Zen
"Every day from dawn to dusk, Master Kuro practices the subtle art of calligraphy, drawing together painting and writing until the line between them is so fine as to seem invisible."
Master Kuro is honored as Japan's most distinguished calligrapher. He leads a simple, solitary life dedicating long hours to his art and has very little time for surprises and the unexpected. His only real contact with the outside world is through his carefully selected apprentices. One day, a stunning young woman named Yuna asks to study under him and he takes her on. However, Yuna's grace talent soon begin to trouble the old man, threatening the perfect balance he had previously achieved. Alarmed to find himself so vulnerable, he decides to stop training Yuna and goes on a spiritual retrat to a monastery to recover. When he feels he has found peace, he returns home, but the second he steps back through the door, he is again overcome by his passion for the young woman. Torn, he finally admits to Yuna why he cannot simply love her; years ago, he swore fidelity to a young countess, Fubuki, and has never seen her since. Hearing this, the apprentice decides to find the noblewoman and break the hold she has over Master Kuro. So will Kuro at last be freed of this impossible bond and able to express his love for Yuna ?
The author:
Maxence Fermine's unique work is a magnificent blend of poetry and fiction. After high-profile forays into the worlds of children's literature, with the trilogy La petite marchande de rêves (The little Dream Seller), and the Gothic novel, with the Palace of Shadows, he returns to the poetic vein in ZEN, thaht made Snow so successful.
Publication date: October 2015
Pages: 168
Rights availaible: Letonia
