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A review by shiva
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
5.0
The last time I had a fleeting fascination for the Samurai was in middle school. With almost no existing interest in Japanese history, I started reading Musashi. And am I glad I did! I didn't put it down for three weeks. Even now, I return frequently to reread passages.
True. The plot has a few (very few) bits that might bore and seem almost forced, sometimes even vex - but a reading of this book deserves that you cast aside such trivialities, because it is a breathtaking story of one man's becoming. A friend told me recently, "The best of feelings are the ones you can’t quite express as well as you’d like to, the ones that lead your words to fail." That is how strongly I felt for this one.
I have read very few books more than once, and almost no other at one stretch. Very rarely do you come across the right book you need to read at just the right time in your life. Even as the story unfolded in this epic saga, I found myself backstepping time and again, attempting to grasp at ideas and thoughts in the minds of Musashi and those around him. Eiji Yoshikawa has a masterpiece here. It reads like a breeze and the imagery is fantastic. For all its Zen seriousness, it is also laugh out loud hilarious. I can say outright that this book will have a tremendous impact on the Way I live the rest of my days.
True. The plot has a few (very few) bits that might bore and seem almost forced, sometimes even vex - but a reading of this book deserves that you cast aside such trivialities, because it is a breathtaking story of one man's becoming. A friend told me recently, "The best of feelings are the ones you can’t quite express as well as you’d like to, the ones that lead your words to fail." That is how strongly I felt for this one.
I have read very few books more than once, and almost no other at one stretch. Very rarely do you come across the right book you need to read at just the right time in your life. Even as the story unfolded in this epic saga, I found myself backstepping time and again, attempting to grasp at ideas and thoughts in the minds of Musashi and those around him. Eiji Yoshikawa has a masterpiece here. It reads like a breeze and the imagery is fantastic. For all its Zen seriousness, it is also laugh out loud hilarious. I can say outright that this book will have a tremendous impact on the Way I live the rest of my days.