The Apprentice : A Novel

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Summary: Mystery intriques us in old Japan, at a snow-bound inn.
Review: Set in the snowy mountains of northern Japan in 1903, this beautifully-told tale beguiles with its mystery, mesmerizes with its characters, and lingers in the thoughts long after the book has been put away. In elegant but simple phrasing, the author transports us to a humble wooden inn, nearly buried by a raging blizzard, where the wayfarers and the innkeeper hold us in fascination as their drama unfolds -- sometimes around the firepit of the main room or in the rickety cubicles upstairs, and sometimes outdoors, in the furious storm. These characters, who lived so remotely in time and place, and so precariously, stir us with their pathos and timeless emotions. "The Apprentice" is Lewis Libby's first novel. But nothing about it hints of that. With equal skill, he describes the poignant stirrings of first love and the blood-curdling misdeeds of whoremongers and murderers, provoking a kaleidoscope of feelings in his readers. No, Mr. Libby, does not write like an apprentice. His fine book makes one hope there will be many more opportunities to read his exceptional work.

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Summary: mysterious love story from 1906 rural Japan
Review: Snow bound travelers in a mountain inn in Northern Japan are caught on the sidelines of violent action as war with Russia may be breaking out. A man is murdered, as young people fall in love. The writing is vivid and instantly connects the reader with a place and time obscure to most Americans

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Summary: Go to Japan, my man!
Review: Thank god this book is out of print. I lived in Northern Japan. I took the time to learn the language and the culture. The mystery of this book was not the murder that took place in the middle of a snow storm it was that it was published despite a weak plot and even weaker characterization. Stick with what you know, Mr. Lewis. Writing novels and Japan are not it!

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Summary: Beautiful prose
Review: The New York Times Book Review was right about this one. I highly recommend this intriguing story written in beautiful prose.

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Summary: Exotic setting, pedestrian writing
Review: This reminded me of those romance novels where a computer program takes conventional plotting and the "author" applies it to an exotic setting and characters and spits out a story. For more complex, interesting characters read Snow Falling on Cedars or Amy Tan.

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Summary: Weird, strange, and odd
Review: Well, it had potential. (And great cover art.) But, all in all,I'm really sorry I read this book. The writing was very elegant insome places and full of eloquence and all, but at times it just seemedawkward and too blunt. It made me uncomfortable. Heck, the whole bookmade me uncomfortable. I mean, it started out great with all thesepeople stranded at a snow-bound inn and the innkeeper away with onlyhis apprentice in charge. And then there was that great chase throughthe snow and the murder and all... But after that... ugh. Sometimes itwas just painful, physically painful, to read. It all started with theextremely bizarre sexual situations. I still shudder to think aboutsome of the stuff described in that book... And as if that wasn't badenough, the author strings you along, drowning you in suspense,throughout the entire book, making you wonder who killed the man thefirst night and why, and then the end doesn't even explain it! Don'tget me wrong, the ending tries to explain it, real hard, but itdoesn't make sense. You find yourself sitting there, scratching yourhead, and going, "Wha?" I don't think the author even gave areason for some of the stuff. And his explanation of what happened tothe girl? It was weak. The only way I knew what was going on wasbecause I came here and read some of the reviews! None of it madesense. I still have unanswered questions about this book. The lovescenes are another thing. They were ok, I guess, better than some ofthe other scenes, but they were always so awkward anduncomfortable. One particular scene between the Apprentice and thegirl was especially unpleasant. (That's sad, too, because I think theauthor was shooting for passionate there...) I feel sorry for anyonewho paid full price for this book. It has a great plot with some greatcharacters. It's got some wonderfully suspenseful moments and thosemidnight chases through the snow are fabulous, but in the end you findyourself confused, repulsed, and decensitised to any and all acts ofrape. Get it at the library if you must. And don't say I didn't warnyou.