The Makioka Sisters

A poignant and unsparing portrait of a family and society in Osaka before World War II. The Makioka sisters, four aristocratic women, strive to preserve their way of life as modernity threatens to engulf them. Eldest sister Tsuruko clings to family prestige, while Sachiko compromises to secure her sisters' future. Yukiko is held to strict standards, and Taeko rebels through scandalous romances. This classic of international literature is filled with vignettes of upper-class Japanese life and captures both decorum and heartache.