August, 1945. Japan has been defeated in the Second World War. The country lies in ruin. Satsuko Takara and her teenage brother Hiroshi have lost their parents, and each other, during the firestorm that devastated Tokyo. Hal Lynch, a haunted U.S. reconnaissance photographer, is now a photojournalist in Japan, where he stumbles upon a shocking story and is determined to bring it to light. And Osamu Maruki, a dissolute writer and Satsuko’s former lover, has returned from the South Pacific a broken and changed man. As these people’s stories converge and spin outward, the war-torn streets of Tokyo come alive in this dazzlingly observed novel. Cinematic, brutal, yet beautiful, Fire Flowers powerfully portrays the shock, the struggles, and the difficult choices that arise from the destruction of war. A vivid tale of loss, love, and the search for truth played out on the ravaged streets of post-World War II Tokyo.

Ben Byrne
Ben Byrne was born in London. He studied Drama & Film at the University of Manchester and later lived in San Francisco, New York, and Tokyo, working as a brand consultant, filmmaker, and musician. He returned to England to dedicate his time more fully to writing, and his short fiction has appeared in Litro magazine and Writer’s Hub. Fire Flowers is his first novel.

• Apr 29 2015
  Fire Flowers and the War in Japan: "There is much to like in this book: it is well researched, atmospheric, and very ambitious."
  — Finding Time To Write
• Apr 22 2015
  "An impressive and nuanced account of a dark moment in history - and a promising literary debut."
  — The Independent
• Apr 21 2015
  "It was a gripping historical story, heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measure. A remarkable debut – I loved it."
  — Shiny New Books