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    The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel
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    The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel
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    The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel
    Ebook563 pages7 hours

    The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel

    By Katherine Govier

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place inhistory in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship from award-winning and internationally acclaimedauthor Katherine Govier. In the evocative taleof 19th century Tokyo, The Printmaker’sDaughter  delivers an enthrallingtale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei,the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, painter of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. In a novel that willresonate with readers of Tracy Chevalier’s Girlwith a Pearl Earring, Lisa See’s SnowFlower and the Secret Fan, and David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet,the sights and sensations of an exotic, bygone era form the richly captivatingbackdrop for an intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, artand authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 22, 2011
    ISBN9780062100689
    Unavailable
    The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel
    Author

    Katherine Govier

    Katherine Govier’s most recent novel, The Ghost Brush, was published in the United States as The Printmaker’s Daughter, and in translation in Romania, Spain, Quebec, and Japan. Her novel Creation was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She has won the Marian Engel Award and the Toronto Book Award, and has twice been nominated for the Trillium Book Award. The author of twelve previous books, Katherine Govier divides her time between Toronto, Ontario, and Canmore, Alberta.

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    Reviews for The Printmaker's Daughter

    3.5/5

    55 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Takes you away to a magical place which in the end, you never want to leave. The premise: wonderful 19th century Japannese artist Hogusai has a brilliant daughter to whom he owes his success.
    • 4/5
      This turned out to be a highly enjoyable book - after a rocky start.First, the start: to give the courtesan's their own patois, the author chooses to use some form of Californian Valley Girl slang. It is, like, a disaster. There is also the clunky use of the local storyteller (part town crier, part tabloid scandal monger) to fill in the background on one of the important characters, Shino. But, the book flows from there. The author tells the story sparingly, with occasional vignettes in a roughly chronological sequence. The characterisation of the key players is well done and they rise from the page.Interestingly for a book about two famous artists, there is only very limited analysis of the actual art works. What detail that is given is mostly descriptive, and not detailed at that. Instead, the book is about relationships, set in the background of the place and time - Japan in the era leading up to the time of the forced "opening" in 1867. Now I was quite happy with this balance, but I wonder of others might prefer more artistic criticism.The subsidiary issue discussed in the book is the role of gender in Japan in the 19th century. The author manages to deal explicitly with the injustices without turning the book into a undergraduate gender studies assignment.Great book. Read Jan 2016
    • 5/5
      Ghost Brush is a wonderfully imagined story of the lives of a real Japanese artist, Hokusai, and his perhaps even more talented daughter, Oe. However, because she was a woman, her work could not be recognized in her own right. The book is well-researched, and brings that chapter of Japanese history to life with the sights and smells and beauty and squalor. Particulary interesting is Oe's friendship with the courtesan Shino, and also her encounter with a Dutch doctor living on the man-made island where the Dutch were allowed to live in isolation. The story follows Oe's life from beginning to end, especially her relationship with her famous and eccentric artist father, who taught her his skills and helped her develop her own. We are privy to Oe's thoughts on Japanese society and the role of women in it at that time. A memorable and fascinating read - highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      The daughter of the great painter Hokusai tells about his life, and her life, and about being a great painter herself, and more than just Hokusai's daughter. This is beautifully written, with a strong voice that is easy to read, and very pleasing to read. Oei grows from a child to an old woman with every part of life in between well described. Sometimes she seems too concerned with the men in her life, but this is because it was the life she was forced to have in the time she was living. And the traditions she broke are incredible for that time.Oei is a heroine in a very real way. She is a demonstration of a great woman and a great artist--that is obvious even without seeing her work, because of her determination. It took me a very long time to read this because it is an autobiography of sorts, it never rushes and the pace is even. But I enjoyed every chapter. It has a wonderful smoothness and I'll happily look into whatever else the author writes.
    • 4/5
      The tale of the daughter of a great artist... or is she perhaps the great artist herself? A very tonal piece, with a lot of thought about Japanese culture of the time. Feels like many smaller stories of her life, at times. I really enjoyed this one despite it being so different from my usual favourites.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful. I loved this book. It was a well-written story of a woman living her life in her father's shadow. Is it fast-paced? No. But it is a wonderful book and I enjoyed every minute of reading it. Govier grants you an inside look at not just this father-daughter relationship but also the culture of Japan in the early 1800s. Fans of Memoirs of a Geisha should definitely give Oei's life a read!

