Booklist Book Review

THE FOURTH TREASURE

by Todd Shimoda

Shimoda's elegant and intricate debut is the story of a calligraphy teacher's life before and after a debilitating stroke. When Kiichi Shimano, sensei of the Zenzen school of Calligraphy in Berkeley, California, suffers a stroke, he loses the ability to speak and to communicate by writing. His calligraphy no longer makes sense; even his best student, Gozen, can no longer comprehend it. When Tina Suzuki, a neuroscience student at UC-Berkeley, hears about the sensei's case from her boyfriend, Robert, she becomes curious. Tina begins to research the sensei's case, much to the chagrin of her mother, Hanako, who studied calligraphy under the sensei in Japan years ago. Shimoda jumps back and forth from the present to the past, when Shimano was one of the most respected calligraphers in Kyoto and the head of the prestigious Daizen school. At the heart of the novel is the Daizen Inkstone, a prized treasure that goes missing when Shimano leaves the Daizen school. Shimoda expertly weaves the threads of his narrative together in this sophisticated, beautifully illustrated novel.

Kristine Huntley
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