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The Storyteller and His Three Daughters

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TOKYO 1884: Sei has devoted his life to storytelling, captivating audiences with his tales. But now he is starting to wonder if the new world has left him behind. Just when he thinks he will never write again, his own life and the lives of the people around him begin to spiral out of control - providing the inspiration for the greatest story he has ever told. A story of love, jealousy, intrigue, and betrayal. Set against the background of Japan's first incursions into Korea, Sei offers a wise and witty reflection on the nature of storytelling, its perils and delights, its lies and, ultimately, its truth.

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2013

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About the author

Lian Hearn

56 books1,828 followers
Lian Hearn's beloved Tales of the Otori series, set in an imagined feudal Japan, has sold more than four million copies worldwide and has been translated into nearly forty languages. It is comprised of five volumes: ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR, GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW, BRILLIANCE OF THE MOON, THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON and HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE. The series was followed by two standalone novels, BLOSSOMS AND SHADOWS and THE STORYTELLER AND HIS THREE DAUGHTERS, also set in Japan.

Hearn's forthcoming series: The Tale of Shikanoko will be published by FSG in 4 volumes in 2016. Book 1 will be EMPEROR OF EIGHT ISLANDS out in late-April 2016, followed by book 2: AUTUMN PRINCESS, DRAGON CHILD (June), book 3: LORD OF THE DARKWOOD (August), and the final book (#4) THE TENGU'S GAME OF GO (late-Sept. 2016).

Lian has made many trips to Japan and has studied Japanese. She read Modern Languages at Oxford and worked as an editor and film critic in England before immigrating to Australia.

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5 stars
57 (16%)
4 stars
140 (40%)
3 stars
122 (34%)
2 stars
24 (6%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
Profile Image for Sportyrod.
667 reviews76 followers
May 26, 2020
This book has just made my top ten books ever. It is so quintessentially Japanese. So nostalgic, powerful, romantic and rich. I wish that I could have drawn this out for a lot longer to savour every sentence but I was greedy, impatient and insatiable. I am left feeling perfectly content however I am also sad as it is all over and I have consumed it so quickly.

The Storyteller has such a wonderful personality. He is a typical artist: full of talent and doubt. He gains inspiration from unusual experiences and his performances in the Japanese style are simply awe inspiring. It is set in the 1880s when foreign influence is emerging. It is the ending of the way of the samurai. I love the expression of his turmoils. I won’t give any away but there is one where he doesn’t want to degrade his honour but then again he is in so much debt he doesn’t rule the dreadful opportunity out. He is a flawed hero of sorts and you still love him for it.

The choice of characters was superb. So many strong characters with their faults and endearing qualities. You are almost pining for them all.

The storyline was interesting. There were characters you cared about and they all seemed to make realistic decisions. There was alot of hopeful tragedy involved. Like you sacrifice yourself by marrying someone you don’t love to save the one you love.

The description of the land was so beautiful. I didn’t note the exact words but there was a mention of the moonlight reflecting in the pond of a stone statue. And the autumn fog leading to a mysterious location.

If I had to force a critical comment, I would say that a character key would have been helpful as there are a lot of characters with foreign names that can easily be muddled up.

Lian Hearn was my second favourite author and now I am questioning whether she has become my first. I have recommended other books of hers to friends and they have been a hit or miss. I love this book so much that I would rather buy a second copy to give to a friend rather than risking not having one in my constant possession.
Profile Image for Kate Forsyth.
Author 86 books2,566 followers
December 2, 2013
Lian Hearn is the author of the gorgeous bestselling ‘Tales of the Otori’ fantasy series for adults, set in an alternative feudal Japan, as well as a number of children’s books published under her true name, Gillian Rubenstein. The first book in the Otori series, ‘Across the Nightingale Floor’ is one of my favourite novels, the medieval Japanese setting being utterly fresh and fascinating.

