Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
One HUGE book. The translated version in Romanian has around 1200 pages.
Nevertheless, a fantastic read. The first thing that strikes you is the narrative. It seems so effortless, it's incredible. Yoshikawa definitely has an amazing storytelling talent and you read it really fast, although by the end it somewhat gets tedious because of the huge length. Nevertheless this epic has almost everything you need - action, romance, philosophy, character development... Musashi is definitely one strong character who sees life through his own philosophical "window" - a beautiful spiritual journey and sometimes it even makes you ask the question "What is life?"
Most of the epic is a dramatisation of Musashi's real life, drawn out in his own work "The Book of Five Rings" but Yoshikawa's skill and incredible craft really stands out. There is a slight idea of tragedy inside it and the ending leaves you hanging by a thread, but it is all about the journey inside whilst you read it.
Page by page, the book becomes very recognisable; the struggles Musashi faces are universal and can apply to everyone. He does have an innate aggression but also a stoic determination to become the best swordsman there ever was, and the plot is heavily built over character development. Antithesis is the main element, the dispute between Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, his arch enemy, is increasingly obvious as the plot advances. The romance part is deep, and carefully threads on the idea of unrequited love between Musashi and his love interest Otsu. She loves him and openly accepts the fact, he does as well, but he does want love to interfere his chosen way - The Way of the Sword. From an unruly teenager to the best swordsman in medieval Japan, Musashi's remarkable evolution makes you think about your own life and think over what you personally have done (I did at least).
Whenever you have the time, pick it up. And get lots of sleep before, you will not put it down. There's honestly not enough superlatives for this book. It is one incredible epic.
One HUGE book. The translated version in Romanian has around 1200 pages.
Nevertheless, a fantastic read. The first thing that strikes you is the narrative. It seems so effortless, it's incredible. Yoshikawa definitely has an amazing storytelling talent and you read it really fast, although by the end it somewhat gets tedious because of the huge length. Nevertheless this epic has almost everything you need - action, romance, philosophy, character development... Musashi is definitely one strong character who sees life through his own philosophical "window" - a beautiful spiritual journey and sometimes it even makes you ask the question "What is life?"
Most of the epic is a dramatisation of Musashi's real life, drawn out in his own work "The Book of Five Rings" but Yoshikawa's skill and incredible craft really stands out. There is a slight idea of tragedy inside it and the ending leaves you hanging by a thread, but it is all about the journey inside whilst you read it.
Page by page, the book becomes very recognisable; the struggles Musashi faces are universal and can apply to everyone. He does have an innate aggression but also a stoic determination to become the best swordsman there ever was, and the plot is heavily built over character development. Antithesis is the main element, the dispute between Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, his arch enemy, is increasingly obvious as the plot advances. The romance part is deep, and carefully threads on the idea of unrequited love between Musashi and his love interest Otsu. She loves him and openly accepts the fact, he does as well, but he does want love to interfere his chosen way - The Way of the Sword. From an unruly teenager to the best swordsman in medieval Japan, Musashi's remarkable evolution makes you think about your own life and think over what you personally have done (I did at least).
Whenever you have the time, pick it up. And get lots of sleep before, you will not put it down. There's honestly not enough superlatives for this book. It is one incredible epic.