I was a bit annoyed to read in the 'about the author' section at the end how this English version of this novel was adjusted for Western readers- most Western readers who would read a 600 pg historical novel on Japan would probably appreciate the chapters and subplots and details that were cut, and it is rather patronizing to assume otherwise. That said, the novel is well written and readable, and while there are a lot of very similar names and complicated character relationships to keep track of, and characters change names regularly, this book was no harder to follow than Tolkien's Silmarillion or Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Without knowing what was left out, I can't know for sure whether the story would be richer, but there did not seem to be gaping holes where chapters were cut, and the story was fairly seamless. It ends rather abruptly, but does convey the sense that we already know what will happen, since the names change but the wars look pretty much the same from one generation to the next. I did wish there were more maps, since so much of the story relies on geography and the layouts of towns and cities. ( )

Cette chronique est celle de la région de Kyôto, au XIIe siècle. Son héros, Kiyomori de Heiké, est un jeune garçon pauvre que nous allons suivre jusqu'à son accession aux plus hautes fonctions. Entre l'enfance en guenilles et l'ivresse du pouvoir, il y a des années de combats sanglants, contre les moines armés qui terrorisent la province, mais aussi contre le clan des Genji, grands rivaux des Heiké. Au gré des saisons, au fil des années, revit une société où raffinement et violence se côtoient pour former un étonnant contraste. On tue son frère si l'honneur l'exige, puis on se retire dans la montagne pour écrire des poèmes et dessiner des fleurs... Fascinés, nous avançons pas à pas dans ce monde inconnu et nous prenons à rêver: qui serions-nous aujourd'hui, si nos ancêtres étaient nés du côté du soleil levant ? ( )