This book ought to be more popular than it is, despite the fact that it's already pretty popular. But it is a long novel, about a precocious boy who learns ancient Greek, Japanese, Arabic, and another seventeen languages before he is ten, who learns advanced maths and physics, who can list the insects it would be safe to eat in a survival situation, and the plot is structured around the 1954 Japanese film
This is such a wonderful book. Thank you for reminding us of that, and for deepening my appreciation for it.
Very much agree. I can read The Last Samurai like Sibylla watches Seven Samurai. (And her other books are treats in their own right)