have you read 'shogun' by james clavell?

Question

if so, what did you think?
have you read any of his other works?

if you haven't read it, i thoroughly recommend you do!

Answer 1

Yes, I read the book, and watched part of the movie.
It got me to read Eiji Yoshikawa's books which are even better. They're Musashi and Taiko.
If you haven't read them, I'd recommend them too.

:-)

Answer 2

I have read Shogun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a bit leery about picking up the other books since they are written in a time period that has not quite piqued by interest, but I enjoyed Shogun thoroughly.

What I enjoyed the most about it was the idea of a "Western" person finding himself in an "Eastern" nation, whose ideas and beliefs are completely different from his own - and there can be nothing more different than an Elizabethan Englishman and Japan just coming out of the Sengoku Era.

It was also interesting, how Clavell changed the names of key historical figures, like Toranaga, who is obviously Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Ishido, who is Ishida Mitsunari. I wonder why he did it, though; it was something I don't think was necessary, especially since it took me on a merry-go-round doing research in an attempt to identify who was who.

Answer 3

Yes, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think the only one of his books I haven't read is Gai-Jin.
I started with Tai-Pan when I was living in Hong Kong. I then read Noble House, which was a bit disturbing because he describes a land-slide which trapped and killed many people in the mid-levels. One of the few empty building plots which was bare, was right next to our block of flats and I figured that was where one block of flats slid down the slope and took the smaller block with it. We lived in a smaller block and right across the road and a little further up the Peak was an enormous block.
Whirlwind gave a good insight into events in Iran in Spring 1979 and also connected with characters from Noble House.
I like looong novels, especially on long-haul flights now that you can't smoke.
His writing was fantastic and for me, he captured the atmosphere of the time and place superbly.

Answer 4

no, i have not, but i have seen the movie,though am still hunting for the book.
i have read clavell's 'tiapan' and 'whirlwind of God',and seen the movie,'noble house'.
i like his works and i put him in the same class with leon uris.they use historical facts to depict friction.truly educating.

Answer 5

ihave read shogun it was very good .the clash between east and west,the eventual acceptance of both cultures.you should also try tai pan,a similar story set later in history.also KING RAT a story of of an allied captive in a japanese camp who bred rats for food !enjoy!

Answer 6

I loved it and recommended to my husband that he read it.
It is now one of his favourites, second only to all things Tolkien.
The TV series is excellent.
I have just bought King Rat.
I think he was an amazing writer and he deserves more recognition.

Answer 7

I tried to. There's far too much of it. I recommend it as a holiday book for when you need something to entertain you on a long-haul flight. It bogged down occasionally because the author tried to cover too much territory in too much detail.

Answer 8

I enjoyed all of his books - the 1200+ pages did seem a bit daunting, but once I got going it was a page turner!

Answer 9

yes intriguing,Ive read a few of his other books 2 really enjoyed them,good writer.

Answer 10

I watched the film, thought it was over long but good.