The Nightingale is a novel by Kara Dalkey. It is part of a series of novels inspired by fairy tales, edited by Terri Windling. They were published long ago enough to be out of print, but this one is still available in Kindle ebook; if you only have Apple Books you are out of luck.
Kara Dalkey has, however, written quite a few other books, including some in Apple Books, if you are interested.
If you read the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, you probably remember the story on which this is based. In case you haven’t, here is the story outline.
A Chinese Emperor is befriended by a nightingale which sings beautifully. He is happy with the bird, until he is given a mechanical nightingale. The fake nightingale also sings beautifully but, like other devices, eventually breaks down. Death - as the Grim Reaper - comes for the Emperor and only the original nightingale can save him.
The novel is set in feudal Japan, in a vague time period. In fact, it tells us at the very beginning that it “took place in ancient times” and asks the reader not to ask when. It is “before shogun and samurai ruled the land.” The author knows a lot about Japanese history and culture, so that is what she writes, though this was only her second novel.
The nightingale of the title is a young woman, Uguisu, not a bird. She plays the flute brilliantly. Instead of an artificial nightingale she is replaced by a courtesan who also plays the flute.
It starts with her asking a family ghost to help her decide the best way to commit suicide because she is not allowed to marry the young man she loves due to her father’s plan for their minor noble family to rise in power with a marriage he wants.
The ghost has better plans for her and tells her not to be silly. She gives Uguisu a beautiful flute and tells her to practise it by the river. By doing this she will attract the attention of the highest in the land. As she does.
I loved it when I first read it years ago, and still do.
I have recently bought it in Kindle ebook.
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