‘The Storyteller and His Three Daughters’ is a departure from her other Lian Hearn books in many ways. The setting is Japan in the 1800s, and from many references to true historical events and people, it is clear that this is not an alternative world fantasy but rather a historical novel. The main character is a middle-aged storyteller named Sei who is struggling to keep alive traditional tales and storytelling techniques in a culture that is being increasingly dominated by Western values and customs. He finds himself out of joint with the times, and unable to write anymore. However, he cannot stop observing and speculating on the lives of the people around him and finds himself creating a tale of love, jealousy, murder, treason and betrayal that seems as if it might be all too true.
Drawing upon Japanese storytelling techniques, ‘The Storyteller and His Three Daughters’ is an ambitious and unusual meditation on the nature and meaning of art.
7 reviews
September 30, 2013
Overall, I liked this book. I always like Hearn's writing style but this book deviated from her usual voice. I read this book in one sitting, it was engaging and sparked my imagination.
I loved the narrator's perspective, it was really interesting to see everything through the eyes of a storyteller. The plot was a bit jumpy but could be overlooked because of the creative characterisation.
Profile Image for Karly.
180 reviews4 followers
October 5, 2013
Set in Japan in late 1800, this novel follows the life of Sei and his struggles to compete artistically against the increasingly pervasive Western influences on the traditional stories that Sei knows and loves to perform. Presented as a story within a story, the unique voice of the novel combines history with entertainment, and comments on the nature of storytelling, creativity and life.
This is the first novel I have read by Lian Hearn and I must say, I really enjoyed it. It was so different to the things I usually read and as the story unfolded, I grew more and more engaged. It was so fascinating to read about a culture that I am interested in yet know nothing about, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.
Profile Image for Thoraiya.
Author 66 books118 followers
October 26, 2013
I loved this book. Your ability to enjoy may depend on your tolerance for writers writing about writing!
Profile Image for Kim.
5 reviews
January 21, 2014
Okay, easy to read but got lost with all the names. Not a book I was dying to get back to, but nice stories. ?!?
22 reviews
May 21, 2021
and irishman writing a story about a japanese story teller. cultural appropriation?
Profile Image for Tocotin.
782 reviews116 followers
September 2, 2018

This is quite possibly the best Western historical novel set in Japan I’ve ever read – and I collect them, so I’ve read a few. The only one that comes close is probably Kimono by John Paris, but then it’s very of its time and horribly racist as well. The Storyteller… is an extremely well researched, original, warm and interesting book.

I read it twice, and I liked it much better upon rereading – it certainly grows on you. Meiji period – I have a love affair with Meiji period right now – is generally neglected, because you know, almost no samurai and almost all wars were abroad (even Japanese readers think that “nothing happened in Meiji” and that it is “too plain to set novels in Meiji”), and when Western authors write about it, they tend to make it all about the clash of civilizations. There is some of it in The Storyteller…, but not much, and it’s all very subtle.

The main character, Sei, is a storyteller who is full of insecurities: financial, artistic, and social ones. He has to provide for his family, but he can’t think of a new theme to base his stories on, and when he finally finds it, he learns that there are some terrifying powers who might not be happy with his choice – because he wrote a story about the Japanese 16th century occupation of Korea. His daughters are not happy with their lives either, and they move back to Sei’s house one by one – I particularly loved their stories, and the complexities and changes brought by the new era. There is a lot of gentle humor in all the plots concerning Sei’s family; everyone has their agenda, even the dog isn’t forgotten.

The streets of Tokyo are teeming with life, people are reading books and newspapers, watching plays, listening to stories, eating all kinds of food, and there is a huge and colorful supporting cast. I did find it a bit over-the-top to include all the characters’s names in full, but that’s a minor quibble. Similarly, there was a bit too much explanation in some cases – the Korea question, Japanese attitudes towards male homosexuality, politics – but it was mostly skillfully done.

The unusual dialogue format takes some time to get used to, but it’s very fitting, and I found it refreshing when I reread the book.

Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Zarah Gagatiga.
76 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2017
Not as exciting nor compelling as Tales of the Otori, but an interesting read nonetheless. Japan in the 1800s is on the verge of change. It affects everyone and everything in varying degrees and these are all narrated through the eyes of the storyteller. He observes and explores the lives of the people around him through Japanese culture and art.
Profile Image for Helen.
36 reviews
July 26, 2019
I always enjoy Lian Hearn and her easy way of writing, Japanese history fiction is also a favourite so it was a win win for me. The ending was left up to interperation as it was all told as how it would happen, rather then being told as it happened like the rest of the story, however that was also part of its charm.
Profile Image for Maximus.
74 reviews1 follower
January 9, 2025
First and foremost, I think the narrative in this book is a bit lacking. It toddles along building characters and relationships and intertwining stories, but the climaxes of these set ups are always fairly plain. It wasn’t an unenjoyable read, but I cant really say I took anything significant away from it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sam Tan.
Author 2 books1 follower
January 28, 2018
Another book that I read several times. Lian Hearn is an expert in creating different atmospheres with her words. He in-depth study of Japanese culture and the restrained atmosphere is present throughout this novel.
1 review
September 5, 2021
As a Japanese, I can safely say I could not get past page 2.
This book is way too culturally inaccurate. Set in 1800s, I've never heard of women talking back to their husbands in Japan.
Too inaccurate for me to finish it.
Profile Image for Sharon Stine.
Author 6 books16 followers
February 2, 2018
A beautiful book about people I knew very little about...storytellers in Japan.
The historic perspective of Korea at this time was fascinating to me. Most of all I
loved the characters.
Profile Image for WildWoila.
376 reviews
September 6, 2021
Aging man in Meiji Japan spins tall tales about his neighbours, only to stumble upon a cabal of ex-samurai plotting to regain power & glory. Gently told, a pleasant read.
2 reviews
May 11, 2025
Couldn’t finish it. Just didn’t interest me. I gave it a good go and got to page 150 (over halfway) but then just gave up. I usually like Lian Hearn, so this was surprising.
Profile Image for Tess.
37 reviews3 followers
November 23, 2025
Delightful, though I'm not sure how plausible all of the aspects of family life/some of the events are. All the same, I really enjoyed living in this world for a few days.
Profile Image for Kate Barker.
19 reviews
Read
June 30, 2017
"Governments don't give away rights and freedoms. They have to be won with blood. "
This book is set during a time of huge political change in Japan and the lives of an interesting array of character weave through these events in an accessible, poetic fashion.
Profile Image for Eleni.
61 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2015
This is one of those stories you could devour in a day, however I wanted to savour this story so read it over a few. The story follows Sei, a down on his luck, uninspired story teller master, who recounts his familial disputes and documents his life during a period of unrest in a rapidly Westernising Japan.

The writing in this felt very natural to me, and I was easily able to settle in to the role of Sei, and be able to view his family and live his life very easily. The title of this book threw me off when I first began reading. Yes, the story has a side story about Sei and his three grown daughters, who come home when they are dealing with their marital problems, however, there is so much more to this story than the family matters.

The only let down that this story gave me was that it seemed to skip time periods quite frequently. There were changes between seasons, then there were periods of years. I would definitely have preferred to have seen more of the story in between these time periods, because the story does deal with some pretty deep issues such as betrayal to ones' homeland, impending war, civilian unrest, corruption. However, I understand that the story was written in the mind of Sei, who is not a politcian, or a warrior. As he himself mentions many times throughout the story; he is merely an old man (he really isn't all that old, he's just middle aged!) who searches for the story in the everyday mundane. He'd rather make his own stories than recount the issues of the day, at least that's how I interpreted the character of Sei. So for what it's worth, whilst I would've loved more expansion in to the story, perhaps in the scope of the voice it's written in, it all makes sense. I was never left hanging on, all relevant points were covered. However towards the end, the scene with Takayuki with the emperor in the concert hall, that is definitely something I wished was talked about more. I just loved the story telling of the author, who made Sei's world so real to me, that I wanted to spend more time in it.

This is my first time with this author, however I enjoyed this story so much that I am very keen to give her books in the Otori series a try. This is an easy read (maybe that's because it was 275 pages?), you could devour this in a day if you had the time.

Definitely would recommend to those who love to read fictional stories based on turn of the 20th century time periods.

Profile Image for S.B. Wright.
Author 1 book52 followers
October 31, 2015
Lian Hearn has been recommended to me on a number of occasions by a number or people who know my tastes and hobbies. I can’t for the life of me figure out why I haven’t taken them up on the recommendation. Perhaps it’s my reaction to hyped up books and authors (I still haven’t read Harry Potter).

Sometimes other people do know you best.

Hearn is most well known for her immensely successful Tales of the Otori series, a fantasy series inspired by pre-modern Japan. The Storyteller and his Three Daughters, however is a historical fiction set in late 1880’s Tokyo.

This book is deceptive in the best possible way. Unassuming, quiet, steadily paced it ingratiates itself with the reader and before you know it we have gone from a tale about an aging and unhappy storyteller, to a tale of brutality and political intrigue.

There’s a skilled hand at work here, a lightness of touch in the telling of the tale. It also paints an evocative and realistic (as far as I can tell) picture of Japan in the throws of cultural crises, the fall of the Shogunate and the effect of the European colonial powers plying their culture and interests.

Not afraid to experiment, Hearn presents the dialogue in the book as it would be rendered in early novels of the Meiji era i.e. like a play script. This may pose some issues it you are particularly attached to conventional dialogue presentation, but I didn’t notice it after awhile and I think it adds a certain verisimilitude.

I loved it for the focus on storytelling on the ancient arts of Japan and for the tales within tales, drama intrigue and subtle horror - I think an expanded version of The Tale of the Nose would sit very well in a horror anthology.

