Of Nightingales That Weep
Encyclopedia
Of Nightingales That Weep is a 1974 work of children's literature written by U.S. novelist Katherine Paterson
. Set in medieval Japan
, the novel tells the story of Takiko, the 11-year-old daughter of a slain samurai
warrior. Takiko’s mother remarries Goro, a gentle but unattractive potter/dwarf, whom Takiko fears. When she matures into adulthood, Takiko is able to find employment in the court of the Japanese emperor and falls in love with an enemy spy-Hideo. Eventually, she returns home and is able to reconcile her feelings towards Goro.
Twenty years after its publication, Of Nightingales That Weep received the Phoenix Award
, an annual honor presented by the Children's Literature Association
to books that, two decades earlier, did not receive any literary honors when they were first published.
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson is an American author of children's novels. She wrote Bridge to Terabithia and has received several of the major international awards for children's literature.- Early life:...
. Set in medieval Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the novel tells the story of Takiko, the 11-year-old daughter of a slain samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
warrior. Takiko’s mother remarries Goro, a gentle but unattractive potter/dwarf, whom Takiko fears. When she matures into adulthood, Takiko is able to find employment in the court of the Japanese emperor and falls in love with an enemy spy-Hideo. Eventually, she returns home and is able to reconcile her feelings towards Goro.
Twenty years after its publication, Of Nightingales That Weep received the Phoenix Award
Phoenix Award
The Phoenix Award is awarded annually to a book originally published in English twenty years previously which did not receive a major award at the time of its publication....
, an annual honor presented by the Children's Literature Association
Children's Literature Association
The Children's Literature Association is a non-profit scholarly association dedicated to studying children's literature. Begun in the 1970s to generate interest in children's literature as an academic discipline and to provide a place for those studying children's literature to share ideas, the...
to books that, two decades earlier, did not receive any literary honors when they were first published.