The story starts with a little child name Ludo. Ludo, a child genius, and his mother, Sibylla, the descendent of a long line of frustrated talents. Sibylla's alternative ideas on child rearing see Ludo learning piano at 3, Greek at 4, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, aerodynamics and edible insects of the world at 5. And, in place of a father, Sibylla familiarises Ludo with the film "Seven Samurai", hoping to quell his desire for the one piece of information she withholds from him -- the identity of his father. With her exasperated guidance, he teaches himself Greek, so that he can read The Odyssey, before moving on to study Hebrew, Arabic, Inuit, and Japanese. And both Sibylla and Ludo share a passion for Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, which they watch repeatedly, absorbing its lessons of samurai virtue. Soon Ludo embarks on a quest to find his father, and approaches seven men to test their mettle. Each of them — prominent, powerful, or flawed in his own way — has to rise to a unique challenge.
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The review of this Book prepared by david
"The Last Samurai" introduces Ludo, a child genius, and his mother, Sibylla, the descendent of a long line of frustrated talents. Sibylla's alternative ideas on child rearing see Ludo learning piano at 3, Greek at 4, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, aerodynamics and edible insects of the world at 5. And, in place of a father, Sibylla familiarises Ludo with the film "Seven Samurai", hoping to quell his desire for the one piece of information she withholds from him -- the identity of his father.
The review of this Book prepared by Alison
innovative and original first novel by Helen Dewitt that reveals a huge wealth of learning. The story of a young boy's search for the identity of his father. The boy in question is a child prodigy capable of reading many different languages and colving complex mathematical problems at an incredibly young age. His mother tries to protect him from the mediocrity of who his father really is and instead makes him watch the 7 Samurai over and over again in order to give him good male role models. the boy picks various figures in the public eye who he feels would be worthy fathers and approaches them before finding his true father. The stream of consciousness style writing and use of different languages make this a challenging but enormously rewarding and intellectually stimulating book.
The review of this Book prepared by liza
