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Heart Of A Samurai (2010)

by Margi Preus(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0810989816 (ISBN13: 9780810989818)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Harry N. Abrams

review 1: I'm inclined to give this book 3.5 stars, but... I'm rounding down. About a fourteen-year-old Japanese boy who is rescued from shipwreck bypassing whalers in the 1840s, this is an example of how fascinating true stories do not necessarily make for fascinating books. There's a lot of interesting historical stuff going on here -- plenty to learn about sailing, for example, as well as Japanese and American culture at the time -- and the words are well written. Unfortunately, due to the author's intentions to remain as close as possible to actual events, the narrative lacks rhythm, pace, climax. I am left feeling that this would have made for a better biography than a piece of historical fiction. If one likes the era, indifferently recommended.
review 2: The book b... moreegins when Majiro is 14-years-old and then jumps very quickly from year to year. He works at sea on a fishermen’s boat when they get lost at sea and end up on a deserted island for 6 months until westerners come and find them. Captain William Whitfield can see how eager Majiro is to learn and offers to take him to America to work for him. While there Majiro learns English, the importance of whales, farming and a lot of other things about American life. The Captain will not take him home to Japan and so the Majiro has to start his long quest to find a way home. He had been away for 10 years and when he finally reached Japan it took two more years for the country to believe that he wasn’t a spy. It wasn’t an easy journey home but he never gave up. The information in this book is hard to follow along with if you aren’t paying attention. It covers a lot of time and information in just 300 pages. The reader needs to be careful that they are looking to see how much time has gone past when a new chapter has begun and they also need to read carefully throughout the chapter because months or years pass within one chapter. less

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