A review by shonaningyo
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
4.0
I don't usually read historical fiction unless it's quick and easy, so this book was fun to read. I have a fondness for historical Japan around the time when Europe was stirring and America was beginning to hustle and bustle...
I liked this book because it presented the reader with a third-person limited narrative (my favorite!) of the differences between Japan and the West--specifically America--at the time, around the 1800s. Two different cultures that are radically different in dress, foods, politics, social structure, and of course language. Despite all this, the main character Manjiro--based on a real person--managed to learn all he could about both his native land of Japan and his newfound home in America and help bring the two countries together. It was a fun read, to say the least, and I'd recommend it.
I liked this book because it presented the reader with a third-person limited narrative (my favorite!) of the differences between Japan and the West--specifically America--at the time, around the 1800s. Two different cultures that are radically different in dress, foods, politics, social structure, and of course language. Despite all this, the main character Manjiro--based on a real person--managed to learn all he could about both his native land of Japan and his newfound home in America and help bring the two countries together. It was a fun read, to say the least, and I'd recommend it.