The Samurai's Garden

One if my top 5 reads in my lifetime. Every aspect is flawless. Not a love story but it is. Interesting heart melting work. Highly recommend.

Towards the end of The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, Matsu one of the main characters says, "Beauty can be found in most places." And as I read this sentence, I thought no better words than beauty could be applied to this book. For sometime I have been told by many readers how much they enjoyed this book and now I wonder why it took me so long to pick up this title. Now I can only agree wholeheartedly with these readers and add my grateful appreciation to this author for writing such a wonderful book.Beginning in prewar China, we travel with Stephen a 20 year old man recuperating from tuberculosis, to his grandfathers beach house in Japan. Isolated from his family and friends in Hong Kong and his studies at the University, Stephens sole companion in Japan is Matsu, caretaker and gardener of the beach house. At first there relationship is strained and they have little in common. But as Stephen begins to paint and Matsu works in the garden, they begin to interact with one another and eventually become the best of friends. As Matsu introduces Stephen to the surrounding villages of Tarumi and Yamaguchi, Stephen also becomes acquainted with Matsu's friends which include Sachi and Kenzo. And as Stephen becomes more familiar with them he also learns more about their lives and entanglements and we as readers are first intrigued by these three people and then become enchanted as their stories unfold. Ultimately we learn as Stephen does about life, loyalty to family and friends, betrayal, attachments but most of all unconditional love. We watch as Stephen becomes more and more ingrained in the daily lives surrounding the beach house while Japan begins to invade China and Stephen's own family is going through their own eprsoanl upheavals. All too soon, with his health restored, Stephen knows he will need to leave this solitary life at Tarumi. The approaching war and distance leaves both him and readers to wonder if he will ever see these people again. Gail Tsukiyama has crafted a marvelous novel with layers placed upon layers to tell the story of extraordinary friendships. I found that when I read this book it was as if I was a next door neighbor to the beach hosue and priuvy to all that happened in these people's lives. And as I closed the book I had a profound sense of loneliness that my visit with them had come to an end. Although I seldom yearn for a sequel, I would love to know how life treated these characters in the future.

Since I have been living in Japan for the past 11 years, I believe that is was easier for me to respect the style Tsukiyama uses. From most of the reviews I've read, I think most people have been too closed minded to accept it. This novel is very powerful in the themes it presents through its characters. Tsukiyama has simplyed mastered the use the the "understatement". Most American Readers may not be able to appreciate this style because they fail to see that it represents a line of thinking so prized in Japan. I believe Tsukiyama has a beautiful style that celebrates the simplistic view of life. Definetely a huge break from the busy, complicated lives most people live through in today's world. Read it and apply it to you lives.

The Samurai's Garden is a soothing, hypnotic, heartbreaking, evocative book we all enjoyed. Is it the story of Stephen, a young Chinese man recovering from tuberculosis in pre-war Japan while under the care of a loyal family servant, the "samurai" of the title. The book explores cultural differences and similarities as it portrays the development of friendship and respect in disparate characters.With sparce and simple prose, Tsukiyama depicts her principals as humans who try to be good but not perfect; as people accepting their circumstances and finding inner peace despite their flaws and mistakes.Appropriate for all age readers, particularly young adults, we found a number of themes especially appealing: relationships, isolation/alienation and subsequent reconciliation, and the appreciation of inner beauty over physical appearance. Matsu, the "samurai," was a perfect teacher/mentor for Stephen, as he avioded putting him under a microscope, but rather served as his guide to realizing his spiritual self.We hope you enjoy this book as ,uch as we did!

The women in our book club enjoyed this book and found much to discuss. We talked about the war as a backgound as well as the differences between Chinese and Japanese cultures. We discussed the growth and maturation of the characters at length. The authors's devices and the style of her writing were talked about. As a whole, the group found this to be beautifully written and very meaningful in character portrayals. The consensus was that this is a novel of losses and gains and this phenomenon is repeatedly found in this very moving book.

Gail Tsukiyama is a masterful and wondrous storyweaver. The tale of Stephen and Matsu-san is a wonderful story of life, love, acceptance, forgiveness, and the power of all living things. By the second section I was captivated by the strong and silent character Matsu-san. And as I heard the despair of Sachi-san's life, in the section of 'Spring', and the terror that she lived through, I could not keep the tears from falling. This book helped me realize so many things about myself. I find that it teaches so much as the legends of characters unfold. I will keep their stories close to my heart ALWAYS. I would reccommend this book to absolutely every person on the planet. It moved me soo much! It is not only my favorite book. It is like a sudden realization of life and what is most important in life.