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informative
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Classism
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Full disclosure: I "read" the audiobook. As such, the narrator, Jonathan Keeble, does factor in somewhat.
Not to mention that this is a book about samurai, Japan's warrior elite. Content warnings do apply, because... you know. Samurai are famous for certain things that are mentioned in the book.
As the title says - it's a brief history of the samurai over about a thousand years. As such it only scratches the surface and about most topics he Clements just slightly touches you could write libraries about.
But as an overview book to get into the topic? Very good. It gives you a general idea but you might be overwhelmed because so many names are dropped and if you don't know who those people are it gets confusing easily. I have some knowledge of Japanese history beforehand, but it was still a lot to take in. Going back to the book after having read up more on the topic might be of more worth.
As for the audio book - the narrator, Jonathan Keeble, had a very lovely voice. He made the time pass very quickly and as such the book did not feel slow-paced. But it was noticeable that his pronunciation of Japanese terms and names (I can't speak for the Chinese and Koreans names on the ground of not speaking those languages) was off, in some cases less so, in some cases it was distracting from the overall narrative.
Still, I am looking forward to listen to more works narrated by Jonathan Keeble. His voice was soothing and he, as a narrator, has impressive ability.
Not to mention that this is a book about samurai, Japan's warrior elite. Content warnings do apply, because... you know. Samurai are famous for certain things that are mentioned in the book.
As the title says - it's a brief history of the samurai over about a thousand years. As such it only scratches the surface and about most topics he Clements just slightly touches you could write libraries about.
But as an overview book to get into the topic? Very good. It gives you a general idea but you might be overwhelmed because so many names are dropped and if you don't know who those people are it gets confusing easily. I have some knowledge of Japanese history beforehand, but it was still a lot to take in. Going back to the book after having read up more on the topic might be of more worth.
As for the audio book - the narrator, Jonathan Keeble, had a very lovely voice. He made the time pass very quickly and as such the book did not feel slow-paced. But it was noticeable that his pronunciation of Japanese terms and names (I can't speak for the Chinese and Koreans names on the ground of not speaking those languages) was off, in some cases less so, in some cases it was distracting from the overall narrative.
Still, I am looking forward to listen to more works narrated by Jonathan Keeble. His voice was soothing and he, as a narrator, has impressive ability.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide