This is a tale of fate, heartache and the human spirit's ability to not only survive, but thrive in very difficult and unfortunate situations. I found this book very interesting and loved the beautiful detail and description in it. I could picture the amazing kimonos, interesting people and character's surroundings as the story was told. Also impressive was that it was written by a man who was writing from the stance of an old Japanese woman reflecting on her life and telling her story. The way he wrote it seemed so real, was very convincing. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wish that there was a 2 1/2 stars and a \"It Was Okay\" choice. Because that is kind of what it was for me.
I had read allot of reviews that raved about this book. But, it just didn\\\'t do it for me. Granted the reviews I read were before the audio version came out, (Which is what I listened to.) So, I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. But in any case, it just wasn\\\'t my cup of tea.
I thought it was a bit slow and it didn\\\'t really draw me in that much. Also, I felt that so many things in this story were under developed to include the characters, scenery, settings, world of ballet and the relationship between one of the girls and Degas, (Which for many, I think, was a big draw to this book.)
Because of the under development of the characters in particular, I wasn\\\'t endeared to them or find them very interesting. And sadly, I didn\\\'t really care what happened to them, (Although the end was satisfying enough considering that.) I did find it interesting that some historical events were intertwined into the story and it was interesting to learn a little bit about the plight of the average, poverty level Parisian girl during that time period. But, overall I wished that the author had developed so many aspects more. It was a story with great potential that just fell flat.