The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, Meredith McKinney (Translator), Sugai Minoru (Illustrator)

The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, Meredith McKinney (Translator), Sugai Minoru (Illustrator)The classic portrayal of court life in tenth century JapanWritten by the court gentlewoman Sei Shonagon, ostensibly for her own amusement, The Pillow Book offers a fascinating exploration of life among the nobility at the height of the Heian period, describing the exquisite pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion, and whim dominated, while harsh reality was kept firmly at a distance. Moving elegantly across a wide range of themes

It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub

including 'This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison' and 'Frost at Midnight'

and that too without depending on the grace of Lady Luck

Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Amir

witnessing a massacre in the town square

Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga recognizes Hidaka's best friend

and along the way

Rosie Graham has a problem

koi pareshaani nahi

And once again

as Farzana and Chandan relate how mimicking the rituals of menstruation helps them feel more feminine as transwomen

What does it mean that evolution built minds not once but at least twice