[/floatr]"The Scent of Sake" by Joyce Lebra looks like it is aimed at the "Memoirs of a Geisha" market with its story of female empowerment in late 19th century Japan. This from the author's website: "...Rie overcomes these challenges to build the largest sake empire in the country when sake was big business. She achieves this by a combination of skillful entrepreneurial innovation and canny marital maneuvering of the Omura children, both her own and her husband's by geishas, to other brewing houses, all then tied to the main house. Watching her in action is like watching a kabuki drama. Readers will be able to smell sake brewing, to feel Rie's frustration as she faces formidable challenges and her elation as she copes with them..."There's an interview with the author here.
