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Title: Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0-06-100950-4 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.91 (34 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Suicidal behavior
Comment: This story is very strong on atmosphere and weaker on real mystery. I found it a fascinating glimpse into what the real tenor of medieval Japan might have been like. Suicidal behavior characterizes not only the initial crime victims but the obstinate actions of Sano Ichiro, a police commander struggling against the extremely rigid and hierarchical filial, political, and police "system" in 1689 Edo (Tokyo). He seems to instinctively know the "truth" despite all his social conditioning in the samurai code of loyalty, obedience, and reputation. As the first in the series the author should have shown by his actions, rather than assertion alone, that Sano in fact had had a history of dedication to the alleged "truth and justice" that conveniently appears whenever he is pressed by custom or patron to conform to an official cover-up he seeks to break. Aside from the author's simplistic psychology this is a fascinating story because of the realistic and exotic atmosphere, the feeling engendered by Joh's descriptive ability that you are really there. The author is particularly sensitive to Edo's sweet or foetid odors and to localizing each of the scenes with visual clues. The book is nicely printed. The story has a very exciting samurai conclusion, but despite the blurbs there's no love interest here.
Rating: 5
Summary: good japanese introduction
Comment: If you are interested in Japanese folktales, bushido, or just ancient Japan in genral, this is an excellent book, well worth the money. I don't enjoy mysteries at all, and didn't read this book expecting one, so I suppose that is why I could not solve teh mystery until it was revealed to me. The descriptions of 17th century Japan are outstanding, you reallty feel like you are there. The sequel, Bundori, surpasses even this book, but I'd reccomend going in chronological order. The books after Bundori kind of trail off, and the plots become less beleivable, even for a fiction tale. But it is definetly worth it to read about how a common teacher is requested to teh court of the shogun.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent characters and atmosphere
Comment: This was my introduction to Sano Ichiro (and Rowland's books) and I was fascinated with the descriptions of 17th century Japan. I've done a bit of historical reading into that era (early Shin Buddhism) and found this book was accurate and richly descriptive.
As for the character of Sano, I understand some of the other comments that he wasn't "heroic" enough for a Samurai. But that was one of the things that made him interesting to me. He is a quite "average" man who gets caught up in a system that can easily swallow him whole.
The book, although it had a few minor flaws, was intriquing enough for me to read several more of the series and it's interesting to see the way Sano's character develops. I just finished the fourth book in the series (The Concubine's Tattoo) and look forward to all the others.
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Title: Bundori by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0061011975 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 03 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Way of the Traitor by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0061010901 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 04 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Samurai's Wife by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0312974485 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Concubine's Tattoo by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0312969228 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Black Lotus by Laura Joh Rowland ISBN: 0312979584 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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