Musashi
This would have to be one of the best novels I have ever read. Before I started reading it, I thought that it would take forever to read.....970 pages of small writing....but I found it almost impossible to put down.
I had heard alot of great things about Miyamoto Musashi, who has been called the greatest samurai swordsman ever, so I initially bought "The Book of Five Rings", which Musashi wrote explaining the way of the sword. i found it to be a very dry and tedious read and I went off anything factual that had to do with Musashi.....but then I came across this piece of fiction based on the real life of Musashi.....a story about family, love, revenge and of course Musashi's infamous fights that made him the legend he is today. I could learn everything there was to learn about Musashi and enjoy the fantastic story that went along with his life. It is much easier to remember things about him when you actually enjoy what you are reading.
The author, Eiji Yoshikawa, is an extremely gifted writer and I also enjoyed his other books that have been translated into English. Charles Terry did a fantastic translation of "Musashi". "TAIKO" is another great samurai epic by Yoshikawa. It's about the famous monkey man leader of Japan, Hideyoshi, and is set just before that of "Musashi". I recommend reading "TAIKO" first so that you can understand about the volatile times of Japan, then read "Musashi", which follows into more peaceful times, where people roamed the streets looking to duel with samurai of status to improve their own reputations or find the way of the sword.
I had heard alot of great things about Miyamoto Musashi, who has been called the greatest samurai swordsman ever, so I initially bought "The Book of Five Rings", which Musashi wrote explaining the way of the sword. i found it to be a very dry and tedious read and I went off anything factual that had to do with Musashi.....but then I came across this piece of fiction based on the real life of Musashi.....a story about family, love, revenge and of course Musashi's infamous fights that made him the legend he is today. I could learn everything there was to learn about Musashi and enjoy the fantastic story that went along with his life. It is much easier to remember things about him when you actually enjoy what you are reading.
The author, Eiji Yoshikawa, is an extremely gifted writer and I also enjoyed his other books that have been translated into English. Charles Terry did a fantastic translation of "Musashi". "TAIKO" is another great samurai epic by Yoshikawa. It's about the famous monkey man leader of Japan, Hideyoshi, and is set just before that of "Musashi". I recommend reading "TAIKO" first so that you can understand about the volatile times of Japan, then read "Musashi", which follows into more peaceful times, where people roamed the streets looking to duel with samurai of status to improve their own reputations or find the way of the sword.
