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Helen Dewitt

The Last Samurai Paperback – April 3, 2002

by Helen De Witt (Author)

341 ratings

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Helen DeWitt's extraordinary debut, The Last Samurai, centers on the relationship between Sibylla, a single mother of precocious and rigorous intelligence, and her son, who, owing to his mother's singular attitude to education, develops into a prodigy of learning. Ludo reads Homer in the original Greek at 4 before moving on to Hebrew, Japanese, Old Norse, and Inuit; studying advanced mathematical techniques (Fourier analysis and Laplace transformations); and, as the title hints, endlessly watching and analyzing Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai. But the one question that eludes an answer is that of the name of his father: Sibylla believes the film obliquely provides the male role models that Ludo's genetic father cannot, and refuses to be drawn on the question of paternal identity. The child thinks differently, however, and eventually sets out on a search, one that leads him beyond the certainties of acquired knowledge into the complex and messy world of adults.

The novel draws on themes topical and perennial--the hothousing of children, the familiar literary trope of the quest for the (absent) father--and as such, divides itself into two halves: the first describes Ludo's education, the second follows him in his search for his father and father figures. The first stresses a sacred, Apollonian pursuit of logic, precise (if wayward) erudition, and the erratic and endlessly fascinating architecture of languages, while the second moves this knowledge into the world of emotion, human ambitions, and their attendant frustrations and failures.

The Last Samurai is about the pleasure of ideas, the rich varieties of human thought, the possibilities that life offers us, and, ultimately, the balance between the structures we make of the world and the chaos that it proffers in return. Stylistically, the novel mirrors this ambivalence: DeWitt's remarkable prose follows the shifts and breaks of human consciousness and memory, capturing the intrusions of unspoken thought that punctuate conversation while providing tantalizing disquisitions on, for example, Japanese grammar or the physics of aerodynamics. It is remarkable, profound, and often very funny. Arigato DeWitt-sensei. --Burhan Tufail

Print length

544 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Miramax
Publication date

April 3, 2002
Grade level

8 and up
Reading age

13 years and up
Dimensions

6.13 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0786887001
ISBN-13

978-0786887002
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Helen DeWitt was born in Takoma Park, Maryland. She grew up mainly in South America, started her degree at Smith College in 1975 and dropped out twice. She did a B.A. at Lady Margaret Hall and a doctorate at Brasenose, then spent a year as junior research fellow at Somerville before deciding
to give up academic life in 1989. She now lives in Maryland.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Miramax; Reprint edition (April 3, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786887001
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786887002
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.57 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36,593 in Short Stories (Books)
- #112,521 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #194,192 in American Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
341 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		56%
4 star		23%
3 star		7%
2 star		7%
1 star		8%

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Top reviews from the United States

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moving

Loved this.. One of the best reads of my year.

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2017

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Brilliant. Funny. Delightful. Thank you Helen DeWitt. For those who couldn't get through the big words... be aware that's one of the plot points. Being smart doesn't mean you don't struggle with insecurity, arrogance, fear.. Don't get bogged down in in intellectual minutiae, stick with the big picture plot for maximum reading pleasure. Even when it rambles down the road it has a destination. One of those books I closed with a sigh regretting the fact that there aren't enough like it. Basically, it is the story of a highly intelligent, socially akward young american woman and her highly intelligent 11 year old son. The are very poor financially and quite isolated although they live in London, but survive and in some ways even thrive making the most of other resources such as their wits, the library, public transportation...

23 people found this helpful

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Marilyn Stokes

Very Difficult - couldn’t do it

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2019

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Based on great NYT and other reviews I was so looking forward to sinking my teeth into this but after a couple of chapters, it’s just too much. Evidently considered a literary feat, it’s just too hard to read. Stream of consciousness, shifting viewpoints, etc. I don’t have time for this

14 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Best

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018

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Well, he said, I have read a lot of books in my life. The word best doesn't slip unsupervised past my lips and run screaming down the street very often. Oops, there it goes. He said.

16 people found this helpful

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Matthew S

Just Jump In

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2018

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The Last Samurai will kind of ruin the next book you read because the next book you read will inevitably be not as good. It's a tough act to follow. Consider me a vote for those who are not sure if they are getting in over their heads. I stepped into this book a little reluctantly. 500+ pages of big words and the nature of genius seemed a little intimidating to me. After an hour of reading I was a little put off honestly. It can get a little crazy and I was not sure I was understanding anything. Thankfully I read some reviews that encourage you not to take in every little detail but rather enjoy the book as a whole. That turned out to be great advice. I encourage others to do the same. It turned out to be a great ride. Don't be afraid to jump in.

9 people found this helpful

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Roger Conner

Addictive in a Weird Way

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2019

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A pyrotechnic display of languages, literature, and history, expressed through the education and encounters of a child prodigy on the order of John Stuart Mill. This is carried on through a bildungsroman as the protagonist searches out exceptional men who might have been attracted enough to his brilliant mother to have produced him. There is quite a bit of witty writing, and the shenanigans the hero uses to get in to see famous characters in order to determine whether they could be his dad are entertaining. Looming behind all this seems to be the conviction that we underestimate what children are capable of and subject them to schools that suppress creativity and the joy of learning. That joy--or at any rate the author's joy--is the book's energy.

