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A review by beatitude
A Bride's Story, Vol. 4 by Kaoru Mori
3.0
This volume has the same structure as volume 3 - we check in briefly with Amir, Karluk and their family from the first two volumes, and then we join the English doctor on his trip across Turkic Central Asia. This time he ends up at the Aral Sea, where the action quickly moves away from him and onto the adventures of two twin girls who are desperate to get married.
I think it's great that Mori is exploring different areas and cultures in her story, and she does so with the same historical accuracy and attention to detail that made me fall in love with A Bride's Story in the first place. I loved learning about the village culture around the Aral sea, and how it differed from the other cultures we've seen in the series. But. I'm afraid that the doctor's adventures aren't all that interesting compared with Amir, Karluk and co. from the first two books. The two twin girls who dominate this volume are pretty dull, and the story quickly devolves into manga cliches, which the first three volumes avoided. I didn't find myself struggling to suspend my disbelief, but I did roll my eyes at the convenient way some plot points were resolved.
The most interesting bit for me was learning about the 'bride price'. This was a price paid by a groom's family to the bride's family, in sheep or gold. Some of the money went to the bride's family, but the bulk of the price went to the bride herself. It was her fortune for the rest of her life, which she owned independently and her husband was not allowed to touch. (So a good bride price was very important). Husband and wife were expected to contribute equally to the household expenses. By comparison with what was happening in parts Europe at around the same time with dowries, this was a really enlightened arrangement that afforded a high degree of independence to married women, and probably also encouraged them to be wise with spending. Learning about these kinds of things is what makes this series especially worthwhile to read.
The art of this volume is as brilliant as the rest, particularly in the early section where Maoru uses fighting wolves as a metaphor for Amir's tribe, as they make alliances and go to war. The way she draws the wolves makes them almost leap off the page, just like her horses. She also does a great job with the swimming and boats in the later sections. She must have spent a lot of time researching animals and period dress to get the detail right, and the result is wonderful. Even if the story continues to only be of mild interest, the fantastic art alone makes this series worth reading.
I think it's great that Mori is exploring different areas and cultures in her story, and she does so with the same historical accuracy and attention to detail that made me fall in love with A Bride's Story in the first place. I loved learning about the village culture around the Aral sea, and how it differed from the other cultures we've seen in the series. But. I'm afraid that the doctor's adventures aren't all that interesting compared with Amir, Karluk and co. from the first two books. The two twin girls who dominate this volume are pretty dull, and the story quickly devolves into manga cliches, which the first three volumes avoided. I didn't find myself struggling to suspend my disbelief, but I did roll my eyes at the convenient way some plot points were resolved.
The most interesting bit for me was learning about the 'bride price'. This was a price paid by a groom's family to the bride's family, in sheep or gold. Some of the money went to the bride's family, but the bulk of the price went to the bride herself. It was her fortune for the rest of her life, which she owned independently and her husband was not allowed to touch. (So a good bride price was very important). Husband and wife were expected to contribute equally to the household expenses. By comparison with what was happening in parts Europe at around the same time with dowries, this was a really enlightened arrangement that afforded a high degree of independence to married women, and probably also encouraged them to be wise with spending. Learning about these kinds of things is what makes this series especially worthwhile to read.
The art of this volume is as brilliant as the rest, particularly in the early section where Maoru uses fighting wolves as a metaphor for Amir's tribe, as they make alliances and go to war. The way she draws the wolves makes them almost leap off the page, just like her horses. She also does a great job with the swimming and boats in the later sections. She must have spent a lot of time researching animals and period dress to get the detail right, and the result is wonderful. Even if the story continues to only be of mild interest, the fantastic art alone makes this series worth reading.