A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery
A Single Rose opens with a Chinese legend about a prince and a flower field. Each chapter opens with an East Asian story about flora, poetry, and beauty. The major plot is around the titular Rose, a French woman living in Kyoto. Rose is forty years old, and she is in Kyoto to attend the reading of her father's will. He was a rich art dealer who lived among Kyoto's quirky artists and potters, a guy she had never met. His aide, a Belgian called Paul, shows Rose about Kyoto.
A Single Rose is a love letter to Kyoto, as well as to Japanese art, poetry, history, and aesthetics. It takes its time to paint a rich picture of the city, its natural features, and the beautiful hills beyond. Rose feels enraged, conflicted, and perplexed. Her father is said to have seen her from a distance but never approached her. Paul says that Rose's father loved her, but how can she trust him, and what does it matter? A Single Rose is a short tale about beauty, both within and outside. Muriel Barbery's depiction of the world and individuals in this - one of the finest French books — is tender and concerned.
Link to read: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57251520
