The Samurai's Garden

A Novel

By: Gail Tsukiyama

Narrated by: David Shih

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

"An extraordinarily graceful and moving novel about goodness and beauty...Tsukiyama is a wise and spellbinding storyteller." ( Booklist)

love love love

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.

Lovely story of gentle characters.

This gave me a wonderful look at two cultures with only a few very well developed characters that became like friends.

Outstanding Story

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 !

Lovely

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.

A story of friendship and nature

Meaningful connection. It is available and accessible if we open ourselves to it. A beautiful garden grows when It is properly tended. Thank you for this wonderful story

Defines beauty in life

During prewar preparations the book examines coming of age in a boy isolated by illness, He discovers beauty and value of life where these do not appear at first.

A Beautiful Story of a Troubled Time

A Beautiful Story of a Troubled Time

Gail Tsukiyama writes very well, with a fluid way of telling a tale.

David Shih is an excellent narrator.

A slower burn that pays off

This is my first time reading this book as an adult. I came back to see if it still held up from when I read it as a teen. It does. While I will say I feel it starts slow, the slow unraveling of the plot and the secrets of the characters pays off better than if it were to all be revealed at once. This way there are little nuggets of surprise throughout instead of one big reveal followed with nothing. Overall it's a story that will stick with you and is the perfect pallet cleanser.

LOVED it!

This is such a great story and I loved the narration! Such a beautiful tale of a time in someone's life. Perfectly executed descriptive imagery.

Historical and spiritual fiction, pulls you in...

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