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michael5000's review against another edition
3.0
More concerned with showcasing episodes of Japanese-American history than with coherent plotting, prone to weak metaphor, thick with hard-to-distinguish secondary characters -- and with a clumsy title to boot -- Snakeskin Shamisen is nevertheless a likeable piece of theme detective fiction. The scruffy old gardener Mas Arai is certainly an unusual hero. After reading S.S., I can't decide if he actually DID anything to resolve the mysterious doings, or just happened to be schlepping around while other people did. Either way is fine, I suppose.
crankyisgood's review against another edition
4.0
The more of this series I read, the more I like Mas Arai and his eclectic group of friends. The mysteries are crucial to the story and at the same time almost irrelevant. I am drawn into another, highly enjoyable, world by this series.
lauraellis's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I rounded up because the writing is so good, but the hero's life seemed a bit grim, so that somewhat muted my enjoyment. (Tough grader here, plus my grading is a mix of personal enjoyment and writing, with sometimes one sometimes the other weighing more heavily in the grading.)
This is one of my favorite types of mysteries, one that opens a lens into a different place, time, or culture than my own. Mas Arai is a Kibei, an American of Japanese descent who was born in America, but then went back to Japan and was there during World War II (in Mas Arai's case, in Hiroshima), who is a gardener in LA and, naturally, solves murders that he finds himself enmeshed in (don't we all?). When an Okinawan-American acquaintance of his is murdered in the parking lot of the restaurant where a party is being held in the acquaintance's honor, Mas Arai is asked to help solve the murder by a friend to whom he owes a favor.
I am looking forward to finding the first two books in this series and getting better acquainted with Mas Arai and his world.
This is one of my favorite types of mysteries, one that opens a lens into a different place, time, or culture than my own. Mas Arai is a Kibei, an American of Japanese descent who was born in America, but then went back to Japan and was there during World War II (in Mas Arai's case, in Hiroshima), who is a gardener in LA and, naturally, solves murders that he finds himself enmeshed in (don't we all?). When an Okinawan-American acquaintance of his is murdered in the parking lot of the restaurant where a party is being held in the acquaintance's honor, Mas Arai is asked to help solve the murder by a friend to whom he owes a favor.
I am looking forward to finding the first two books in this series and getting better acquainted with Mas Arai and his world.
chonkeyhong's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
izabrekilien's review
4.0
The story started out rather slowly, with several characters whose name I didn't remember right away. I noticed too late it was the third book in a series I'd never heard about.
I liked the idea of a grumpy gardener being a reluctant detective. Mas is a man of a few words - he even pretends he doesn't speak English when it suits him.
I wasn't much interested in the story to begin with, just happy to sit back and read about this Japanese community in the United States, with all their différences, vocabulary, history and quirks. The story grew on me when it turned historical and was about Okinawa in the second world war and the particularities of the Okinawaïan people. The slow pace began to pick up and I even laughed when Wishbone was trying to catch his crook : pretending he was watching birds to the worried security agent and running after the guy with his crutch ! Beware of old men with crutches, they're not as harmless as they seem !
To sum it up : I liked Mas's character, the depiction of Japanese people, it was interesting, and the story finally grew on me. I'll see if I can catch the two previous volumes.
I liked the idea of a grumpy gardener being a reluctant detective. Mas is a man of a few words - he even pretends he doesn't speak English when it suits him.
I wasn't much interested in the story to begin with, just happy to sit back and read about this Japanese community in the United States, with all their différences, vocabulary, history and quirks. The story grew on me when it turned historical and was about Okinawa in the second world war and the particularities of the Okinawaïan people. The slow pace began to pick up and I even laughed when Wishbone was trying to catch his crook : pretending he was watching birds to the worried security agent and running after the guy with his crutch ! Beware of old men with crutches, they're not as harmless as they seem !
To sum it up : I liked Mas's character, the depiction of Japanese people, it was interesting, and the story finally grew on me. I'll see if I can catch the two previous volumes.
jameseckman's review
3.0
Mas Arai's chaos attractor is working overtime when he is dragged into a mess(a crow?) of murders. While not hard-boiled, it certainly has the frenetic pace of the old pulps, a fun read.
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