text: the ash garden the ash garden is a novel written by canadian author dennis bock and published in 2001 . it is bock 's first novel , following the 1998 release of olympia , a collection of short stories . the ash garden follows the stories of three main characters affected by world war two : hiroshima bombing victim emiko , german nuclear physicist anton böll , and austrian - jewish refugee sophie böll . the narrative is non - linear , jumping between different times and places , and the point of view alternates between the characters ; emiko 's story being written in the first person while anton and sophie 's stories are written in the third person . bock took several years to write the novel , re - writing several drafts , before having it published in august 2001 by harpercollins ( canada ) , alfred a. knopf ( usa ) and bloomsbury ( uk ) . critics gave it mostly positive reviews and it became a best - seller in canada . it was nominated for the international impac dublin literary award , the books in canada first novel award , and the prize . it has been analysed in several literature journals , including canadian ethnic studies which noted the similarities between the character emiko and the hiroshima maidens . background at the time of publication , author dennis bock was 36 years old and living in toronto . he had previously published a book of short stories called olympia , but struggled with this project that would become his first novel , taking several years to write the novel . doubleday canada originally owned the rights but bock withdrew the book from doubleday citing " a difference of opinion " between himself and the editor . he had written two drafts , including one in which the main character was an art historian involved in art theft and looting during world war ii . with a working title of a man of principle , bock gave the draft to editor phyllis bruce in 1999 and sold it to knopf for us $ 250 , 000 . he re - wrote most of the book with the help of bruce , and two other editors , gary of knopf and liz calder of bloomsbury ( who published the book in the uk ) . summary the narrative alternates between three characters ( emiko , anton and sophie ) and takes place around the fiftieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of hiroshima , though the back story of each character is told . emiko was a small girl living in hiroshima with her parents , younger brother , and grandfather during wwii . following the atomic bombing , with her parents dead , emiko and her brother recover in a hospital and her grandfather cares for patients . though her brother dies , emiko travels to the united states as part of a group of girls receiving reconstructive surgery . on the way , the american media takes an interest in the girls and she appears on an episode of this is your life thanking the american audience for bringing her to the us . she later becomes a documentary filmmaker and , in 1995 , approaches anton böll to be part of a new project . anton was a scientist in nazi germany who , following a disagreement regarding the direction of its nuclear program , is recruited by the us and flees via france , spain , and portugal . he becomes a part of the manhattan project , witnesses the tests , and travels to hiroshima recording the aftermath . anton regrets the consequences of the atomic bombs , attends the pugwash conference , but maintains his belief that it was necessary to end the war and prevented more deaths . he marries sophie and becomes a professor at columbia university in new york . with sophie , he retires to a small town outside of toronto . as wwii was beginning , sophie 's jewish parents sent her away from austria . she was on board of the ms st. louis when it was turned away from cuba and sent to the united kingdom . she was living in a refugee camp in canada when she met anton . she was diagnosed with lupus and takes up gardening , planning elaborate landscapes every year . in 1995 , after refusing further medical treatments , and with anton by her side , she succumbs to the disease . after sophie 's funeral anton reveals to emiko the extent to which he had been involved in emiko 's life . he first met her while volunteering at the hospital in which her grandfather was working . feeling he had to make amends in some way , he ensured that emiko was on the list of girls to get reconstructive surgery , and secretly filmed her at memorial events . he had been waiting for her to find him . style and themes the portions of the book that follow the character emiko is written as a first - person narrative , while the portions following sophie and anton böll use the third - person . the tone was described as " disturbingly calm " . its central theme is that of identity and attempts to find solace . bock states " all three of the main characters in the ash garden are refugees who don 't belong anywhere . each has a desperate search for home . " in harper 's magazine , pico iyer compares the ash garden with michael ondaatje 's the english patient as " a book that ends where bock 's begins " . an essay in the journal canadian ethnic studies , looked at the ash garden from the a japanese historical perspective , finding strong similarities between the real - life hiroshima maiden and the character emiko , but noting it was not a roman à clef . publication and reception the book was released as a hardcover on august 25 , 2001 , published by harpercollins in canada , alfred a. knopf in the united states , and bloomsbury in the united kingdom . knopf ordered an initial print run of 60 , 000 copies . it debuted at the # 2 sport on the maclean 's fiction bestseller list and peaked at # 1 in late september and early october . it was translated and published in multiple languages , including japanese and german . the book was a finalist for the 2001 for the books in canada first novel award , as well as the prize , an international literary award for promoting greater understanding of the pacific rim and south asia . it was nominated by the vancouver public library and the bergen public library for the 2003 international impac dublin literary award . in time , brian t. bennett wrote , " the ash garden may not be a page - turner , but bock 's prose lures the reader along through smooth , sculpted sentences full of rich detail and subtle meditation . " in maclean 's magazine , brian bethune wrote , " intellectually engaging , beautifully written and powered by three memorable characters , the ash garden will seduce anyone who reads it . " in the christian science monitor , fiction critic ron charles wrote " bock moves back and forth through time in a series of exquisite scenes , always keeping his vision tightly focused , despite the world - altering events he describes . ... what makes the novel so compelling and disturbing , though , is its emotional restraint . " regarding the quality of the prose , a review in the quill & quire said " bock 's writing is both dense and immensely readable " while the review in library journal " highly recommended " it . in books in canada one reviewer highlighted that on " occasions , the prose turns mannered and cliches pop up " . though a later review by w. p. kinsella called it a " brilliant novel ... [ with ] superb plot twists that make it a spellbinding adventure in reading " . a japanese review in the yomiuri shimbun noted " something inaccessible about all three [ characters ... who are ] as remote to each other as they [ are ] to the reader , and thus are never truly empathetic " . the review in the new york times by literary critic michiko kakutani called it " an elegant , unnerving novel " but that bock " tries too hard to underscore those links by using leitmotifs to connect his characters ' experiences " . in london , the review in the sunday telegraph was more critical , finding it " is badly let down by its form , a split - time - scale narrative ... [ and ] is significantly short of narrative dynamism " , while novelist amanda craig concludes that it " reads as the work of a young writer who is straining with too much effort " .