111 Book Review: Across the Nightingale Floor

Bryce W. Merkl Sasaki
Eleventy-One
Published in
2 min readSep 1, 2021
This book cover is certified 100% b-dass (short for bad ass).

Across the Nightingale Floor

by Lian Hearn

We’re still playing that high-stakes game of Taboo from the first Otori tale, so don’t mention “Japan.” Aww, dang it.

Our hero, Takeo, is just a Christian living in a Shinto/Buddhist world and then discovers he’s just a ninja in a samurai world and then he’s a bat in a deaf world and then he’s a son of an exiled lord serving as a pawn in a greater game and wow, that’s a lot for a sixteen-year-old to have on his shoulders. It’s a non-stop ride.

Unfortunately there’s no rendition of “Sing Sweet Nightingale,” but it makes up for that glaring lack of song with the most badass ninjas ever.

TL;DR: Advice: watch your weight and keep an eye out for teenagers with hidden sewing needles. Why? Oh, no reason.

My rating: 9 out of 11 Creaking Floor Boards, Which Are Significant

Get it here:

Oh, you liked it? Well then, try: Heaven’s Net Is Wide (if you haven’t already), Grass for His Pillow (what the ninjas are up to next)

Part of The Tales of the Otori: Heaven’s Net Is Wide | Across the Nightingale Floor | Grass for His Pillow | Brilliance of the Moon | The Harsh Cry of the Heron

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