A lovely book to read, a fine example of craft. I will be reading more.
Profile Image for Kassandra Jackson.
34 reviews9 followers
January 21, 2015
Let me start off by saying I love this book and you should pick it up, It is a beautiful piece of historic fiction set in Tokyo in 1884.

The story follows Sei a story teller who would be in his late 40's I think or early 50, I'm going with 40's, He has been a successful story teller however in resent years he has been unable to make new story's and it loosing his statues. We follow Sei as he goes through trouble with 2 of his daughters, having it live will owing people money and trying to create a new story, In fact Sei finds him self in the middle of his own story, he watches the people around him and put's there lives together to create the best story possible.

This Book does a create job at of portraying the political tension as well as how the western culture was changing Japan at the time. The story was written in away that felt both like you were with Sei as he crafted this story and like you are reading his journal, the meld of story and real life was perfect. I found all the characters to be refreshing and all bearing their own voice. Over all I really loved this booked and it has been added to my re read list.
Profile Image for Bron.
526 reviews7 followers
March 24, 2016
I loved this book. At the beginning, it reminded me of those old black and white Japanese films about domestic life where not much happens, but people's relationships and thoughts and feelings are examined like works of art in themselves. Further in, something rather shocking does happen, action peaks then the extraordinary details of everyday life take over again. I grew to rather like the main character, Sei the professional storyteller who faithfully journals the facts - but privately uses everything he sees as material for his fantasy stories. Japan in the late 19th century is a world I know very little about. The author shows you how traditional life is changing and being influenced by contact with Europeans, but there is still enough of old Japan - not least the art of storytelling - to be completely enchanting.
Profile Image for steph.
316 reviews7 followers
November 15, 2014
This is the first Lian Hearn book that I've read and I really struggled to decide whether to give it a 4 or a 5. There was something I really enjoyed about reading this book though that made me not want to stop until it was over which I felt made it deserving of a 5.

None of the characters are overly likeable but I felt like the whole story was told so frankly and unashamedly that I couldn't get enough. I also really liked the way the dialogue was laid out and it all came across as very authentic.

The book was good at creating suspense and immersed me in another culture in an unapologetic way which was refreshing and exciting.

I really want to read the Tales of the Otori of the back of this.
Profile Image for Kylie Keegan.
11 reviews2 followers
April 12, 2015
WLA Summary:
Tokyo 1884. Sei has devoted his life to storytelling, captivating audiences with his tales. But now he is starting to wonder if the new world has left him behind. Just when he thinks he will never write again, his own life and the lives of the people around him begin to spiral out of control providing the inspiration for the greatest story he has ever told. A story of love, jealousy, intrigue, and betrayal. Set against the background of Japan's first incursions into Korea, Sei offers a wise and witty reflection on the nature of storytelling, its perils and delights, its lies and, ultimately, its truth.
Profile Image for Trish.
48 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2014
bit slow a bit confusing with all the names started to warm up when there was talk about the conflict between Japan and Korea and that part of the story would have made a much better story development. There are some cultural things that the story does talk about that renders further investigation and could do some research on the relationship between Japan and Korea in the late 1800 particularly in relation to Japan's involvement leading up to the second world war. The writing style and expression was a bit slow and simple for my taste
762 reviews
December 29, 2014
I really enjoyed this tale of storytelling and writing - it gives an insight into the process and difficulties of story creating, developing and performing in different forms, and highlights the power of stories in a political sense.

The cross-cultural elements of Japan and UK/France, and Japan and Korea were interesting.

Sometimes I forgot what era the book was set in, as the family scenes had a universal timeliness, but occasionally there was a stray word that didn't fit the era or the character of the storyteller.
Profile Image for Dasiy.
14 reviews
November 25, 2015
Having read the Otori trilogy, I bought this book with great expectations. Like Pip in the novel 'Great Expectations', I was disappointed.

Like JK Rowling readers after the end of the Harry Potter series I had to put aside my expectations and accept the story on its own terms. It is neither wonderful or bad. It provided me with a week or so of distraction when I needed to free myself from life's cares.

This tale is significantly better than Hearn's awful tale 'Blossoms and Shadows' which I picked up after this novel.



Profile Image for Aless.
179 reviews
December 30, 2016
It's been a long time since I read anything by Lian Hearn (one of my longtime favourite authors). This story was about a storyteller, the process of creating and writing mixed with day to day life, which is unlike anything I've read before.
Because my tastes have refined over the last few years I find myself wondering sometimes whether my favourite books from long ago were really that good. But Lian hasn't disappointed. Her research on Japanese history and everything else is ridiculously well done, and her characters are so real. It's just so easy to get swept away when reading her books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews

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