I kept thinking of the tea ceremony in Karate Kid. :) This did make me want to experience the real temae as a fascinating aspect of Japanese culture. "

" I'm lost. Over 100 pages in, I've completely lost the story line. No amount of effort has helped me make heads or tails of the plot and characters. How disappointing! "

" Written by a classmate of mine from the 'Mawr. "

" I really wanted to like this book, and could admire some lovely writing. However, it left me cold. I couldn't become interested in the people. The tea ceremony is fascinating, but I truly couldn't tell you much about it. I needed a glossary of Japanese words in the back, and a list of characters, and even a family tree would have helped keep the different people straight. If it hadn't been a book club book, I would have probably given up after 100 page, but I persisted. Our group was divided with those who found it interesting and well written, and two others, like me, who were really bored with it. "

" This is a strange book. I read it as an audio book and found it hard to follow all of the Japanese characters' names. At times I liked it; at times I did not. I recommend if you read it not doing the audio. "

" I really enjoyed this book. I learned so much about the art of Japanese tea ceremony, too. "

" The story of two lives that intersect in Japan. "

" Very well written, but a little slow-paced. Enchanting and full of details about Japanese society. Nice historical novel. "

" This intricate book was very detail oriented and not for everyone but I enjoyed this very well written tale of family, loss and love. "

" Winner of a 2008 Stonewall Book Award. Sumptuous and complex. But one of those "post-gay" books that is only minimally about lesbianism, even though it's the coming-of-age story of a lesbian. "

" took forever to get into, but once the story finally caught my interest, i was hooked. great characters. "

" In this book I was definitely surprised how much myself and the main character are alike. We both can speak Japanese, French, and English. Though I an NOT a lesbian I have very close ties with my friends. This book was ,in a way, a doorway into seeing my inner self. "

" Fun book to read while living in Japan! "

" Read this book because after reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" I was a little obsessed with Japanese culture and tradition... and this book didn't dissapoint. I was lucky I stumbled across this one, one of my faves! "

" This was certainly a fascinating study of tea making and the Japanese tea ceremony. The story itself made for good reading although I'm not sure I liked the ending of the book. "

" This was a lovely, fast read. I loved the historical and cultural insight into early 20th century Japan. "

" I'm not sure why the history and culture of Japan had to be told by a white girl, but nonetheless, pretty good. Extra points for queerness. "

" Interesting detail about the Japanese Tea Ceremony. But very weak character and plot development. Too bad, seemed very promising. "

" This is a beautiful story, focused around the traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony. It is the story of a young French/American girl who finds herself orphaned and alone in Japan, and how her life unfolds. I highly recommend this book. "

" I found this to be a much better story, and a much better written book, than Memoirs of a Geisha. "

" This one was interesting until the end. It felt like the author ran of his alloted pages and had to wrap it up quickly. The epilogue felt forced. Until that, the detail was amazing. "

" The best thing about this book is that it ended. I enjoyed learning about tea ceremony in Japan but really, the whole book was one tea party after another. "

" This book started off strong and wandered in and out of a solid plot. Several sections lacked focus, but overall gave an excellent (and I think accurate) feeling for Japan. "

" My favourite read of 2008! Loved all (many) details and wish I could live according to the seasons like the Japanese (used to) do. "

" The ending wrapped up a little too neatly but it was a good read. "

" Interesting detail about the Japanese Tea Ceremony. But very weak character and plot development. Too bad, seemed very promising. "

" took forever to get into, but once the story finally caught my interest, i was hooked. great characters. "

" I was hoping for something along the lines of Memoirs of a Geisha but this fell very short. I didn't even finish it. "

" I got about 3/4 the way through this and it was due back at the library...I really didn't like it, so I didn't finish it. I was confused for most of the book and didn't care about anything that was going on. "

" I really loved the detail in this book. It moved slowly, but the characters and culture were fascinating to me. "