The Arrow Garden by Andrew J King
The Arrow Garden by Andrew J King
The Arrow Garden by Andrew J King was published on 19th January 2023 by Aderyn Press. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.
Synopsis
Winner of the Bath Novel Award
2020
Wartime Tokyo based time-slip fiction, for readers of Natasha
Pulley, David Mitchell, Kazuo Ishiguru, and Audrey Niffenegger.
When lonely and socially
isolated translator, Gareth, takes up traditional Japanese archery in 1990s
Bristol, he learns that to study Kyudo is to reach out, to another culture,
another time, other people… But when one of them reaches back, two lives that
should never have touched become strangely entangled.
In wartime Tokyo, Tanaka Mie finds herself wandering the burned-out ruins of
her dead parents’ fire-bombed home with only hazy recollections of how she
survived. Setting out on a hike to a mountain village shrine, away from the
charred city, she begins a life to which she is not sure she is entitled, a
life which feels like living on the other side of the sky.
To visit the past or the future, even in imagination, is to change it. But it
is also to be changed.
The Arrow Garden is a delicately-wrought tale of truth, selfhood, and
acceptance, which transcends time in its lyrical exploration of what it means
to live.
My Review
I really cannot believe that this is Andrew's first novel. It is so beautifully and expertly written that I would have expected him to have written many earlier novels.
This is an incredible story, linked through the study of Kyudo in which Gareth and Tanaka Mie are inextricably drawn together and to me, it felt as though the whole story was following the arrow head to it's point; suspended in mid-flight. This is also enhanced by the wonderfully descriptive writing that creates both their worlds in your imagination, drawing you deeper and deeper into their lives.
The way the stories merge is cleverly construed and I really like the fact that it changes effortlessly between the two time zones every couple of pages so that everything is kept in parallel . I found the storyline very thought provoking about whether different time zones exist simultaneously and can we, if we are in the right place at the right time , move between them and how can this be used for the good of all concerned. The following quote " He needs a reason to live; she doesn't want to die" summarises the whole story throughout and consequently the way that Gareth's and Mie's lives are changed, and how they survive, through the learning and practicing of Kyudo is both beautiful and heartwarming.
One aspect that is very unique to the book is the naming and description on the chapter headings, as they follow the movements and preparations for the release of the arrow and how the following narrative is linked to that particular movement. I am also now looking into the study of Kyudo, which I am finding incredibly fascinating and, as the pivot point for the book, it is pure genius. The use of Kyudo as a form of meditation helps us link to the healing power it provides for both Gareth and Mie and how their journeys are guided by it.
The lovely twist at the end of the story made this such a completely rewarding novel to read.
A beautiful, beautiful book that I will be keeping on my bookshelf and I really hope that there will be more to follow from Andrew J King very soon .
A thoroughly deserved 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read.
About the Author
Andrew lives in Bath, England. When not writing he is to be found riding strange bicycles or, very occasionally, practicing traditional Japanese archery.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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