The Mask Carver's Son

1890. Yamamoto Kiyoki is a Japanese art student, dreaming of studying in Paris with the inspiring and vibrant Impressionist painters.

Yamamoto Ryusei is Kiyoki’s father. Ryusei’s art, carving intricate masks for traditional Japanese theater, has been his refuge from loneliness since the death of his beloved wife, and he is revered as the most inspired artist of his kind. He expects his only son to honor the traditions of his family and his country, not to be seduced by Western ideas of what is beautiful. Ryusei hopes Kiyoki will follow his own distinguished career, creating masks that will become the family’s crowning achievement.

But what is a father to do when his son’s path is not what he had planned? And how can a son honor his father, and yet fulfill his own destiny?

READERS GUIDE INSIDE“Ms. Richman is a very special talent.”— Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author

“Recalls Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha . . . [Richman’s] sense of Japanese culture is subtle and nuanced.”—San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

“A long, succulent glide through two cultures.”—Bookforum

“This reverent, formal, and ambitious first novel boasts a glossy surface and convincing period detail.”—Publishers Weekly

“Richman has successfully drawn upon her historical research and her own experience . . . filled with historical detail and strong characterization.”—Library Journal
 
“A meticulous profile of a man struggling against his native culture, his family, and his own sense of responsibility.”—The New York Times Book Review
 Alyson Richman is the author of The Mask Carver’s Son, The Rhythm of Memory, The Last Van Gogh, and The Lost Wife. She lives in Long Island with her husband and two children.