A review by izzenithal
The Confessions of Lady Nijo by Lady Nijō

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

One of those books that really make you feel like you know the person writing from almost a thousand years ago in a totally different place and culture. I loved her sense of humor, and the way she saw the world in light of classical allusion and poetry was fascinating. Lady Nijō’s relationship with the the Retired Emperor in particular was layered with trauma and obsession— she was likely assaulted by him at fourteen, and yet over the course of the next forty-odd years in close proximity their relationship developed into one that feels close to mutual respect. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while