      What I really wanted to address was the afterword. I know many people skip things like that but I promise, it's well worth the read. The author has me fully convinced that Oei is the true artist behind many paintings attributed to Hokusai. It's an intriguing look at art history and the evidence required to change the historical record, as well as an explanation behind the author's inspiration.
    • 4/5
      Pulling from history, and adding it's own spin, The Printmaker's Daughter tells the story of Ei Katsushika, the third daughter of Hokusai Katsushika. For those of you who may be fans of Japanese art, or of their rich history, this name will ring a bell. Hokusai was a famous artist at the end of an era. A man who openly and vibrantly put his feelings down into his paintings. Faced with censorship and hardship, Hokusai was a man shrouded in much mystery. The Printmaker's Daughter takes what is known to be fact, and mixes it gorgeously with a fictional story.

      In the beginning, Ei is shown as the favorite of her father. She is afforded a freedom that most women didn't have at this time. Galavanting around town, meeting people from all different walks of life, and even being allowed to attend places that children weren't technically allowed to go. Ei's ability to slip unnoticed into these places allows the reader to get a through glimpse at what life was like for the common people during this time. I thought it was truly brilliant how much Ei is allowed to experience, and therefore how much the reader is as well.

      As Ei gets older, Katherine Govier really shows the truth behind this young girl's life. The reader follows as Ei tries to make a place in the world for herself. Constantly belittled by her father and told she is nothing, it is her strength that really drew me in. Until her dying breath, she faced the world head on and did what she felt was right for her. In fact, all the characters in this story are strong and wonderfully written. The first person narrative is beautifully done, and it is very easy to become immersed in this story.

      The Printmaker's Daughter is hauntingly beautiful and well written. The vivid characters bring the story to life, and really were what kept me reading on. If I had one complaint, it would be that there were times when Ei's story became a little heavy in the historical descriptions. However, considering the topic, it makes perfect sense. I'm simply not a reader who often delves into Historical Fiction, so it was a different read for me. The discussion at the end of the book ties everything together, and definitely answered all the questions I had left upon finishing this intriguing book.

      If you are a reader who enjoys historical fiction, this is a book that you will fall in love with. I definitely recommend Katherine Govier's The Printmaker's Daughter and look forward to more from this author.
    • 3/5
      Nowhere near as good as Three Views of Crystal Water, this is the story of the daughter of a renowned Japanese artist. She is an artist in her own right and to this day there are many questions about which existing works are hers and which are her father's. An interesting view of life in Japan under the rule of the Shoguns.
    • 1/5
      The Printmaker's Daughter by Katherine Govier is set in 19th century Edo. Oei narrates her story of being a young woman working with her father, a print maker.Edo is the former name of Tokyo. It was the seat of power from 1603 to 1868 and grew to be a thriving metropolis. It was a vibrant, bustling, crowded place but most of that excitement is missing from this novel.Instead, Oei's narrative is halting and full of stuff to prove to us western readers that yes, she is in fact, a Japanese lady from late 19th century Edo. So she waxes on and on over details that are of exotic interest to westerns: geisa, kimono, tabi, okobo, etc. I just can't imagine Oei actually being that fascinated by "exotic" Japan as she's portrayed. In the 50 or so pages I suffered through, there is no chance for Oei to just live in Edo and have her life's up and downs. No, she's there as a tour guide for some weird western preconceived notion of what Edo was like. The extremely silly and anachronistic anime, Oh Edo Rocket! is a better, more realistic presentation of life in Edo even with the entire moon alien plot!
    • 2/5
      Drawn in by the pretty cover and the lure of Japan, I had little idea what to expect of this novel. Although the title suggests that the tale would be all about the relationship of a father and daughter, I did not really suspect that would be almost the entirety of what it was about. There is little romance. Mostly, this is a story of art and the family ties between these two.

