The Arrow Catcher
Jim Mather
CreateSpace, September 2013
ISBN: 978-0-615-94538-5
Trade Paperback
Boston, summer, 1948. A celebration and fund raiser for the new state of Israel attended by teen Jonathan Lusk with his parents. It is a day filled with tragedy and death. Before long, Jonathan is living in Japan with his grandfather, called to sit as a judge in the war crimes trials against Japanese criminals. He too, along with his Japanese wife, is soon murdered, Jonathan is sent to a military school and the real story begins.
The prospect of an American teenaged boy, regardless of his connections to important Japanese society, alone in a military training camp shortly after the conclusion of World War II is likely to be short-lived. Yet, against almost monumental odds, the plucky youth survives and readers will be treated to an enthralling inside look at Japanese culture, mores, and many ancient rituals and traditions.
Lusk endures all of the cultural and social strains, plus immense language difficulties, not to mention the normal flow of growing early teen-aged angst. Yet he determines to persevere and survive. He not only survives the real dangers of resentment by fellow students, but evil forces swirl around him when he is drawn into kidnapping and assassination plots by evil forces operating outside the schools.
The novel is not without its problems. It needed a sharp and careful editing of grammar and typography. Yet the relentless and constant push of the author’s style tends to overcome the difficulties. It was a fascinating and worthwhile experience.
Reviewed by Carl Brookins, July 2016.
http://www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com
The Case of the Purloined Painting, The Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky.
Buried Under Books 