Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Fate is a fickle thing, fortune a double edged sword.

"Being born into wealth and privilege may be the dream of most, but a fat, friendless child with no company but his books will find that money brings no real comfort.
I was such a child and came quickly to the conclusion that to endure the mundane is not compulsory when one can retreat to one's thoughts and live the life of a samurai.
I chose my own path. An existence of honour and adventure which I shared with my beloved fellow warrior, Hyung.
Even I, at times, thought him to be a figment of my imagination, so when he appeared as a flesh and blood man in the offices of the Yakuza organisation, the Tatakai-gumi,
my world was turned upside down."

Kanno Sakamoto is a renaissance man. Homosexual, archer, swordsman, gardener, chef, pianist, gangster and fantasist — here he tells his own story.
A dark, often humorous and sometimes challenging tale of love, lust and murder which is not for the faint of heart.

 

Book Review

A profound sense of loss haunts me as I think on the melancholic poetry that is 'The Gangster and The Samurai'. This startlingly beautiful portrait of one man’s descent into madness simply wouldn’t let me go. Even now I wonder what has become of its ill-fated hero, Kanno Sakamoto, an exquisite, accomplished Yakuza who falls prey to his own delusions in his desire to be loved.

From its poignant blood and roses cover, which offers subtle hints of Kanno’s fragile emotional state, to its captivating storyline which had me rooting for the tragic hero, this is yaoi at its best, this is Yaoi Plus. Yaoi Plus is my personal term for stories that capture all of the lyrical, angst, heat, and beauty of the best yaoi manga and anime, but hold a deep, lasting artistry that reaches beyond the genre’s standard and incorporate qualities that transform the book into a classic. A work that reveals additional nuances each time you read it. I for one will be reading this story again and again. It is like a song I want to play repeatedly.

Delivered in Kanno’s distinctive voice, the tale moves along swiftly. Details of its dark hero’s solitary beginnings quickly morph to his loss-of-innocence college years and transcend to his determined rise through the Yakuza ranks. Kanno’s matter-of-fact tone as he reveals his reasoning for his unreasonable acts had me both championing and weeping for this lovely man.

There is plenty of action here of both the violent and the sexual variety and the supporting characters, most notably Katashi, a fascinating narcissistic satyriasis and Hyung, the clever gangster whom Kanno pines for, add a genuine slice-of- Yakuza-life feel to the story.  I could say that the storyline combined the best elements of the biopic, ‘A Beautiful Mind’ with those of the great yaoi classic, ‘Ai no Kusabi’, but its pure originality makes that statement fall short. This is yet another masterful tale from authors Katsura and Yuramei, and I can only hope that Kanno, Katashi or Hyung show up in another book. Yes, I’m greedy like that.

Thank you, Katsura and Yuramei, for this exceptional and winning, ‘descent-into-madness’ story. “Brilliant, Hot, Violent, Angst!”

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book was received as a gift.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 52031 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	12-January-2014
Price	$5.49 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thegangsterandthesamurai-1405688-363.html