The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 1/23/2003 8:00:39 AM
Interesting excerpt. We live fairly close together. I am in Ohio, and originally from southern Kentucky. You go girl.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 12/14/2002 9:28:19 AM
The Samurai And The Tea is a wonderful book. Not only does it help us to see all the sufferings of the early Christians in love for God but iy also helps us to see the importance of the little things we sometimes miss in our daily happenings. In The Samurai And The Tea, Michael does not see the importance and significance of the CHAWAN, and we too may not see the importance in "little thinhs" such as prayer and the rosary. I, being a convert to the Catholic religion, sometimes forget the importance of these "little things". But this book has helped me to see that even though we tend to see things different and dont understand the importance of them we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss them. Instead we should strive to see the significance of these things and hold them most dear. I think Cathy Brueggemann Beil is a wonderful author and a sincere Catholic. I would love to read more of her interesting ideas and i wait for the opportunity.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 11/4/2002 11:36:25 AM
This is no ordinary tea set; rather an ancient and mystical family heirloom, and when Michael first sips from the chawan, the bowl in which the tea is seeped, he is instantly transported back in time.
In depicting the humiliation of Japanese-Americans in the interment camps of WW II, the valor of the Japanese American Unit of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fighting the Germans on Suicide Hill, to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Beil paints a horrific picture of prosecution and pain. Her ability to empathize with Michael as he calls upon strengths he didn’t know he had make for a moving portrait of a young boy ’s coming of age. Back in his own time, presented with the swords he had once yearned for, Michael rejects them in favor of the tea set.
“It is not in being ready to kill that a man shows his strength,” he tells his grandmother, “but in being ready to die for peace.”
Cathy Brueggeman Beil’s slender novel packs a lot of information into its tightly paced pages. Michael’s travels take him to pivotal moments in Japanese history, centering on Japan’s long and often ruthless persecution of Christians, particularly in Nagasaki, a city on the island of Kyushu where Christianity first took hold.
“So long as the sun shall warm the earth, let no Christians dare come to Japan,” proclaims
Iemitsu, the most powerful man in Japan, in 1635.As a warning to others, 26 Franciscans had been executed in Nagasaki earlier, their crucifixion witnessed by an uncomprehending Michael, who has largely ignored his Catholic upbringing until now.
With Christianity banned, Japanese Catholics spend centuries practicing in secret, and Michael bears witness to the abiding faith of these Kakure Krishitan, the Hidden Christians, in the face of oppression, humiliation and worse at the hands of officials from the Christian Suppression Office.
From the building of Nagasaki ’s Oura Cathedral to a meeting with Father Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who would attain sainthood following his martyrdom in Auschwitz in 1941, Michael struggles to understand the unswerving faith in God demonstrated by the people he meets. More difficult for him to comprehend is their accepting attitude of shikata ga nai, it cannot be helped.
In The Samurai and the Tea, Beil presents a fascinating glimpse of a feudal Japan that goes beyond the swordplay and bushido of samurai history. Readers unfamiliar with Japan’s martyred Christians and the intricate culture of the tea ceremony will come away with a new understanding of the legacy that influences the nearly two million Japanese Christians living in Japan today.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 9/12/2002 5:12:06 AM
There are books out their that have the ability to draw you into their story as soon as you open the cover and I honestly feel as though this book has this ability. I was standing beside Michael when I read the excerpt from the book. This book is definately a must and I can't wait to purchase it so I can once again visit the world that Michael is in.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 9/8/2002 3:47:54 AM
This is a wonderful book written by a fantastic author! Hope to see more great books like this from Cathy Bruggernman Beal.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 9/7/2002 5:06:38 AM
This facinating story gets a grip on you and won't let go. Michael isn't the only one being transported through time here. I feel a current flowing through my senses. I must have this book! I am about to embark on a most amazing journey!
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/30/2002 6:19:05 PM
the excerpt captured my imagination and I can't wait to purchase the book.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/30/2002 8:16:27 AM
This is a "gotta have" book. I will be in the bookstore this morning.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/30/2002 7:11:33 AM
"Samurai and the Tea": Great fantansy spiced with time travel, true history and reality. I'm certain this book will make great sales.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/30/2002 6:55:33 AM
A popular description of a Samurai is a Japanese warrior who can enter the moment of "now" in total surrender to that moment. This is how I felt as I read
Cathy Brueggeman Beil's excerpt from the Samurai and the Tea. For a brief moment, I was truly transported into the "now" of 16th century Japan. I am
looking forward to "being present" as Michael journey's through time drawing strength and inspiration from the Samurai warriors.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/29/2002 10:34:41 PM
This book captures my imagination. I'm off to the bookstore to find it.
The Samurai and the Tea (Book) - 8/28/2002 9:35:09 PM
All the components of this story seems to be creative and witty by taking the reader through the war years of WWII, and transporting us back into the chaotic world of Japanese Christianization since the mid-19th century Japan. The idea of time travel back to the days of the samurai will be an added dimension to this story. I'm look forward to reading it.
