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Arcade
June 2017
On Sale: June 13, 2017
272 pages
ISBN: 1628727845
EAN: 9781628727845
Kindle: B071RZ5FJX
Hardcover / e-Book
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Historical
A sumptuous novel inspired by one of history’s most
intriguing forgotten chapters—the arrival of Japanese
Samurai on the shores of Europe. In 1614, twenty-two Samurai warriors and a group of
tradesmen from Japan sailed to Spain, where they initiated
one of the most intriguing cultural exchanges in history.
They were received with pomp and circumstance, first by King
Philip III and later by Pope Paul V. They were the first
Japanese to visit Europe and they caused a sensation. They
remained for two years and then most of the party returned
to Japan; however, six of the Samurai stayed behind,
settling in a small fishing village close to Sanlúcar de
Barrameda, where their descendants live to this day. Healey imbues this tale of the meeting of East and West with
uncommon emotional and intellectual intensity and a rich
sense of place. He explores the dueling mentalities of two
cultures through a singular romance; the sophisticated,
restrained warrior culture of Japan and the baroque
sensibilities of Renaissance Spain, dark and obsessed with
ethnic cleansing. What one culture lives with absolute
normality is experienced as exotic from the outsider’s eye.
Everyone is seen as strange at first and then—with growing
familiarity—is revealed as being more similar than
originally perceived, but with the added value of enduring
idiosyncrasies. The story told in this novel is an essential and timeless
one about the discoveries and conflicts that arise from the
forging of relationships across borders, both geographical
and cultural.
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