Customer Reviews

The Boy and the Samurai

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Immerse yourself in this thrilling and thought provoking tale by Erik Christian Haugaard, the Boy and the Samurai. Erik Christian Haugaard is a renowned author that grew up in Denmark but later moved to other countries like the United States, Italy, Spain, and Japan - the reasons for his unique style of writing and interesting ideas. This colorful background has made him the sensational author he is.

Saru, which means monkey, is a smart young boy. He is agile, able to think on his feet, and comprehensive, three traits that aren't seen often enough. Saru is placed in the care of a wet nurse after his mother dies. His father dies later in the troubling times of 16th century Japan in a great battle. A great fire comes destroying the village, leaving Saru completely alone. He lives as a beggar in a little shrine on whatever scraps he can find. His cleverness also helps him know the ways of the world and the people around him. His many adventures lead him up to the greatest one where he helps a desperate samurai save his wife from the crazy emperor.

This book has filled me with much thoughts and interest about the Japanese culture and has prompted me to read more historical books such as this. I think that anyone who enjoys the book, The Phantom Tollbooth will enjoy this book as well.

I read the book because I had to for school. I wasn't expecting much from it; I had yet to be impressed with their "core literature" selection which included books like "Shadow Spinner," "The Golden Goblet," and "Catherine Called Birdy."

This book is better of any of the preceding. It follows an orphaned boy, "Saru," through the times of the warring states in Japan, from the 15 humdreds to 16 hundreds. Durring that time warlords had divided the states in civil war, so we find charactor's avoiding and entering battle. The first section of the book describes Japan, a place with winter's as cold as the hearts of the Samerai, and summer's as warm as the hearts of the priests.

As the book moves onward we meet a disgraced Samerai who wishes to free his wife. The book describes most of the Samerai as col blooded murderers, so it is very interesting to see how Saru slowly begins to trust the other man.

Despite its predictable outcome and rushed ending I give the book four stars for some very creative writing by Haugaard.

In the book, The Boy And The Samurai, there are 6 surprising events. One of them is that almost instantly; he becomes an orphan twice when both his real parents and foster parents died. Another is when he survives one of the harshest winters with barely any warmth or food while raising a cat. He also stops a gang of children from robbing an inn. These are some reasons why the events in The Boy And The Samurai is interesting and surprising.

A Review by Brock
This was story of a boy name Saru, who was an orphan of war. His father was killed in battle and mother died when he was born. He lived alone, under a small shrine, after his foster mother died in a fire. He later lived with a Priest at the temple in his town. When he was there, he met a samurai who told him about his wife, who was being held hostage at the kings castle. Saru then devises a plan to get her out and escape that town to the ocean.

The story overall was really good. It's basically a fictional auto-biography. The main character is telling the story as if it were from his past. The plot was really good because there wasn't a main plot; it was just what happened to Saru during his life. For example, Saru was sleeping under a small shrine one day, and the next day he ends up meeting someone who will pay him to run an errand, then it tells about that he stopped an inn from being robbed. When you're reading it, you want to find out what's going to happen to him. Also, the main character is very realistic for that period of time. The book was set in feudal Japan, so Saru, a orphan who is very poor, is a very believable character. To illustrate, Saru must bow and stop every time he sees a Samurai, because if he doesn't than he mad e be kicked or even killed. So, overall, it was a really good book.

I would recommend this to most readers, however it needs to be someone who actually likes to read, otherwise they would probably get really bored. It's also good for people who are either interested in medieval times, or Japan in general.

This book is about a the life of a young Japanese boy. Orphaned at a very young age he has to learn how to survive without any family or any kind of support. Although this book does get a little boring at some parts, it's pretty exciting and worth reading.

Hi,
This book is about a boy named Saru who is orphaned at a young age. He learns to survive with a priest. He deals with robber gangs and powerful samurais. One day he meets a samurai who wants to rescue his wife from another powerful samurai. So they two men journey off together to find the wife. But their future...they do not know.

I think this book was really good. Very detailed and exciting events. A definite 5 star!

i got this book from my school library, because i'm interested in Japanese culture. it's about an orphaned boy named Saru, which is Japanese for monkey, and how he lives under a shrine with a cat named Neko, meeting thieves and samurai along the way. he then goes to live with a priest and grows up, then meets a dishonored samurai trying to free his wife from their lord's castle. Saru finds this samurai to be a friend, and so he tries to help. it's a good book, so i recommend it.

I liked the way the story goes up and down. For instance, at one time, the boy cannot wait to show a silver coin to his friend, but then his friend did not meet him. So, the book has a lot of suspense. The book really flows and the boy seems really clever but sometimes he goes the wrong way. I would highly recommend this book to other kids to read, but if they are grossed out by even one drop of blood, then maybe they wouldn't like it.