The Samurai's Garden

A Novel

By: Gail Tsukiyama

Narrated by: David Shih

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)

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.

Soothing healing story

This story was a healing read about a young man going to his grandfather’s house on the sea. He has tuberculosis. Even amidst war far away and family life he finds healing in the garden, in the sea, in love and in painting.

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.