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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | 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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| | Product Details | | Author: | Gail Tsukiyama | | Paperback: | 224 pages | | Publisher: | St. Martin's Griffin | | Publication Date: | May 04, 1996 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0312144075 | | Package Length: | 8.11 inches | | Package Width: | 5.43 inches | | Package Height: | 0.55 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.26 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 118 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review:
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Beautiful and Moving Jan 29, 2008
This book is beautifully written. The characters are complex and drawn with such skill and intimacy that by the end of the book you feel as though you have truly known each one of them and seen into a piece of their world. Moving and poignant, but not dark, the story and the characters will stay with you long after you finish the book.
Great Read! Oct 31, 2007
Pleasurable read. She has a nice flow to her writing, the story was interesting.
A beautifully crafted novel Aug 26, 2007
This story was simplistic and wonderful. I read it in two days and was mesmerized by the rich culture. The best book I've read in a long time
2 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 A sedate samurai Aug 20, 2007
The plot of this book makes a terrific outline: A young Chinese man recuperating in Japan from tuberculosis while Japanese troops are slaughtering his Chinese contemporaries in the pre-World War Two invasion; a quiet but strong and wise caretaker who lives to rescue victims of leprosy, including a woman spurned by his best friend; a marriage crisis for the Chinese man's parents; a Romeo/Juliet type love story between the Chinese man and a young Japanese woman. Should be socko.
Instead, it's sedating. Whether it's the passive nature of Stephen, the young Chinese man, or the very pedestrian writing style of the author, I found this book consistently tepid. She shows off her new knowledge about Japanese culture, giving detailed descriptions of every meal and every kimono.
She tells the story through Stephen when the caretaker, Matsu, is the central character. Because Matsu is strong and silent, we don't get inside his character development.
Nevertheless, it's an interesting look at Japan before WWII: religion, relationship and customs.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Beautiful Aug 15, 2007
A delightful story of a chinese teen, sent to japan on the eve of WW2 to recuperate after getting tuberculosis. He meets his father's servant who he gets to know and the locals, finding them friendly and welcoming even with the war. He finds the simple way of life, instead of being boring, fills his days and he is bereft when the war forces him to leave.
A wonderful piece of prose, this haunting story of the simple people and their tragic lives is a page turner.
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