Blackberries in the Dream House

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, hypnotic reading
Review: Blackberries in the Dream House
Some books take a day or two to read, and then haunt you forever. Blackberries in the Dream House by Diane Frank is like that. I read it while traveling, thinking to pick up a light book. The poetry of each well crafted line compelled me to turn page after page, the erotic subtext kept me prisoner to the last page.
Chapter by chapter the lives of once-upon-a-time lovers in Japan, unfold like a silk kimono woven in dream time, iridescent, beautiful, fragrant. Frank populates her pages with dragonflies, thunder storms, dancers, sumi artists, broken wings of angels which turn into shards of glass and pierce lovely feet. I am so happy to have found this book.

Rating:
Summary: Blackberries in the Dream House
Review: Blackberries in the Dream House
Some books take a day or two to read, and then haunt you forever. Blackberries in the Dream House by Diane Frank is like that. I read it while traveling, thinking to pick up a light book. The poetry of each well crafted line compelled me to turn page after page, the erotic subtext kept me prisoner to the last page.
Chapter by chapter the lives of once-upon-a-time lovers in Japan, unfold like a silk kimono woven in dream time, iridescent, beautiful, fragrant. Frank populates her pages with dragonflies, thunder storms, dancers, sumi artists, broken wings of angels which turn into shards of glass and pierce lovely feet. I am so happy to have found this book.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, hypnotic reading
Review: I had the pleasure of hearing Diane Frank perform a reading of this book and found myself hypnotized by the story. Not only is the book enjoyable and entertaining, it unveils the incredible, exotic flavor of geisha society. Every detail is delicately described by the author, who is a poet as well. You really feel as though you are there.

Rating:
Summary: A Novel to Savor
Review: I savored each page of this novel, reading many sentences over and over again. The experience was delicious, transporting, expansive, and playful. Diane Frank's sentences are not merely a way to find out what happens next or even a display of her mastery of language (although they do both of these things in a compelling way), but the sentences themselves are like magic spells. Their poetic imagery worked on me like a snake charmer's music. They took me in new directions, regardless of my own nature or intentions. Yukiko, the geisha, is almost angelic in her subtlety, yet, at the same time, strikingly down-to-earth and honest. For me, she began as a stranger and, in the end, became an unexpected mentor, teasing me to live on the lyrical plane she inhabits. Diane Frank put her soul into this story and, in the process of writing it, honed each sentence into fine art.

Rating:
Summary: Being Here Now with Love
Review: Reading this is like reading the intimate details of a geisha's diary. Although in novel form, each sentence has the imagery of a poem, indeed a work of art, expressing the vibrancy, the exploring, and appreciation of Yukiko who makes a journey from the sensual to the metaphysical, merging the two.

The ending is just incredible - tender, sweet, expansive, mind-blowing, sublime, ancient, astounding, totally unexpected - even with warnings! (What a way to go!) I read the last two chapters 3 times to re-live the emotional impact.

Diane Frank is a master of imagery. This book is so beautiful. I look forward to reading her future works.

Rating:
Summary: Being Here Now with Love
Review: Reading this is like reading the intimate details of a geisha's diary. Although in novel form, each sentence has the imagery of a poem, indeed a work of art, expressing the vibrancy, the exploring, and appreciation of Yukiko who makes a journey from the sensual to the metaphysical, merging the two.

The ending is just incredible - tender, sweet, expansive, mind-blowing, sublime, ancient, astounding, totally unexpected - even with warnings! (What a way to go!) I read the last two chapters 3 times to re-live the emotional impact.

Diane Frank is a master of imagery. This book is so beautiful. I look forward to reading her future works.

Rating:
Summary: Prose poem
Review: This is a lyrical story of a young woman's growth to maturity and spiritual awakening. It's all poetry because the main character thinks in poetic images - all the time. The story is intense, soothing, and there are many unexpected twists and turns. Read it.