Name: Shōgun
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)

J. Clavell

A Novel of Japan

Shōgun

James Clavell

After John Blackthorne shipwrecks in Japan, he makes himself useful to a feudal lord in a power struggle with another and becomes a samurai.

         I read books in many different formats.  Most of the books I read come from the library as an eBook and are sent directly to my Kindle (I have an actual Kindle device, but in a pinch, I use the kindle app on my phone).  I also read a large number of physical books, then have trouble trying to figure out where to put them when I’m done…my “library” is overwhelmed.  Every now and then, I’ll run across an eBook from my library that isn’t available in Kindle, so I have to read it as an ePub.  Those are my least favorite to read, but they’re books so I tolerate the format.  The problem with these different formats is the page numbers get a tad wonky.  Most Kindle book pages correspond to the physical version of the book, but those ePubs are off in their own little world.  There were many versions of this book at my local library, but the only one that didn’t have a hold time was the ePub, so that’s the one I grabbed (my husband REALLY wants to watch the new series, so I was trying to get this one knocked out as quickly as possible).  To my horror, and I don’t use that word lightly, the page count was 1,798.  Dear lord, what have I gotten myself into? 

            The setting of this book was Japan, centuries ago.  A very lost ship from Portugal washed up in Japan, and the story unfolds from there.  There are about a thousand characters and a similar number of plotlines.  This book is incredibly complicated.  The characters intertwined so intricately I felt like I needed to keep a storyboard with relationship lines.  And there was such a huge number of characters, it became difficult to keep track of everybody and how they related to each other and to the story itself.  Not gonna lie, it made my head spin.  I wanted to call it quits more than once, but I powered through because I really wanted to know how the “war” was going to play out. 

            Clavell was a gifted storyteller, that’s not even a discussion.  This is likely the most detailed and intricate story I have ever read (closely rivaled by J.R.R. Martin).  Despite the unnecessarily complicated pieces of this story, it continued to capture my attention and drove me to desperately need to know what happens to a few of the characters.  As far as books go, this is a masterpiece of the English language.  However, it will never be one of my favorite books.  I have enjoyed a wide variety of books, and while I didn’t hate this one, I certainly didn’t love it. 

            At the risk of being repetitive, it’s TOO complicated.  It felt like Clavell continued to grasp for new and more tedious additions to the story, like the book version of a French braid.  At the end, it was nicely done, but was it really necessary to put ALL of those pieces in there?  The most frustrating part of this book, for me, was getting to the end but not getting what I felt was the resolution was looking for while I kept reading.  This huge war is built up, with betrayals and murders (and an awful lot of suicide…like wow) all over this book, yet we never get to the war.  The book is called Shogun, and the book appears to be building momentum to get one of the these characters into that position, but we never actually find out if he succeeds.  There is a lovely, passionate romance that builds quite nicely throughout most of the book, but even that doesn’t have the ending I was anticipating.  So, after almost two THOUSAND pages, I was just…bummed. 

            Ironically, I absolutely recommend this book.  Clavell was a hugely popular author, and this book has certainly inserted itself onto the list of “classics” in American Literature, so it might be worthy of study.  There’s also a lot to learn from the “what not to do” perspective.  I don’t think this is the best book to read for some leisurely enjoyment, but for those who like to dig in, analyze and study literature and its significance, this is a gem. 

Kristen Claiborn

         I read books in many different formats.  Most of the books I read come from the library as an eBook and are sent directly to my Kindle (I have an actual Kindle device, but in a pinch, I use the kindle app on my phone).  I also read a large number of physical books, then have trouble trying to figure out where to put them when I’m done…my “library” is overwhelmed.  Every now and then, I’ll run across an eBook from my library that isn’t available in Kindle, so I have to read it as an ePub.  Those are my least favorite to read, but they’re books so I tolerate the format.  The problem with these different formats is the page numbers get a tad wonky.  Most Kindle book pages correspond to the physical version of the book, but those ePubs are off in their own little world.  There were many versions of this book at my local library, but the only one that didn’t have a hold time was the ePub, so that’s the one I grabbed (my husband REALLY wants to watch the new series, so I was trying to get this one knocked out as quickly as possible).  To my horror, and I don’t use that word lightly, the page count was 1,798.  Dear lord, what have I gotten myself into? 

            The setting of this book was Japan, centuries ago.  A very lost ship from Portugal washed up in Japan, and the story unfolds from there.  There are about a thousand characters and a similar number of plotlines.  This book is incredibly complicated.  The characters intertwined so intricately I felt like I needed to keep a storyboard with relationship lines.  And there was such a huge number of characters, it became difficult to keep track of everybody and how they related to each other and to the story itself.  Not gonna lie, it made my head spin.  I wanted to call it quits more than once, but I powered through because I really wanted to know how the “war” was going to play out. 

            Clavell was a gifted storyteller, that’s not even a discussion.  This is likely the most detailed and intricate story I have ever read (closely rivaled by J.R.R. Martin).  Despite the unnecessarily complicated pieces of this story, it continued to capture my attention and drove me to desperately need to know what happens to a few of the characters.  As far as books go, this is a masterpiece of the English language.  However, it will never be one of my favorite books.  I have enjoyed a wide variety of books, and while I didn’t hate this one, I certainly didn’t love it. 

            At the risk of being repetitive, it’s TOO complicated.  It felt like Clavell continued to grasp for new and more tedious additions to the story, like the book version of a French braid.  At the end, it was nicely done, but was it really necessary to put ALL of those pieces in there?  The most frustrating part of this book, for me, was getting to the end but not getting what I felt was the resolution was looking for while I kept reading.  This huge war is built up, with betrayals and murders (and an awful lot of suicide…like wow) all over this book, yet we never get to the war.  The book is called Shogun, and the book appears to be building momentum to get one of the these characters into that position, but we never actually find out if he succeeds.  There is a lovely, passionate romance that builds quite nicely throughout most of the book, but even that doesn’t have the ending I was anticipating.  So, after almost two THOUSAND pages, I was just…bummed. 

            Ironically, I absolutely recommend this book.  Clavell was a hugely popular author, and this book has certainly inserted itself onto the list of “classics” in American Literature, so it might be worthy of study.  There’s also a lot to learn from the “what not to do” perspective.  I don’t think this is the best book to read for some leisurely enjoyment, but for those who like to dig in, analyze and study literature and its significance, this is a gem. 

Shōgun A Novel of Japan

Reviews

Highlights