The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama St Martin's Griffin HK$120

It is tempting to judge The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by its cover: elegant, simple and with a distinct hint of the poetic. For once, this is not far from the truth. Set largely in Tokyo, the novel feels epic yet intimate at the same time. On the one hand, there is the weight of history: Tsukiyama's chosen period, 1939-66, is tumultuous even by Japan's standards. Against this is a human story so delicately drawn that one occasionally forgets the world outside. At its heart are two orphans - Hiroshi and Kenji - who could not be more different. While Hiroshi wants to be a sumo wrestler, the shy and enigmatic Kenji longs to make masks for noh theatre. Their dreams are put on hold by the 'Sacred War', which devastates first Tokyo then Japan as a whole. Hiroshi and Kenji survive to realise their ambitions, but at considerable cost to their lives. Hiroshi might avenge Japan's unimaginable defeat with each victory, but his wife has been all but destroyed by the bombing of Tokyo. Kenji is a respected artist but a disaster when it comes to love. A writer of admirable clarity and sensitivity, Tsukiyama has fashioned a moving tale of loss and salvation.