My cup of tea

The world through the eyes of a child can be a fascinating place, but can easily run the risk of appearing unknown and rather frightening. Individual experiences mould a child's world view; while every change in their immediate environment can only be understood and interpreted in terms of what they have already learnt. Their perspective is as unshackled as their innocence permits it to be. Age and experience equip the growing child with evaluative tools and this in turn allows them to reach certain value judgements which will channel their perspective and fuel their maturity.

Ellis Avery's The Teahouse Fire is just such a story about growing up. The young Franco-American Aurelia Bernard is nearing the brink of adolescence when her carefully constructed and half secret world is turned upside down. A couple of months shy of her 10th birthday, Aurelia embarks on a journey which will ultimately change her life. Leaving behind her beloved and consumptive mother, she travels from New York to Japan with her Uncle Charles, a Jesuit missionary.

On their way to Japan, Aurelia's uncle unceremoniously informs her that her mother had died soon after their departure and she spends the rest of the trip in a state of shock. Arrived in Miyako, Aurelia runs off to a Buddhist temple to make a wish: "Any life but this". This is granted almost instantaneously when their house goes up in flames as she walks back from the temple. Afraid of becoming an orphaned ward of the church in a nuns' convent, Aurelia runs away from the cleansing fire which effectively wiped out all the last vestiges of her former life, allowing the authorities to believe that she had perished alongside her uncle. The following day she wakes up in a teahouse, one of several in a complex belonging to the Shin family. The latter is an ancient family, dedicated to the teaching and perpetuity of the highly ritualistic and elaborate Tea Ceremony. This stylised display of manners which often shrouds the hidden subtleties of hierarchical order, of power and submission, of dispensation and precedence, is the epitome of oriental etiquette.

Inquisitive Aurelia finds herself thrown in at the deep end of a situation which leaves her feeling completely vulnerable and alone. All that she had previously learnt seems useless in the face of this new reality.

From being bilingual and able to experience and evaluate the world in two different languages, she starts off with very little Japanese to aid her understanding. Adopted by the Shins' only daughter as a sort of servant-companion, Aurelia learns the way of tea from Yukako, the true spiritual heir to the family art of temae, tea preparation and serving.

With time, Aurelia's knowledge of the Japanese language and customs improves greatly, allowing her to carve out a small but comfortable niche for herself as a trusted member of the Shin household. Craving love and approval in a culture often known for its aloofness, Aurelia devotes herself to the family which took her in and shares in their suffering in adversity through civil war and the onslaught of western progress; as well as being a confidante and messenger in Yukako's love affairs and subsequent marriage.

Aurelia's growing love for Yukako remains unrequited and the sexual tension between them is heightened by the strict formality of Japanese social niceties. Aurelia never discloses her attraction till she begins to feel that her position as a member of the household has been compromised by a series of events which confirm a long-suspected fact she had never really managed to fit into Japanese society.

Ms Avery's skill is notable in the poetic imagery she uses to depict the delicate, quasi-magical Oriental landscapes, breathtaking scenery, festivals and domestic scenarios. We can almost feel the gentle wind blowing our hair, or the swirling cherry blossoms brushing against our cheeks in their descent towards the ground. The fact that she repeatedly uses fire to symbolise change and rebirth is a clever way of harnessing its destructive force and turning it into an all-consuming yet purifying one. This isn't mere phoenix fire but dragon fire, passionate and intense, while at the same time constantly cloaked with a veneer of serenity.

Aurelia's struggle and search for identity and acceptance is subtly woven throughout the novel, making it effortlessly present without being overtly prominent.

Ms Avery manages to present us with an image of dignity swathed in silk and the promise of liberty as the prize of those who learn to stand alone. A good book, worth revisiting especially for its mastery in satisfying our senses.

• Mr Delicata is a teacher and freelance writer, with a Master's degree in English Literature.

• A review copy of this title was supplied by Agenda Bookshop.