Review: "The Samurai's Garden" by Gail Tsukiyama
The setting is poignant. It is 1937, and Japan's Imperial Army is raging across China, pushing ever farther south, leaving destruction in its wake. In Hong Kong, a Chinese university student from a well-to-do family falls ill with tuberculosis. His father, a successful businessman who divides his time between China and Japan, arranges for him to recuperate in a quiet village in rural Japan where the family has a vacation home. The cooler, drier climate and the calm of the seaside hamlet are expected to benefit his health.
But Stephen is a fish out of water at first. Although he remembers the vacation home and its caretaker Matsu, his family's servant, he feels lost when he arrives there to convalesce. The village of Tarumi is nothing like bustling Hong Kong, and he feels uncomfortable among the inhabitants-- not only is his a Chinese face among the Japanese, but also he is the only young man, as the others are off fighting......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 513
Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |