The Samurai's Garden: A Novel [B1826]

1996 PB in excellent condition. Author Gail Tsukiyama, the daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for this extraordinary story. A 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen 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.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "An absolutely beautiful book - the purest form of escapism. I felt completely transported to Tarumi; I could visualize and almost smell the shoji doors and stone gardens, and I spent time in the village of Yamaguchi alongside the characters. The setting is immersive, the characters are richly and thoughtfully drawn, and the backdrop of the early days of the Second World War adds quiet depth to the story."; "Beautiful story with lots of pain points between Chinese and Japanese culture."; "Nice sensitive story centered on a boy on the cusp of adulthood witnessing many older lives affected by circumstances and decisions made decades before. The juxtaposition of these events was subtle and well written."; "I loved the calmness and deep respect and love this culture offers to us during our current tumultuous time. A great read!"