Go Fiction

I am reading a book titled The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa. It is an interesting book about two people in Manchuria during the Japanese invasion in the 1930's. One is a Chinese school girl about 16. The other is a Japanese soldier who is older but a young man. The two have not met. I am about sixty pages in. He considers himself a traditional Japanese soldier guided by the Hagakure. She is interested in another young man.

Go takes a secondary role in the book so far but apparently is the mechanism by which these two meet. So far, she plays go whenever she is confused by life. She is very good.

Maybe that's how I got here too. Life has been a little confusing lately. Without giving too many details, tragedy struck our family. Sometimes it seems too much. When you sit down at a go board, you have the chance to clear your mind. There is nothing but empty space. There are 361 possible opening moves. There are 360 possible counters to each of those 361 openings. The possible combinations are almost incalcuable. It isn't a game like chess is a game. Playing go is a creative act. It helps clear my mind when I need it. It is one of the few things that can.

I'll let you know what I think of the book later. It is written well and is promising!