Praise
"For those who enjoyed Arthur Golden’s 'Memoirs of a Geisha' — an entertainment, and a fine one. On another level, a challenge for readers to put on their scholar’s glasses and see if all this is based on history."
- Washington Post
"If you read one novel this year by a writer you may be unfamiliar with, read The Printmaker’s Daughter... unmatched literary fiction. Not only will you be rewarded with a sweeping, breathtaking story, and characters you will long remember, but you will also be guided, from the first sentence to the last, by the poetry of her prose."
- New York Journal of Books
"A lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place in history in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship ... an enthralling tale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei, the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, ... An intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, art and authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history."
- Book Reporter
"Govier's light linguistic touch draws readers into an increasingly harrowing tale of artistic crackdowns during which the defiant Hokusai takes to the road to escape the authorities and his creditors, often with his daughter in tow ... Govier astonishes throughout in her ability to write epic themes intimately, particularly in the lyrical, absorbing, and intense final hundred pages. She illustrates how the clash between change and the forces of the status quo literally hold Oei hostage, with emotionally wrenching results."
- Publishers Weekly
"Govier offers readers a portrait of an independent-minded woman with no qualms about having affairs, smoking a pipe, and divorcing a husband... an engrossing narrative. The accompanying afterword is also noteworthy, as it melds fact with Govier's fiction to let readers decide for themselves what Oei's role might have been in her famous father's work."
- Library Journal
Bloggers Write
"Govier weaves the saga of Oei's life into Japanese customs... It's a potent combination that results in a mystically engaging story, and though Oei may not think her life is full of incident, her legacy certainly is."
- Book Browse
"I don't want to compare it to Memoirs of a Geisha, because the books cover two completely different topics, but it's hard not to for me, because Memoirs is at this point probably my favorite book. Ever. But I think The Printmaker's Daughter may surpass that for me. If not surpass, it is equal. I think this story was a bit more real in its authenticity. "
- Great Imaginations Blog
5 out of 5 stars
"I was kept fascinated and immersed in Oei's story. I highly recommend this title to you. I think it will probably make my list of favorite reads of 2011."
- A Few More Pages
"The Printmaker's Daughter is a novel to dive into, lose yourself in, and savour."
- Popcorn Reads
"The story of Oei is intriguing and fascinating and fans of historical multicultural fiction will likely enjoy this one."
- Nomad Reader
"I feel connected to Oei and I know that it's even stronger because she was a real person rather than just a fictional character."
- Life in Review
Summary of Blog Tour:
The majority of bloggers liked this book, and like Mozart’s Last Aria, the book inspired them to do some of their own research and learn more about a particular time, place, person, and art they didn’t know much about before reading. They commented on how well-written and well-researched the book was, and several bloggers were impressed with the author’s Afterword. While the book covered many decades and had a lot of detail about Japanese art and life, they liked that in the end, it was a story about the relationship between a father and daughter that everyone can relate to.