Synopsis
A sweeping novel of East and West, love and war, truths and denials.
An eminent British writer returns to the resort hotel in the Japanese mountains where he once spent a beautiful, snowed-in winter. It was there he fell in love and wrote his best-selling novel, The Waterwheel, accusing America of being in denial about the horrific aftermath of the Tokyo firebombings and the nuclear destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As we learn more about his earlier life, however - a student in Bloomsbury, involved with a famous American painter - we realise that he too is in denial, trying to escape past events that are now rapidly catching up with him.
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About the Author
J. David Simons is a former lawyer and lecturer at universities in Japan and the UK and is the author of two novels, short stories and essays. His first novel, The Credit Draper, was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize, and he has received bursaries and writing fellowships from three prestigious organisations. Having spent many years travelling the world, he now lives in Glasgow, the city of his birth.
Review
"[A] highly accomplished and moving novel" - The Herald. "Artistic, literary and thoroughly involving... a novelist who understands the craft of writing and who, in this case, has applied it exquisitely." - Scots Whay Hae!. "[T]hat rare thing, a genuine tour-de-force, a beautifully written love story that combines political impetus, questions about art and truth, and an exotic setting once almost blown to extinction in an act of war. It is the kind of sophisticated, grown-up writing that properly intrigues, and calls to mind the best of William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks." - Lesley McDowell. "An Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful is actually several love stories, seamlessly flitting between times, countries and historical events. (I'm sure I won't be the only one to say this, but) the prose is exquisite and beautiful. And while the main character is neither, you find yourself knowing him, understanding him, caring for him. A great read. A piece of art." - Helen Fitzgerald, author. "In the tradition of Graham Greene or William Boyd, taking in great sweeps of history without ever losing sight of the personal, the telling detail. Accomplished and compelling." - Chris Dolan. "A beautifully sensitive book portraying the inevitably damning inequalities that can arise within all human relationships, be they political, cultural, sexual or emotional. Insightful and thought-provoking." - Sara Allerton.
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. An Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9781908643278
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An Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful
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Saraband, United Kingdom, Glasgow, 2013
ISBN 10: 1908643277
ISBN 13: 9781908643278
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The personal collides with the political in this literary tour-de-force. In the 1950s, an eminent British writer pens a novel questioning the ethics of the nuclear destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasakibut soon hes trying to outrun his own past. Hakone, Japan, 2003. An eminent British writer in his seventies, Sir Edward Strathairn, returns to a resort in the Japanese mountains where, in his youth, he spent a beautiful, snowed-in winter. It was there he wrote his best-selling novel, The Waterwheel, accusing America of being in denial about the horrific aftermath of the Tokyo firebombings and the nuclear destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. London, England, 1952. A young Edward falls in love with an avant-garde American artist, Macy. After their tumultuous relationship and breakup, he heads for Japan, where he meets someone else and becomes smitten again as he writes the novel that makes him famous. This is as much a thrilling romance as it is a sensitive exploration of blame, power and guilt in post-war America, Japan and Britain. With a narrator whose behaviour strikes the national conscience as much as his own, An Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful will stay with readers long after the final page is turned. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004951850
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