Child of Vengeance, Paperback

Description

Inspired by the true story of sixteenth-century samurai Musashi Miyamoto, David Kirk has crafted a rich, absorbing novel of one young man's coming of age at a crucial turning point in Japanese history.

Thirteen-year-old Bennosuke is deeply disconnected from the rest of his village. When he was five, his mother died, and his father, a powerful samurai, has been traveling the country in service to his lord ever since. Raised by his uncle, a monk, who has tried to teach his charge to eschew violence and martial glory and embrace knowledge and peace, Bennosuke worships his absent, renowned father, Munisai. Subject to shifting alliances beyond his control, Munisai has become indebted to the odious Nakata clan. This escalating feud forces him to return home to his village--followed by his enemies. Now Bennosuke will be forced to confront harsh truths about his family history and his own place in it--and to choose between the paths of samurai and monk.

About the author

DAVID KIRK first became interested in Japanese history when his father gave him a copy of James Clavell's Shogun. Years later he would be inspired to write his dissertation on samurai cinema. Kirk now lives in Japan, where he works as an English-language teacher and is at work on a second Musashi Miyamoto novel.