The Samurai's Garden

Good points: The writing style is gorgeous. The author does a good job at juggling multiple characters and telling their stories through Stephen and his letters. I thought Sachi and her story was extremely compelling, even though the book's title points more towards Matsu as the main character.

Bad(?) points: I hesitate to call them bad points because there's nothing exactly bad about this book, just points that didn't really resonate well with me. I felt like the story never really went anywhere, for one. We meet Stephen and the cast of characters, learn their backstories, and then...nothing else, really. I felt like this book really lacked something I needed to make it a more compelling read for me.

To put it plainly, I thought this book was perfectly fine, but not really memorable. The writing was excellent, but I felt like the story never really went anywhere. A perfectly adequate, slow book, but not one that I am likely to remember for very long.