      Actually, given the romance there was, I am glad there was not more. The men Oei took up with were rather creepy, especially the first, a man of her father's years (and he was not young when she was born) seduced her when she was only fifteen. Not strange for that time period, but that does not make it any more okay to me now.

      The sections that really came alive were those about the making of the art. The loving discussion of the colors and the lines were touching, even for one, like me, who does not have an artistic bone in her body when it comes to painting, drawing, etc. Oei is a very strong woman, although not when confronted with her father, and she has more skill than most artists, even perhaps her lauded father.

      In library school, we discussed at one point the legitimacy of someone from outside a culture trying to write a book about that culture. I don't really know how I feel about that, but I think Govier has likely done a fantastic job. Her mass of research is evident from her Afterword, which goes into detail on why she wrote the novel and the historical basis for her suppositions.

      I never really got swept away by this. Despite Oei's strength, I had trouble relating to her and her decisions. There are certainly good things here, but this was not a perfect choice for me.
    • 1/5
      This is less a review, even a short one, than an exercise to vanquish the guilt I have for not being able to finish this novel. I rarely, rarely give in and DNF a historical novel: my curiousity to see how things work out and my high threshold for frippery description usually overpowers my good sense. By all means, I wanted to love and should have loved this journey into 1800s Edo Japan, but this was most definitely not the novel I thought I was getting. Some readers will be enchanted by Govier's visually striking version of the isolationist country, but I wasn't diverted or engrossed by Oei and the Old Man's journey through the years of her life. I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen in those hard-fought 300 pages of reading but.... nothing of note did and I had to throw in the towel.My first major complaint about The Printmaker's Daughter and one that persisted for most of the pages I managed to conclude: the accent/speech patterns used for the courteans of the Corner Tamaya. A confusing overuse of the letter 'z' for pluralization or to show ownership was the first problem I caught on to ("She'z so, like, stiff. She'z like a lady!") but it was sadly also far from the last. Why do these 1800's whores speak like 1990's California valleygirls? Phrases and words like "pulleeez" "chi-yuld" and "it'z so noi-zy!" is not how women of the time expressed themselves so it's a jarring speech pattern for the author to have them use - and somewhat condescending as well. Why does the word "like" pop up every three words in the conversation of the courtesans? Given that young Oei spends quite a chunk of the beginning of the novel among the bordellos with her father, it's a reoccuring and distracting issue. Oei herself isn't too bad of a protagonist, though she's not fully fleshed out by the time I closed the cover for the final time. I actually really enjoyed reading about the complicated but loving relationship between Oei and her famous father; she clearly values his opinion and work more than her own life. Even the title of the novel reinforces how clearly Oei defines herself by the terms of her father. Govier seems to have largely based her Hokusai on the real man, easily enfolding actual facts about the main into the narrative easily and often. I liked the characters, but I didn't closely identif with any, root for any or hate any. They were just mostly there...doing nothing for 300 pages. The ultra-weird narrative shifts, from two hundred fifty pages of first-person perspective to a third-person view and back again to first is just clunky and weird. A more streamlined transition between views would help the whiplash of flipping back and forth so much. This was just not for me, though I can easily see others overlooking what I could not and enjoying this far more/ actually completing the entire 500-page length. I just don't want to muscle through a novel only to write a tepid review after - by no means is this even close to the worst I have read this year. I just lacked the desire to pursue another 200 pages of anachronistic accents and weird POV shifts with nothing happening in between to break up the monotony.
    • 3/5
      "The Printmaker's Daughter" is a book of considerable consternation. While the overall story of artists Hokusai and his daughter, Oei, is complex and absorbing, it falls short somehow in this translation to paper.As a subject of art history, theirs is a biographical tale that is fascinating. Finding out that an example of Oei's work is at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts especially captured my attention! ( I'm making tracks to see it when I go home to visit my children and grands.) It's also interesting to note via Ms Govier's biographical notes at the end of the book, that an American collector purchased many of the prints and had them put in a museum; then, by his will decreed that they could never be loaned: "the collection had been in storage for 100 years."In this book, what seems to have happened