The Samurai's Garden Audiobook By Gail Tsukiyama cover art

The Samurai's Garden

A Novel

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The Samurai's Garden

By: Gail Tsukiyama
Narrated by: David Shih
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The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail 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.

©1994 Gail Tsukiyama (P)2017 Tantor Historical Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"An extraordinarily graceful and moving novel about goodness and beauty...Tsukiyama is a wise and spellbinding storyteller." ( Booklist)
Beautiful Storytelling • Poignant Narrative • Gentle Pacing • Deep Human Connections • Vivid Imagery
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This gave me a wonderful look at two cultures with only a few very well developed characters that became like friends.

Lovely story of gentle characters.

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First of all I love her writing this book was no exception to others I have read great story and great performance from the reader !

Outstanding Story

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Such a wonderful, poignant story! Although haunted by the ominous echoes of a distant war, the events related are quite ordinary, the day-to-day happenings of a small group of characters in a little resort town in rural Japan. And yet there’s something truly compelling about it all. I couldn’t stop listening. The characters completely drew me in. It is a beautifully told tale and, by the end, deeply moving. I loved it.

Lovely

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Leaves the reader with much to think about. Well developed characters, engaging storyline, human character studies in a very readable work of fiction.

Historical and spiritual fiction, pulls you in...

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I did enjoy this book. It was different than my usual listen. It had a very calming and peaceful narrative. It was not an exciting book but if you're looking for something soothing and easy this might be a good choice for you. It was interesting to learn about the time period from a different point of view. I liked it but towards the end it became a little tedious. Lots of detail.

It became be long......

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This was a great story about so many things. All of which, I only knew a fraction about. Generally, it was what we were told on the news.
It becomes so much more when you have real people. I really loved the three main characters.

Great story

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Normally, I don't like reading however we were given this book as an option for my AP 11th grade english class. It was amazing. This story truly captures everything and I definitely recommend.

love love love

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I just finished this book, so beautifully written.
It is a MUST read.
With the world being so “upside down”, it is so good to read a book that depicts nothing but goodness.
The narrator, David Shih, is excellent.
My thanks to all involved, JK.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL

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I loved everything about this book except the fact that it had to end. I could have listened to so much more about the lives of these characters I had grown so fond of.

Japanese culture, past and present, is something I have become interested in since my last trip there this Spring. I have read Memoirs of a Geisha, Shogun, Wabi Sabi , and this book since my return. I only hope I can find another that I can enjoy as much as this one.

Wonderful story with characters I grew to love

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The narration was great. The imagery of the story beautiful. Easy to listen to and imagine while
Driving. The author tells a very good story that is enjoyable, thoughtful and engaging. I lived it. I will audioread another!

Imagery and narration

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