4 people found this helpful

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Sherry Christie

One of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2018

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Fascinating, astonishing, enigmatic, heartbreaking.

Try not to prepare yourself by reviewing the plot of THE LAST SAMURAI. Just let it take you on a river of discovery.

9 people found this helpful

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Cliente de Kindle

Interesting...

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2021

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We'll, it made me think, though it's not exactly a page-turner. The plot in the last chapters moved along much better, as Ludo was looking for the ideal father. No matter how esoteric, a book needs a plot and sympathetic characters in order for human readers to care about it. Sibylla failed to convince me that a small child is better off spending all day at home with no other social interaction than with his mother, albeit learning Greek, Arabic, and Japanese at a precocious age. The author disregards the fact that languages are used to be communicate with other people, and also that children need friends and structure in addition to intellectual stimulation(yes, children are necessarily in "subjugation" to adults, which is why it is a sacred responsibility and why we have laws protecting children). (Spoiler alert) It was disturbing when not only did a man commit suicide in front of the child, but he showed more tenderness and affection toward the corpse than toward anyone else including his mother. I was also shocked that she wasn't able to abandon her lofty academic principles in order to earn enough money to heat their home in the winter.
I think it would have been possible to maintain the interesting main characters and their passion for obscure studies, while giving them more realistic motivations.

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016

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Fascinating read. Well written, engaging and thoughtful. I know that this book has been compared to to Infinite Jest. I enjoyed this book, The Last Samarai, more. I find myself hesitant to say more as my own lack of brilliance and ability to properly paint a picture that represents the depth and breathe of the experience of reading this. I hope the reader will take the plunge and experience it themselves.

10 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

seeker

Poignant, funny, challenging. Full of ideas

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2018

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I came across Helen Dewitt in a Vulture.com blog post that asked authors and critics to rate the BEST BOOKS OF THE CENTURY SO FAR. THIS BOOK WAS #1.

If you didn't understand the reviewer who said "Haven’t been this excited since discovering DFW" then this book is probably not for you. You'll only buy it and give it a poor review which, given the economics of Amazon and the book trade in general, will only damage the author - who is in my opinion a genius. David Foster Wallace was a different kind of writer, but had the same restless approach to his craft.

If the idea that the form of the novel can be disassembled and reconstructed in a way that challenges the intellect and basic aesthetic comprehension - a process that has been going on for well over a hundred years - then don't buy this book. You'll only mistake its formal playfulness and experimentation for typos (see other Amazon reviewers), and you'll give it a poor rating.

Please buy the book if you have an open mind, love literature and want to support it. We need people like DeWitt who think in new ways, even if it does outrage the 'general public'.

5 people found this helpful

Tarot Scribe

Not for me, sorry :/

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2018

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This book just isn't my cup of tea. Parts of it were great, other parts just felt pretentious to me. However, it did make me think that I could possibly get to grips with the Greek alphabet in a weekend if I put my mind to it. Have an open mind and try the book for yourself - if you don't like it, then at least you gave it a go :)

4 people found this helpful

Jack Ireland

A lot of promise...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2014

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This book has probably my favourite prologue of any book I have read. I would probably buy the book again for the prologue alone. However the initial focus and tight writing style, which so captured me with its momentum, dissipates quickly. It is replaced by a sprawly narrative full of interesting insights, impressive knowledge and cute observations - but with no clear direction, and worse, possibly no clear purpose but to showcase the writer's range (this is her first book I believe). I had to pick up this book again a number of times before I could finish it but I would read more of her work based on that initial promise...

3 people found this helpful

Sammie

very boring!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2020

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This book is a HUGE disappointment. I couldn't even get into it, it's really boring and the story doesn't really make sense at the start. I think this is the only book I've ever bought where I've genuinely just given up reading it. I wouldn't buy this book unless you really enjoy reading non-fiction.

izzy

buried treasures of wit and meaning

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2002

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Helen DeWitt as writer of The Last Samurai goes straight to the top to join Swift, Joyce & Beckett as my literary heroes. This work of black humour and dead-pan virtuosity brings the Enlightenment into the present day vernacular.
The selection sequence from Kurasawa's movie the 7 Samurai provides the frame by which the boy Ludo explores the seven potential candidates for the role of father. Each man is tested by his ability to "parry the blow" of paternity, so prove himself a real samurai. Each of these encounters is a tragi-comic gem in its own right up to the final one, the Last Samurai, the one who has the answers. The elan with which DeWitt sustains the development of plot and character up to the triumphant last word is breathtaking. Yet there is more to it than the intricacies of the story. The understanding of language, art, music, games is underpinned with passages of astounding beauty. It is also profound. Whether in Tescos or the steppes of Asia, there is cruelty and heroism, suicidal despair and life-redeeming hope.
Buy the hardback version. This is a book to cherish, buried treasures of wit and meaning emerging with each re-reading, and the decorative character of the typography, pages of Japanese characters and mathematical calculations inserted seamlessly as integral illustrations, as pictures of the mind at work, is enhanced by the quality of print and paper, worthy of a present-day Gutenberg.

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