Book Review: A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery

By Serena Ewasiuk

A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery, translated by Alison Anderson, tells the story of Rose Uneno as she visits Kyoto, Japan to hear the reading of her late father’s will. Rose had never met her father, Haru, a successful art dealer, or visited Japan before. She feels resentful and hurt that her father didn’t contact her or have a relationship with her. When she arrives in Kyoto she stays at her late father’s house and is taken care of by his housekeeper, driver, and assistant Paul. Haru left an itinerary of special places for Rose to visit while in Japan and has instructed Paul to accompany her. The two forge a special bond during Rose’s time in Japan and love blooms.  

A Single Rose is a short novella that shines in the way it immerses the reader in experiencing Japanese culture. It is evident that Barbery has a true love for Japan and has experienced Kyoto firsthand. She captures the rich culture and gorgeous landscape with her observations and descriptive passages. First there is the food. Paul and Rose visit tea houses and restaurants, sharing meals and conversations, allowing the reader to share in these culinary experiences. There’s sake and beer, ginger and white radishes, matcha and udon.  

Barberry also provides the reader with rich depictions of nature as the two explore Zen gardens and ancient temples. The poetic and descriptive style of writing paints a vivid picture of Japan’s landscape. Rose, a botanist, appreciates the simple beauty of peonies, lilacs, azaleas, bamboo, and maple trees, and Barbery writes lush and poetic passages to set the backdrop of the story.  

A unique storytelling element within A Single Rose is the use of Japanese folktales, which are placed in between chapters to shed light on themes which will be explored in the forthcoming chapter.  While I enjoyed the folktales, they were at times too philosophical or cerebral, with quotes that were difficult to interpret.  

A Single Rose explores themes of love, forgiveness, growth, and second chances.  While the pacing felt off at times and the storyline was predictable, the novella shines in its lyrical homage to Kyoto. A Single Rose is a poignant story of a reawakening or blossoming, if you will, of Rose, who “at the age of forty, had not really lived.”

Thank you to Publishing Group Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Two at the Top by Uma Krishnaswami and Christoper Corr

By Serena Ewasiuk

Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest by Uma Krishnaswami with illustrations by Christopher Corr is a colourful and engaging children’s story about two boys from different parts of the world who share a love of the outdoors and a dream of climbing huge mountains when they grow up. The story begins by introducing Tenzing and Edmund and continues with their alternating points of view. Tenzing lives in Nepal and Edmund lives in New Zealand. We learn unique details of their childhoods and the paths their separate lives take before they attempt to summit Mount Everest. Finally, after several failed attempts, the two men climb Mount Everest together and succeed. 

Of course, we are talking about Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, who achieved their lifelong goal of climbing to the top of Mount Everest and became the first humans to do so.  

Two at the Top is a story of perseverance, dedication, and bravery. The writing is poetic and will grab young readers’ attention with descriptive phrases like ”The battling winds roared like a thousand tigers.” The illustrations are eye-catching with bright, vivid, colours and really drew in my young child.  He wanted to know more about the animals in the pictures and the sports that young Tenzing and Edmund were playing. He asked about the prayer flags and the tools the climbers used.  

An interesting feature of the book is the inclusion of detailed facts about Mount Everest and Tenzing and Hillary’s famous trek at the end of the story. Topics include how to measure the height of mountains, details of the impressive mountain ranges of China and Nepal, the number of people needed to support a climbing expedition, and the animals who make their homes at the base of the mountains.

Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest is intended for children from three to five years of age, but in my opinion it would be better suited to children a bit older who would like to immerse themselves in geography and social studies to better understand this region of the world and the challenging expedition of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.

Thank you to Groundwood books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.