Kaoru Mori

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori (Emma, Shirley) brings the nineteenth-century Silk Road to lavish life, chronicling the story of Amir Halgal, a young woman from a nomadic tribe betrothed to a twelve-year-old boy eight years her junior. Coping with cultural differences, blossoming feelings for her new husband, and expectations from both her adoptive and birth families, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her.

A Bride's Story

Zahra

4.5 stars

A very solid first book to the series. The plot, the characters and the setting are simply exquisite.

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road continues as the young bride, Amir Halgal, struggles to remain with her new groom despite the wishes of her family, who would see her wed another. Will Amir be able to preserve the bonds she has cultivated in her new home?

This volume shed some more light to the culture. I loved learning about the marriage ceremony and embroideries.

A Bride's Story, Vol. 3

4.5 stars

My feelings are all messed up.

Gavin

Exquisitely drawn tales of the jolly steppe, where there is no cold, no poverty, no tribal warfare, no disease, no dirt. No steppe, you might say.

Saved by its loving attention to crafts, textiles, hunting, the hundreds of tiny movements that constitute skill. Also by its including a little bit of the roughness: child weddings, bride kidnapping.

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road takes on an air of celebration as, at long last, Laila and Leily's wedding day arrives! But the marriage ceremony may be even more taxing for the girls than their search for a pair of grooms. Sitting still and silent as their guests celebrate and eat is a trial that will push the girls' patience to its limit, not to mention that of Sami and Sarm! As the twins finally make their vows and commit themselves to their husbands, the gravity of the moment finally sets in. Though they have dreamed of marriage for years, only now do they realize that everything in their lives is about to change... Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

Izza

As Mr. Smith continues his journey to India, he is welcomed into the home of a wealthy tradesman and his wife, Anis. Custom dictates that, as a woman, Anis is not permitted to meet their visitor face-to-face, but even so, she counts herself blessed to live in such a beautiful estate and be married to a man who devotes himself solely to her. Still, one cannot help but long for the companionship of another person when one's closest friend is a reluctant Persian cat. In her loneliness, Anis visits the public bath house and discovers a place where she feels immediately free among her fellow sisters.

Maggie Gordon

Another gorgeous volume in the Bride series by Mori featuring a new character and a focus on a type of marriage between two female friends. The art, though more simplistic than previous volumes, is gorgeous. My only complaint is the two ladies we're following aren't very well developed. Their story was a nice aside, but the other brides in this series are much more vivacious and interesting!

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road continues. As Anis and Sherine settle into a new life built on love and friendship, tragedy and destruction have thrown the Eihons' village into turmoil. Conflict with neighboring tribes has taken its toll, leaving Pariya's family home in ruins. Though no one was hurt, little survived the assault, including the fabrics meant for Pariya's dowry. Her passionate, frank personality has made things difficult for Pariya in the past, and being forced to delay marriage talks--now that she's finally found an interested suitor--drives her to despair. Despite her anxieties, staying with the Eihons during the reconstruction gives Pariya the opportunity to learn from Amir and her family and build up her self-confidence as she prepares for a hopeful future. Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

A Bride's Story is best known for its stunning artwork and slow, slice-of-life look at historical Mongolia. For a story that doesn't have much plot, it's always a delight to read! This volume deals primarily with Pariya who is one of my favourite characters. She's a blunt, brash, tom-boyish girl who is constantly trying to fit within the norms of her community, though her friends help her internal self shine while still fitting in. After the attack on the town, her family's home was destroyed along with her dowry embroidery, so this book deals with Pariya learning how to make beautiful linens for her future home. It's slow with a lot of silly emotional teenage moments, but somehow so satisfying to read!

Ken Yuen

Beautifully drawn. The designs in this manga are top notch. Like I was saying to a friend, I was not expecting a mini architecture lesson in this.

I kind of wish that story did a bit more to introduce the world though. There's a lot of things that you have to infer, like how rich/powerful the different families are, what's expected culturally, why there's a foreigner there (I guess his name is Smith?), etc. Seeing as how we're just tossed into the story, maybe having the familial chart at the beginning would have been nice.

Grandma with a bow is awesome. I don't know anything about Monguls or cultures from this region, so I'm having fun exploring this world.

Beautiful art. Loved the designs of some of the embroidery in the book. The author talking about doing research at the end was good to hear too, since I want to believe this is based on a relatively accurate account of the culture.

I don't know much about that region of the world at that time, so this is a fun series.

A little detour to see Mr. Smith's adventures. It's interesting and maybe a little frustrating to see these cultures. There's a temptation to judge it from modern sensibilities, which is probably unfair. But it is a little frustrating to see how this volume ends.

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road turns westward, following Englishman Mr. Smith on his long journey to Ankara. Passing through a fishing village along the Aral Sea, Smith and his guide encounter a pair of spirited young girls named Laila and Leily-identical twins who are fishing not for sturgeon, but for husbands! Despite their efforts to find two wealthy, healthy, and handsome brothers to wed, Laila and Leily's plans generally only land them in loads of trouble!

I think the author realized Pariya is one of the best characters in this story, so now there's two of her, in the form of twins. The twins are hilarious and it's a good time.

Going from one bride to two brides. Two brides' stories ah ah ah!

But yeah, we get the story of the wedding. And then some smaller side stories which were pretty cool.

