Cloud of Sparrows - (Samurai) by Takashi Matsuoka (Paperback)

About the Book

Matsuoka's magnificent new novel, set amid the violence and beauty of 19th-century Japan, takes readers beyond the epic tradition of Clavell's "Shogun" and into a majestic realm of samurai and geishas, ninjas and Zen masters.

Book Synopsis

Enter a world of samurai and geishas, ninjas and Zen masters in this "rousing tale of Shogun Japan" (New York Post) from the acclaimed author of Autumn Bridge.

"Triumphant . . . terrific . . . This is a riveting read, alternately playful and suspenseful."--People

The year is 1861. After two centuries of isolation, Japan has opened its doors to the West. And as foreign ships threaten to rain destruction on the Shogun's castle in Edo, a small group of American missionaries has arrived to spread the word of their God. They have yet to realize that their future in Japan has already been foreseen. For a young nobleman has dreamt that his life will be saved by an outsider in the New Year . . . and it is said that Lord Genji has the gift of prophecy.

What happens next--when the handsome lord meets an apparently reformed gunslinger and a woman in flight from her own destructive beauty--sets the stage for a remarkable adventure. For as this unlikely band embarks on a journey through a landscape bristling with danger, East and West, flesh and spirit, past and future, collide in ways no one--least of all Genji--could have imagined.

Review Quotes

"Exotic, entertaining . . . [an] exceptional first novel . . . with an ambitious, unexpected ending that cuts deeper than a samurai sword."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Nimble [and] adventure-filled . . . a likably straight-up samurai epic."--Entertainment Weekly

"A rousing tale of Shogun Japan."--New York Post

"The book seizes you from start to finish."--The Washington Post

"[Cloud of Sparrows] is what a samurai novel should be: dramatic and bloody, sybaritic and sexy by turns. . . . You have to force yourself to slow down or it's over too soon."--Honolulu Advertiser

"Matsuoka has a great sense of humor and employs comic relief skillfully. Who needs a samurai story that takes itself too seriously?"--Tampa Tribune

"A fine first novel . . . truly engaging and hard to put down."--Baton Rouge Magazine

"Like James Clavell in Shogun and Arthur Golden in Memoirs of a Geisha, Matsuoka effortlessly introduces the reader to mysterious Japanese customs, rituals, and traditions . . . a compelling debut."--Booklist

"An exciting debut novel . . . Matsuoka has all the markings of a great storyteller."--Grand Rapids Press

About the Author

Takashi Matsuoka grew up in Hawaii. He lives in Honolulu, where he was employed at a Zen Buddhist temple before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of the acclaimed novels Autumn Bridge and Cloud of Sparrows, which has been translated into fifteen languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Czech, and Hebrew.