Ayako, age twenty. Defeat in war, illness, the death of her parents. Finding her path as a writer in the depths of despair. The pinnacle of Miyao's literary works, forming a mountain range with "The Oar," "Spring Lantern," and "Summer Heat." Ayako, twenty years old, faced defeat in Manchuria and desperately returned with her husband and young daughter. She settles in her husband's family home on the banks of the Niyodo River in her hometown of Kochi Prefecture. Exhausted by life as a farmer's wife, Ayako contracts tuberculosis. Further hardship befalls her with the deaths of her beloved mother, Kiwa, and father, Iwago. In the depths of despair, she resolves to leave something in writing for her beloved daughter, and the "burning joy of writing" surges within Ayako's heart. The long road to becoming a writer begins now—(Shinchosha). This is a copy of Tomiko Miyao's "Niyodo River," with the obi (paper band), first published by Shinchosha in December 2000. There is almost no yellowing from age, and the book itself has no stains, writing, or library stamps. Please consider purchasing with the understanding that this is a used book.