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MWSA Review
The Defiance of Reiko Murata is a fascinating book about a strong-willed and intelligent woman trapped in the male-dominated society in post-World War II Japan. Reiko Murata is the widow of a respected Vice Admiral war hero who commits seppuku, taking his life following the downfall of the Japanese empire. He leaves her a cryptic suicide note including a haiku that she comes back to throughout the story. She can’t decipher its meaning and whether he was encouraging her to take her life or not.
Reiko’s independent spirit drives her in unusual directions including eventual association with the infamous yakuza. Although her husband left her with comfort and wealth, she is bored with her life as a high-society widow. She yearns for more and follows her mother’s words to follow her heart and believe in herself. Reiko makes decisions and takes risks to live a life with meaning. The story puts Reiko in deep, dark, and dangerous situations, but she remains composed and defiant on the outside while struggling on the inside emotionally and intellectually.
Allen Wittenborn created a masterful plot that keeps the pages turning. The twists and turns keep the reader on edge with never a dull moment. He describes Japanese culture and traditions interestingly and intersperses Japanese language and expressions to immerse the reader in Reiko’s world. An engaging writer, his word choices are excellent and dialogue strong and believable.
The author develops Reiko’s character in such a way that a reader can’t help but feel empathy for her, particularly as her life becomes further and further complicated. He allows readers to see inside her thoughts and follow her difficult role of trying to find her way in a world that does not think the same way she does about a woman’s potential contributions to society. Wittenborn also creates memorable characters including the enigmatic Akira, the powerful Kazuo, and the mysterious princess Kyoko.
I highly recommended this book for its intriguing plot, well-defined characters, and descriptive Japanese settings in a fresh story told from an independent Japanese woman’s perspective.
Review by Valerie Ormond (February 2022)
Author's Synopsis
Reiko Murata is shocked and dismayed when she receives a haiku poem from her late husband, an admiral in the Japanese Imperial Navy, suggesting she follow his example in committing seppuku, ritual suicide, an appeal she strongly resists. It’s 1947, and Reiko lives a solitary and uneventful life. As she grieves his death, and struggles to deal with her loneliness, she feels torn between her desire for autonomy and the rigid customs that define Japanese society. In her search, she encounters a younger man, Akira Kusano. They begin an affair, but she is wary of a deeper relationship, especially when she discovers he is connected to the yakuza. She’s drawn into the crime syndicate’s orbit when Akira introduces her to Kazuo Fujita, the yakuza godfather. Despite her misgivings and warnings from Akira, she begins working with Fujita, and finds herself at the center of a mystery involving secret maps to a hidden fortune called Golden Lily, an authentic historical episode.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 250