My Name is Sei Shōnagon

My Name is Sei Shōnagon © 2003 Jan Blensdorf The Overlook Press ISBN: 1-58567-443-5 The book is complex; my reactions are complex. In this 21st century, there are old truths that still exist and hurt. This book deals with one of them. This book portrays the subjugation of women, but deals with much more than that. In the beginning, Jan Blensdorf introduces the reader to a woman behind a screen; then the woman is in a hospital, maybe in a coma, first-person voice seeing, sensing feeling...Then begins the back story which starts with the person's youth, leaving the reader to wonder how that opening scene came to be. Within 152 small pages (the book size is 6.5 x 4) Blensdorf weaves the reader through the past, sprinkles in folklore, art and legend, builds the character behind the life that was seen waning at the beginning. We also learn about calligraphy, incense, and see the depths, beauties and emotional intensity of Japan today. Sei Shōnagon is a historical person from 11th Century Japan, noted for her femininity, her way to make men (especially men) feel at ease, her deep knowledge of Japanese history. The 21st century protagonist has taken this name as she sits behind a screen in a room above her incense shop, listening to the struggles and dreams of men who visit her, who ask her to tell the old stories she learned from her mother. The history comes forth with a grace and simplicity that belies the intricate way in which the book is laid out. We feel the protagonists emotional pain, her moments of triumph and confusion--fear. In the end, with gratitude, we sense her hope. This well written book accomplishes a lot in a spare, yet rich composition. This is Blensdorf's first novel.