I just finished reading The Ginger Tree, a 1977 historical novel by Oswald Wynd. The entire book is written as letters and diary entries by the protagonist, a young Scottish woman named Mary Mackenzie who leaves home by ship to marry a British guy stationed in China. Mary ends up spending most of her life in Japan, though, as a result of an affair she has with a good-looking Japanese guy who lives on top of a mountain and writes her a sensual poem that sweeps her off her feet.
The takeoff was a little slow—I impatiently trekked through the winding descriptions of 20-year old Mary's quabblings, waiting to get to the adulterous affair part—but I immediately took to Mary's character. Even though she's from a good Scottish family and she has her values intact, her mind is rebellious and rational and you see her metamorphose from a good mama's girl into her own person. By the end of the journey, she admits that she's turned into someone entirely different, and by the time she hooks up with the Japanese guy, she's not even surprised herself at what she's done. The part that follows the affair is a lot more up-tempo, and once she's banished from the Western community in China, Wynd takes us to early 20th century Japan, which he portrays much more colorfully than he did China. (Wynd—who is Scottish—was born in Tokyo, and spend three years as a POW in Japan during WW2.)
I'm a big fan of historical novels. When done right, you get this awesome combination of exciting fiction and educational history. (My all-time favorite: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert, about a little Hawaiian girl who gets sent to a leprosy colony.)
The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd = 4/5 stars
(Check the TokyoMango Books tag for more recommendations.)
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