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Search - The Samurai's Garden
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Book Description:
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu's generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu's soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.
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Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover
Top Member Reviews
Karen F. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a soft, bittersweet story about a young Chinese man with tuberculosis who recuperates in Japan during the Japanese sweep of China in 1937. A wonderful story by Gail Tsukiyama. All of her books are beautifully written and unforgetable.
Tracy M. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Library Journal says: Seventeen-year-old Stephen leaves his home in Hong Kong just as the Japanese are poised to invade China. He is sent to Tarumi, a small village in Japan, to recuperate from tuberculosis. His developing friendship with three adults including a woman with leprosy and a young woman his own age brings him to the beginnings of wisdom about love, honor, and loss.
This is a beautiful and heartfelt novel, which starts slowly and engages you more deeply with every page.
Rakhee K. from OAK BROOK, IL wrote on 2/13/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Set in Japan just before WWII, Tsukiyama's novel tells of a young Chinese man's encounters with four locals while he recuperates from tuberculosis.
I don't remember anything spectacular from this book, but I enjoyed reading about the time period and Japanese setting. It was a very quick read - a fine book to pass the time.
Elaine P. from GREEN BROOK, NJ wrote on 2/12/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Touching and reserved love story between a very reserved Japanese household serving-man and a once lovely disfigured woman, as seen through the eyes of a Chinese boy who has been sent to his summer home in Japan to recover from TB. Takes place just before WWII.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
If the word "gentle" could be used to describe a style of writing...
this book is gently written. It's a coming of age story for a 20 yr. old young man sent away to recuperate from tuberculosis. He meets some very interesting people who befriend him.
Richard M. from LANCASTER, PA wrote on 12/22/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
An extraordinarily graceful and moving novel about goodness and beauty. Tsukimaya is a wise and spellbinding storyteller
April B. (Janis C. from HILLSBORO, OR wrote on 4/2/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
If you haven't read anything by Gail Tsukiyama, you've missed out. This was my favorite of her novels. She is a wonderful storyteller.
Richard P. from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote on 3/5/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A coming of age story of a young Chinese man recovering from TB in a small fishing village of Japan on the eve of World War II. Some wonderful details of life there and then.
Rate These Member Reviews
This was a wonderfully written story, full of warmth, love and even a few tears. I picked the book up, thinking it would be a short, pleasant read. Within a few pages, the characters had worked their way into my heart. They were all so gentle and quiet, but I found that the silences spoke volumes. I was sad when the book ended as I wanted to spend more time in the world that the author created.
One of my favorites. Prose is almost poetic. Uplifting.
CM C. (I feel the same about this book as with the other reviewers. Loved the gentleness of the storytelling. Wonderful and strong character development. I usually say books are quick reads, but with this one, I'd advise reading it slowly because you won't want it to end.
A book full of the elements that make life both beautiful and painful. A story to be savored by the soulful gardener.
a heartwarming people story of a boy in Japan. Not as interesting as her other book Women of the silk, but worth reading. learn a lot about Japanese culture.
A very sweet book. You really feel for these characters and don't want the book t end until you know they are all alright.
Susan D. from WALNUT CREEK, CA wrote on 9/3/2006...Very elegant and personal tale of 20 year old Chinese young man set in early World War II Japan. I agree with the critic who said Tsukiyama has written a book with lines as clean, simple, and dazzling as the best of Oriental art.
Becky S. (Wonderful story, unusal setting and beaautifully written.