Tokyo-born historian Eri Hotta takes on the life story of the man who made the mini-masters. But, as often happens with books pointing to big questions, the most interesting stuff points back at smaller or, anyway, more particular ones ... A fascinating study.
Hotta begins Suzuki midway through her subject’s life ... Hotta is an unobtrusive narrator whose personal anecdotes are like grace notes on the larger score of Suzuki’s life ... In Ms. Hotta’s experience we can descry the origins of the fearsome stereotype.
[Hotta's] story of Shinichi Suzuki is clearly and well written, a great life story and, though her subject lived almost a century and she seems to have left out nothing important, is no longer than it needed to be ... Notwithstanding her admiration for Suzuki’s character, ideas, and methods, Hotta is clear-eyed about what she sees as an unrealism, perhaps even naivete, in his approach.
An exhaustive biography of the man behind the method. The writing is clear, and the storytelling is at once global and personal. The book’s scope extends beyond biographical detail, especially in the opening chapters, and great attention is assigned to the historical context of his 99 years of life.
