The Last Samurai (novel)
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| The Last Samurai | |
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Helen DeWitt |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Hyperion Books |
| Publication date | September 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 544 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7868-6668-3 (first edition, hardback) |
The Last Samurai (2000) was the first novel by American writer Helen DeWitt.
[edit] Plot introduction
The Last Samurai is about the relationship between a young boy, Ludo, and his mother, Sibylla. Sibylla, a single mother, brings Ludo up somewhat unusually; he starts playing the piano at three, reading Ancient Greek at four, and goes on to Hebrew, Japanese, Old Norse, Inuit, and advanced mathematics. To stand in for a male influence in his upbringing, Sibylla plays him Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, which he comes to know by heart. Ludo is a child prodigy, whose combination of genius and naïveté guide him in a search for his missing father, whose identity Sibylla refuses to disclose — a search that has some peculiar byways and unexpected consequences.
[edit] Awards and nominations
The novel was shortlisted for the 2002 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Los Angeles Times’ 2001 Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, and was longlisted for the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction (it made the men's jury's controversial shortlist[1]).
[edit] Sources
- DeWitt, Helen. The Last Samurai (Chatto and Windus, 2000: ISBN 0-7011-6956-7; pbk Vintage, 2001: ISBN 0-09-928462-6)
- Orange Prize for Fiction, 2001
- Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, 2001
- International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award, 2002
- Book review — New York Times October 15, 2000