in Ms Govier's elaboration in novel form is that she took the bones of the historical knowledge of Hukosai and Oei, and tried to reconstruct a story around those details. Often that's a good place to start; however, what resulted was a "term paperish" book that left out the essence of the people and the art you'd hope to find in a novel. What do I mean by this? The characters are relayed to us as they are in their art history biographies, but there is no furtherance of that outline into a sense of fleshed out characters. There are no real feelings engendered, no emotion truly felt and shown by way of the characterizations. None of the characters moved me at all. I felt a strict distance from them throughout this novel, despite the fact that there were several opportunities that could have been employed to enlist sympathy, empathy, and all sorts of identification in pain and love. There is a definite void of emotion in these very flat characters. It was as if I was getting a view of complete strangers and it stayed that way until the end with no insight into their real thoughts and feelings. Even the lovely and abused courtesan that Hokusai loved was left a blank slate of her true thoughts and agonies. And, what's more, I missed finer details of the landscape, temple convent and buildings! Extremely frustrating.Now, how can this be true in contrast? I liked the story as it played out, and I believe that those who love novels of this oriental flavor will enjoy it for that reason. I enjoyed the fantasy of how Oei may have looked and acted with the courtesans and her father, and how she may have become the great artist many think she actually was. But I had to skim (which is antithetical to my reading spirit!) through long parts to get to that liking. I had to give up a lot of what I wanted and expected.The book was too long and left too much out. That's a strange one... In terms of the descriptions of making art; painting on silk and printmaking in particular, we are completely left in the dark. I wanted to know the process, the artist's angst, the finding and connection with colors, the choices of engravers and printers and something about them, the type of paper used, etc. I wanted to know their reactions when the engraving didn't work out! There was so little about the artists' spirits and the compulsion to make art; what first inspired him and her. So much substance could have been included, but wasn't.I was disappointed with a novel that had such promise in facts available. This is a story that could have had such an impact today not only with regard to women in general, but also with regard to the recognition of women artists; and women artists in Japan, in particular. So much of the "red light district" of Koshiwara could have been described in exciting, lush detail; but wasn't. I was frustrated with that and with what was lost in the opportunity to capture my imagination with stories and better descriptions of the courtesans. They were shadow images...stick figures.This book, then, is a mixed bag. I couldn't stop reading it because I wanted to know about the artists and of their lives and culture. And, yet, I felt disappointed that more wasn't made of Govier's author's license, her descriptive abilities and characterizations. On one hand I felt as if I were reading a bad art history thesis; and on the other, a novel that left me wanting more.I do thank Ms Govier for adding the biographical section at the end of her book. Her notes on Hokusai being called the "Dickens of Japan," and that so many artists were inspired by his work; such as, Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Toulousse-Lautrec, and Mary Cassat were of great interest and complemented her book. For musicians, I think it was good of her to note that Debussy was inspired to write "La Mer" by one of Hokusai's prints.I also loved finding out that Oei's disappearance and death...place and time are an unsolved mystery. I thought Ms Govier's handling of that portion of her novel was excellent!So, in conclusion, I leave the ultimate decision about this book to those of you, as I've said, who love novels of eastern cultures. Japan is a wonderful place to read about, with a culture that invites love and curiosity. You will find your itch for that scratched with "The Printmaker's Daughter." As for the rest, it's for you to decide whether it matters or not to you!
    • 4/5
      Nineteenth century Japan is an era most equate with the end of an era. Japan saw the end of the shogun and samurai as it became open to the West. Although it was the end of many cultural practices and traditions, many beautiful artisans were introduced to the West. One such artist was Hokusai. The Printmaker's Daughter by Katherine Gouvier is a fictional account of the lives of Hokusai and his daughter Ei.Ei Katsushika was the third daughter of Hokusai Katsushika. Ei appears to the much-loved daughter of Hokusai at the beginning of this story. Her father takes her with him around town and affords her freedom that her other sisters never knew. She befriends other artists, poets and even prostitutes in the town of Edo. As she ages, she becomes an indispensable assistant to her father, helping mix paint colors, even working on some of his pictures. In many respects Ei is a free woman in an era when women were never afforded