The Geisha and The Monk

The Geisha and The Monk a novel by Julian Bound

Two souls born thousands of miles apart each shall follow a similar path.

KYOTO, JAPAN 1876

Born into a lineage of famous geishas, a girl is taken to a famed Tokyo geisha house where her training to serve and entertain others begins.

GYANTSE, TIBET 1876

A boy is born into a small rural community. Recognised as the reincarnation of a revered Lama he is taken to live in Tibet's legendary Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA 1900

At the dawning of a new century fate brings them together, a lifetime away from all they have ever known.

Set against a backdrop of the streets of Tokyo and within the high altitudes of Tibet, The Geisha and The Monk follows the parallel life stories of a Tokyo geisha and a Tibetan Buddhist monk, who although coming from very different backgrounds share a matching destiny, a destiny revealed on the shores of San Francisco's harbour front.

'Eventually, two souls destined to meet shall do so, their connection instantly recognised within the eyes of the other.'

About The Author

Born in England, Julian is a documentary photographer, film maker and author. With photographic work featured on the BBC news, his photographs have been published in National Geographic, New Scientist and the international press. His work focuses on the social documentary of world culture, religion and traditions, with time spent studying meditation with the Buddhist monks of Tibet and Northern Thailand and spiritual teachers of India's Himalaya region.

His photography work includes documenting the child soldiers of Myanmar's Karen National Liberation Army, the Arab Spring of 2011, Cairo, Egypt, and Thailand's political uprisings of 2009 and 2014 in Bangkok.

With portraiture of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Julian has extensively photographed the Tibetan refugees of Nepal and India. His other projects include the road working gypsies of Rajasthan, India, the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, the riverside squatter slums of Yogyakarta and the sulphur miners at work in the active volcanoes of Eastern Java, Indonesia.

Present for the Nepal earthquakes of 2015 he documented the disaster whilst working as an emergency deployment photographer for various NGO and international embassies in conjunction with the United Nations and the World Wildlife Foundation.

With numerous published photography books Julian is also the author of nine novels including Subway of Light, Life's Heart Eternal, The Geisha and The Monk, By Way of The Sea and All Roads.