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road heads back to Amir and Karluk. In the year since his marriage, Karluk has grown a good deal, but Amir can't help but feel overprotective of her much younger husband. Karluk wants nothing more than to prove that he can be a strong and competent man--and he may soon have the opportunity to prove just that. Desperate for land to feed their flocks, Amir's former tribe prepares to attack her village with a fearsome arsenal of cannons and guns provided by their new allies. This time the Halgals are not interested in capturing Amir--no one is safe from their terrible assault! Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

Really surprised by where this storyline goes. Wasn't expecting a major battle to erupt in this series.

Yay a volume about Pariya! Everyone is so nice that they can be a bit vanilla, so having someone like Pariya with flaws and concerns is refreshing. I love the stuff related to farming technology and the abacus. Stuff that's basic for us now that was really revolutionary for people back then.

Having reached his destination in Ankara, Smith is not only reunited with his old friend, but also Talas, the woman he briefly stayed with on his journey. An agreement was made, and now Smith must travel back to Amir and Karluk with his new companions and newly acquired camera. However, the roads back are perilous as war approaches...

Oops, I think I read them out of order. But the art is still beautiful and it's interesting to see the different cultures and how ancient photography worked

One of my favorite things about this series is the way they cover periods of history and areas that you don't normally see in other stories. The drawings of the plants and bath houses are beautiful. Oh yeah, a lot of bathing in this volume so nudity warning.

What really surprised me about this story is what I'd call a lesbian relationship in modern times. In the translation they call them "avowed sisters" or "khwahar khwandagi", but when I looked up the latter term to find out more, I only got results for this manga. So who knows how accurate this story was. In any case, it's an interesting intersection of culture, religion, and sexuality that I haven't read about much before.

There is a very good cat in this volume

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori's tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road continues. Pariya's budding romance with Umar is off to a rough start due to her brash personality and lack of confidence. But if she can't figure out how to say what she wants with words, then perhaps the old adage is true--the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

Pretty fun since it focuses on awkward Pariya. But you get to drop in on a bunch of different characters in her social bubble. The cultural expectations around Pariya and what it takes to get married are interesting. Sounds rough! But it's nice to know that the characters support and help each other too to make it through.

Karluk has left home to become a man! For four months, he's off to learn falconry from Amir's brothers, living with them at their winter camp. As his training commences, what will Karluk learn about himself, and Amir, in the process? Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.

Enjoyed learning about the falconry. Wasn't expecting these groups to have the relationship that they do. Pretty cool. Read this out of order so the surprise at the ending wasn't a surprise, frankly had forgotten how things were when we last saw them together.

Mr. Smith and his companions begin their journey back, returning the way they came, but with a treasured new addition - or two. Camera in hand, each stop provides new subjects to photograph and cherish, but they must be careful to avoid the moving Russian troops and whispered talk of war...

A Bride's Story, Vol. 12

More beautiful art. First part of this volume is super slice of life. I enjoyed the scenes of Mr. Smith using his camera and creating photographs. There was something about that which felt both nostalgic and timeless. One of the chapters takes place in the bathhouse so watch out if nudity bothers you.

Cindy Lee

You can also read this review at here.

I finished this manga in 10 to 20 minutes. I love to read manga's but my library doesn't have a lot of them so I'm sad. Also, I usually read manga in Chinese Mandarin so.. I don't read them that much anymore.

A Bride's Story is about a twenty-year-old girl who was married off to a twelve-year-old boy. It was set in the 19th century at the Silk Road, which is a trader's route from China to Europe. It shows you their daily lives and other family dramas.

The only thing that bothered was that there was a marriage between a twelve-year-old and a twenty-year-old. I think the boy is too young to be married, but I guess that's just my own opinion. But I guess it makes sense since the proper age to marry is 15/16 back then.

The style of drawing is very important to me in a manga. It needs to look pretty to me or else I won't read it. I guess I like those big eyed/girly Japanese manga drawing. I love those kind. I don't like the drawings of Naruto if that gives you a better idea of my taste.

Overall, this manga has very pretty drawings/sketches and a great plot line. Now I want to stalk this author's work :3

You can read more of my reviews here

More of my manga love for all you peoplez :) 

Vol. 2 in this series actually wraps up the story of Amir pretty well. You'll get to see more of her in Vol. 3 but she isn't the main character anymore. In this volume, we're struggling more with Amir's tribe. They want her back to give her to another tribe. Her new family doesn't give her up easily though. The whole town fights for her.

What I like to emphasize is the beautiful drawing. Everything is so detailed :) I felt like I could see what the 19th Century Silk Road was like. I'm not a hardcore manga fan but seriously.. the drawings are so pretty T__T

A Bride's Story, Vol. 2 is a great sequel to volume 1. It gives more Amir and what life was like back then. I recommend you to read this manga series if you enjoy beautiful manga drawings and ancient lifestyles :)

Lorien O'Brien

Talk about a tragedy! Mr. Smith falls in love, and then loses her in one day! How horrible! :(

Did not enjoy this volume very much. The whole thing is basically nudity and I'm not a fan of that.

Reread - Going through and being able to edit out all the boobs was much better 5 years later. I did enjoy it, but it really detracts from the story. SO MANY BOOBS GAH! I don't like nudity of any kind, so please, DON'T DRAW SO MUCH BOOBS AGAIN! But I did up my rating from a 2 to a 4. Don't read if you can't stand nudity, though, or can't tough it out to remove it like I did. Also, if you hate that I did that... Seriously, there are problems in the world and this isn't one of them.

Very interesting story of a girl who was in an arranged marriage with a boy 8 year younger than her, and how she fits in. It's very intriguing slice of life style with a culture much like the Mongolian nomads near the Steppes and the like. It's very intriguing though nudity warning.

A Bride's Story

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