much freedom. She marries, divorces, takes lovers, and assists her father in his work while never learning any of the so-called womanly arts of cooking, making tea, sewing, or even cleaning. Ms. Gouvier paints a picture of Ei that is often tragic yet filled with wonder. Although Ei has freedom that many Japanese women never experienced during this time period, she remains tied to her father. She puts up with his verbal abuse and has her art demeaned and belittled. As her father ages and becomes either incapable or unwilling to paint, Ei takes over and continues his school and even paints many pictures that are ultimately attributed to Hokusai (some intentionally). Although Hokusai is the best-known print maker of his time, he and Ei lived in virtual poverty much of their lives. Ei's life seemed to come to an abrupt stop when Hokusai finally died. It isn't until she reunites with a former prostitute turned nun - Shino, that she learns to placate society and her family while continuing to do what she wants until her death.The Printmaker's Daughter is at times hauntingly beautiful in bringing the lives of Ei, Shino and Hokusai to life. There were also times the story seemed sluggish, as a result I found myself having to put the book down because my attention kept wavering as I tried to read. It wasn't until the latter portion of Ei's life is portrayed after Hokusai's death that the story truly became interesting for me. Don't get me wrong, The Printmaker's Daughter is a beautiful fictional account of Ei and Hokusai. This is a well-written and well-researched book with well-developed characters and settings. Sadly I found the research discussion at the end of the book more captivating than most of the fictional story.
    • 5/5
      Going into reading this book I knew absolutely nothing about Katsushika Hokusai. To be honest, I didn't even know this was actually based on a true story. It's loosely based, but really only because there is not a lot of information out there about Hokusai's life, just his work. The author had to take certain liberties with the character's personalities, but for the most part, these were real people that once lived in a very difficult time. Katherine spent five years researching and writing this novel. Five years of interviewing, traveling to Japan, researching, visiting museums and colleges, talking to experts, scholars and anyone else that could possibly help write the story of this man and his mystery daughter, Oi. I knew nothing about any of this until I started reading. But then I fell in love with the story and wanted to know more (a lot more!), so I did some research of my own. I studied Hokusai and his work, I read up on him and the time that he lived, I learned as much as I could about the courtesans of the Yoshiwara and painting woodblock prints. All this was, and still is, new to me. But I was mesmerized. Enchanted, really. I could talk about this forever. And really, if you have ANY questions to ask me about this book, feel free, because I loved it. Adored it. I don't want to compare it to Memoirs of a Geisha, because the books cover two completely different topics, but it's hard not to for me, because Memoirs is at this point probably my favorite book. Ever. But I think The Printmaker's Daughter may surpass that for me. If not surpass, it is equal. I think this story was a bit more real in its authenticity. The voice of Oi felt extremely real to me. It was almost as if a Japanese girl was really telling the story. It felt extremely authentic. And Oi had personality. I didn't really feel that way about Memoirs. While I really loved the story, it was because of the characters that I was enchanted. But the protagonist, Sayuri, didn't have much of a personality. Not so with this book. And the settings felt so incredibly real. This was a book to get lost in. A book to take your time with. I just wanted to savor every word and let the story unfold slowly. And I did. It was magical. Parts of it were depressing, sure, because living in that time for women was not easy. It felt very oppressive for Oi. And also the courtesans. And it was. But through it all, Oi remained strong and steadfast. As impossible and selfish as her father was, she remained loyal and devoted to him until the day he died. Which by the way, was a very long time to live. He lived to the ripe old ancient age of 89. In 1849 when he died, living that long was extremely rare. Oi lived under his thumb, and fame, for his entire life. How oppressive. Finally, she is starting to gain recognition. People are actually trying to find out the truth. Which paintings of her father's was she actually responsible for? From what I have seen, she is a little more talented than he is. Her usage of colors is just outstanding. And in my opinion, you can clearly tell her work from his. In closing, this was a brilliant cultural read. I could write for endless hours about how epic I found this book to be. And I learned so much while reading. It was basically my ultimate reading experience. I love reading cultural fiction. Specifically about Asia, but as long as I am learning, I could care less. I will be following Katherine Govier's career. I think she is an amazing writer and this book deserves to be read by the masses. I am SO, so glad I read it. And of course I will be buying a copy for keeps.