About the Book:
This is James Clavell’s tour-de-force; an epic saga of one Pilot-Major John Blackthorne, and his integration into the struggles and strife of feudal Japan. Both entertaining and incisive, “Shogun” is a stunningly dramatic re-creation of a very different world. Starting with his shipwreck on this most alien of shores, the novel charts Blackthorne’s rise from the status of reviled foreigner up to the heights of trusted adviser and eventually, Samurai. All as civil war looms over the fragile country.
Book Review: ★★★★★★
This is a book I really had mixed responses to. I have been sitting on the fence about reading it for years — for several reasons. I remember when the movie version came out when I was young; my parents loved it. And I have always had an interest in the history and culture of Japan. The Samurai, and the cultural uniqueness of the Japanese people is fascinating to read. The concept and commitment to honor, and politeness is particularly interesting, especially in the area of warfare and political intrigue. But on the down side, every time I would look at the size of this book I just somehow began to feel overwhelmed before even opening the cover.
The story is all that I hoped it would be. There are fascinating looks at the cultural beauty of the country, and the people, and it presents the vast differences that set the eastern mentality so dramatically apart from that of western cultures. It is also particularly instructive in this area due to the cultural clashes that are taking place throughout the book as a whole. The differences of thinking, and approaching life between the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, and the Japanese pack this book with a lot of vast differences that are very apparent throughout the story. This book is also interesting in how it is able to present the differences in mentality and how the world view is a great dividing line between these very different cultures. The quiet, proud, internally closed off world of the Daimyos of Japan — a country both politically and geographically isolated from the rest of the world. And the Spanish, Portuguese, and English mentality of domination and control — both geographically and monetarily. Then there is the Dutch appreciation for exploration and world expansion. Each of these cultures, when thrown together in a politically volatile situation become explosive — in a very subtle way.
But the differences don’t end there. We also have the opportunity to see through the eyes of the characters the vast differences that developed as the religious feuds come together and force sometimes violent consequences. This is particularly true in the prejudices of the Portuguese priests and the protestant English. But thrown into this mix is the rapidly changing religious base of the Japanese culture and we begin to see that when change becomes all encompassing — the consequences to the culture can lead to vast problems and confrontations that breakdown the social make up of the country — while simultaneously expanding the educational understanding of the world on a larger scale.
What I didn’t like about this book is the writing style at times. Part of this is due to the Japanese culture as a whole — and part of it was simply Clavell’s approach to presenting the story. The cultural element is one that is simply a difference between the eastern approach to life in comparison to my own. This is a country built around the concept of politeness and respect of others at all costs. That means that there is a great deal more subtly going on in this story than is usually present in most. Combine that with the ritualistic elements that had developed over time in the culture and it makes for a daunting read. Not because I didn’t find these elements of the story interesting — but because at 1100 pages that is an awful lot of “gentleman’s warfare.” And as to the writing style — Clavell had a strange method of presenting a story. I don’t know if this was being used as a literary device to further expand the appreciation of the cultural disparity, or if he was simply awkward at story transitions. But I found it very difficult to follow since he would appear to be in the middle of one scene, and he would suddenly shift to somewhere else, and some other situation that had no relation to that which he had been discussing. These clumsy changes in time, place, and character made this huge novel one that wasn’t exactly easy to get through.
For more information on this book, and about the author be sure to visit the following websites:
Audio Interview with James Clavell
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