The book got rave reviews from people I admire and I bought
both the audio and hardcover versions. The audio book was
released on Aug 28 and I went through all 53 hours listening
within a week.
It vaguely reminded me of the WuXia novels that consumed
me as a youth. They disgusted me when I got older, however,
feeling my time wasted on something that stopped to
resonate the moment I started to face real world (well, in
the West at least) problems. They might have temporary
entertainment values for a Chinese youth but overall shed no
light on how one should live.
The near 1000-page tome does not spend much time detailing
how the guy acquired his skills in swordsmanship. Unlike
many WuXia heros, he did not run into some great and
eccentric martial art teacher, secret books, magic herb,
etc., and as a result was transformed over night into an
unbeatable martial artist. Instead, Musashi practiced in
earnest, observed without sticking to particular styles, and
through discipline improved on his own.
The book, a fiction, made Musashi credible nonetheless. He
didn't get an extra break from life. At a time when the samurai
as a class was leaving the stage in feudal Japan, he made the
personal choice to become one and faced everyday challenges
and life puzzles as everyone else. He was not a genius or a
lucky cat. Aspirations similar to his felt equally achievable by
anyone as dedicated.
For the first time, I felt I started to understand something
in a Japanese mind, as described in the preface,
Contrary to the picture of the modern Japanese as merely
group oriented ''economic animals,'' many Japanese
prefer to see themselves as fiercely individualistic,
high-principled, self-disciplined and aesthetically
sensitive modern-day Musashis.
