The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai - Hardcover

Haugaard, Erik Christian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395708095 ISBN 13: 9780395708095

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1995

Synopsis

The boy Jiro is chosen as his master's spy, as part of a plot by forty-seven samurai to avenge their master's unjust death, and he proves himself a quick-witted survivor. By the author of The Boy and the Samurai.

About this title

About the Author

Erik Haugaard was born in Denmark and has traveled extensively in the United States, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Called "a writer gifted in the art of the storyteller" by the BOSTON GLOBE, he is internationally known for his accomplishments as a playwright, poet, and translator. He has won critical acclaim for his books for young readers, including A BOY'S WILL, THE UNTOLD TALE, and CROMWELL'S BOY.

Reviews

Grade 7-12?Jiro, a servant in 18th-century Japan, relates the revenge his master and 46 others take on the man who caused their lord's death. Along the way, Jiro discovers the secret of his parentage and determines what career he is to follow. Haugaard's story is long-winded and tediously slow, with numerous digressions, much philosophizing, and annoying repetition. Despite an introductory preface and list of characters, the book is often confusing. Many terms aren't defined in context, and there is no glossary or pronunciation guide. The bright, intriguing cover and catchy title will probably attract readers, but few will endure past the preliminary chapters. Katherine Paterson does a superior job evoking 18th-century Japan in The Master Puppeteer (Crowell, 1976), which tells of another Jiro, a puppeteer's apprentice, in a gripping, well-written story. For an exciting samurai adventure, use Lensey Namioka's fast-moving series featuring Zenta and Matsuzo, including Island of Ogres (HarperCollins, 1989). Haugaard's The Samurai's Tale (Houghton, 1984), though more subdued than these other titles, is also preferable to his newest offering.?Ann W. Moore, Guilderland Public Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7^-12. In feudal Japan, a young servant named Jiro is a witness to destiny when his master, Lord Asano, meets an unjust death through the machinations of a dishonorable man. Out of the 200 samurai who served Lord Asano, 47 would avenge him. Jiro becomes "the fly on the wall" as he serves the samurai's leader, observing with a clear eye the difference between greed and honor. Haugaard has a clear eye of his own, depicting the structure of Japanese life in the fourteenth year of Genroku (1701) under the shogun Tukugawa Tsunayoshi. The story of the 47 samurai is a true one, based on a historical event still commemorated in Japan. The characterizations are memorable, and the fabric of daily life, woven so carefully into the tale, is easily absorbed. Themes of loyalty and honor are the threads that hold the story together as well as the hook that makes the book accessible. Janice Del Negro

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395708095
• ISBN 13: 9780395708095
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 226