The Samurai's Garden - Updated

 

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

Fiction

1994 St. Martin's Griffin

First Reading: January 13, 2002

Second Reading: Mary 10, 2024

Original Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding!)

New Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Critics nationwide have praised Gail Tsukiyama for her vivid characters and crystalline prose. They have acclaimed the exquisite beauty of her serene settings. But more than anything, readers have celebrated finding themselves in the hands of a strong storyteller with the wisdom and warm heart of an ancient soul.

On the eve of the Second World War, a young Chinese man is sent to his family's summer home in Japan to recover from tuberculosis. He will rest, swim in the salubrious sea, and paint in the brilliant shoreside light. It will be quiet and solitary. 

But he also meets four local residents--a beautiful Japanese girl and three older people. What then ensues is a tale that readers will find at once classical yet utterly unique. Young Stephen has his own adventure, but it is the unfolding story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that seizes your attention and will stay with you forever.

Tsukiyama, with lines as clean, simple, telling, and dazzling as the best of Oriental art, has created a small, moving masterpiece.

Update:

After posting about The Samurai's Garden last year, I was eager to give it another read, and it finally made its way to my nightstand this past month. I'd forgotten so much about the story and thoroughly enjoyed it this second time around. This novel would make such a lovely movie. 

My Original Thoughts (2002):

The perfect indication of a great book is one that you hug to your chest and whisper, "Great book!" upon completion. It's also the type of book you are tempted to read again the minute you've finished. This is one of those books! Beautifully written. Lyrical. Touching. Simply lovely. I didn't want it to end, so I read slowly, savoring each sentence. Closed the book with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I want to read everything else that Tsukiyama has written. I'll give this as a gift to my book-loving friends and relatives. 

Honor, duty, loyalty. Unspoken love. Zen-like. A soothing, calm book. Beautifully "painted" images. 

My Current Thoughts:

I read this with two online book groups (The Book Spot and On the Porch Swing) and as I recall, everyone loved the book. I plan to read it again this summer while on our trip to Canada.

Looking Back - The Samurai's Garden

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

Fiction

1994 St. Martin's Griffin

Finished on January 13, 2002

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding!)

Publisher's Blurb:

Critics nationwide have praised Gail Tsukiyama for her vivid characters and crystalline prose. They have acclaimed the exquisite beauty of her serene settings. But more than anything, readers have celebrated finding themselves in the hands of a strong storyteller with the wisdom and warm heart of an ancient soul.

On the eve of the Second World War, a young Chinese man is sent to his family's summer home in Japan to recover from tuberculosis. He will rest, swim in the salubrious sea, and paint in the brilliant shoreside light. It will be quiet and solitary. 

But as he meets four local residents--a beautiful Japanese girl and three older people. What then ensues is a tale that readers will find at once classical yet utterly unique. Young Stephen has his own adventure, but it is the unfolding story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that seizes your attention and will stay with you forever.

Tsukiyama, with lines as clean, simple, telling, and dazzling as the best of Oriental art, has created a small, moving masterpiece.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

Read with On the Porch Swing online book group. The perfect indication of a great book is one that you hug to your chest and whisper, "Great book!" upon completion. It's also the type of book you are tempted to read again the minute you've finished. This is one of those books! Beautifully written. Lyrical. Touching. Simply lovely. I didn't want it to end, so I read slowly, savoring each sentence. Closed the book with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I want to read everything else that Tsukiyama has written. I'll give this as a gift to my book-loving friends and relatives. 

Honor, duty, loyalty. Unspoken love. Zen-like. A soothing, calm book. Beautifully "painted" images. 

My Current Thoughts:

I read this with two online book groups (The Book Spot and On the Porch Swing) and as I recall, everyone loved the book. I plan to read it again this summer while on our trip to Canada.

Looking Back - The Bonesetter's Daughter

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

Fiction

2001 G.P. Putnam's Sons

Finished on June 5, 2001

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Ruth Young and her widowed mother, LuLing, have always had a tumultuous relationship. Now, before she succumbs to forgetfulness, LuLing gives Ruth some of her writings, which reveal a side of LuLing that Ruth has never known. . . .

In a remote mountain village where ghosts and tradition rule, LuLing grows up in the care of her mute Precious Auntie as the family endures a curse laid upon a relative known as the bonesetter. When headstrong LuLing rejects the marriage proposal of the coffinmaker, a shocking series of events are set in motion–all of which lead back to Ruth and LuLing in modern San Francisco. The truth that Ruth learns from her mother’s past will forever change her perception of family, love, and forgiveness.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Book group selection. Having read all of Tan's previous works, I was excited to get her latest and bought it the day it was released. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. There was nothing about the story that grabbed my attention. I put it down after reading 1/3 and wasn't anxious to resume reading. I eventually finished the book, but thought it lacked Tan's wonderful prose. 

My Current Thoughts:

I'm surprised I gave this a "good" rating. Based on my initial thoughts, I would now drop it down to 2/5 stars.