Sword and Blossom

A British Officer's Enduring Love for a Japanese Woman

By: Peter Pagnamenta, Momoko Williams

Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie

Esteemed British journalists Peter Pagnamenta and Momoko Williams penned this tale of bittersweet love during a tumultuous time. This true story is drawn from the more than 800 letters a British officer and his Japanese lover exchanged over four decades.

Arthur Hart-Synnot, a third-generation British officer, was sent to Japan in 1904 to learn the language of Britain's newest ally. Masa Suzuki, a beautiful Japanese woman scorned because of an early divorce, worked at the Tokyo Officers' Club. The two fell immediately in love and conceived a son before Arthur was whisked away by the military during World War I. Though Arthur would only see Masa little, he supported his Japanese family and kept alive the hope that he and Masa could live together blissfully.

Revealed in this story of a passion that endured three wars is not only one couple's personal history, but the history of two completely different cultures.

©2006 Peter Pagnamenta and Momoko Williams (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"This is grand history on a human scale, vivid and sweeping." (Library Journal)

Monotonous Lackluster

I credit the author with 5 stars for this beautiful manuscript but have to substract 3 for the terrible narration for a sum total of 2 stars. I consider this a generous score considering how badly it was narrated. There was not any fluctuation in vocal pitch or tone even during chapters of war and human suffering. This could have been a masterpiece had it not been presented as a grocery list.