Long Nights Alone: Love and Sorrow in Ancient Japan

Set in 10th Century Japan, this tale of a young woman's desires versus society's traditions reminds us that human nature doesn't change. The interplay of her diaries and poems adds an extra dimension to this absorbing novel.

This novel is a gripping tale of love and disappointment set in ancient Japan. It is all the more attractive because it weaves history and fiction making the story both lucid and educative. Many westerners are not acquainted with the private lives of elite bureaucrats in ancient Japan. I sympathized with Lady Bell Flower who competes for her husband's love with other brides while she is devoted to him. One wonders if similar stories still prevail in modern Japan and there could be a sequel to this book.Meheroo Jussawalla

This stunning 10th century Japanese novel contains all the human foibles and passions that have prevailed throughout the history of man kind..Multiple wives, duty, obligation, propriety, endurance, power, jealousy, love and revenge..it's all there in a compelling format wrapped in Japanese culture and history..this would make a fabulous film.

The moment that I started reading this book, I found that could not put it down. What I thought would become a chore to read and I would get to when I was travelling to fill the gap of boredom on a plane, turned out to be just the opposite. I became so engrossed in the lives of Tomanaga, Bellflower, Lady Wisteria, and Morning Glory that I literally couldn't stop reading it until I finished it. Because I was on vacation, it took me two days to finish it; otherwise, I would have read it in one day. This is truly a great historical novel and I learned so much from the research (and I'm sure background) of Miki Fujita. Her expertise in the history of Japan during the 10th century helped me to understand what life, marriage, and relationships were like during that time. What a beautiful way to share history. Joanne M. Halloran

Have you ever started a novel that grips you immediately and carries you so that you can't put it down, and then at the end leaves you longing to spend more time with the characters. Miki Fujita's first English novel Long Nights Alone does just that. Written in a poetic and easy reading style, this book puts you next to powerful characters in 10th Century Japan, and lets you touch their world. It's the kind of historical novel that not only teaches you about another time, it takes you there. A must read book.