Cloud of Sparrows

By: Takashi Matsuoka

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

“Exotic, entertaining...[an] exceptional first novel.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

The year is 1861. After two centuries of isolation, Japan has opened its doors to the West. And as foreign ships threaten to rain destruction on the Shogun’s castle in Edo, a small group of American missionaries has arrived to spread the word of their God. They have yet to realize that their future in Japan has already been foreseen. For a young nobleman has dreamt that his life will be saved by an outsider in the New Year...and it is said that Lord Genji has the gift of prophecy.

What happens next - when the handsome lord meets an apparently reformed gunslinger and a woman in flight from her own destructive beauty - sets the stage for a remarkable adventure. For as this unlikely band embarks on a journey through a landscape bristling with danger, East and West, flesh and spirit, past and future, collide in ways no one - least of all Genji - could have imagined.

Praise for Cloud of Sparrows

“The book seizes you from start to finish.” (The Washington Post)

“Adventure-filled.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Rich...with an ambitious, unexpected ending that cuts deeper than a samurai sword.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

©2002 Takashi Matsuoka (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Exotic, entertaining ... [an] exceptional first novel.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

"The book seizes you from start to finish.” (The Washington Post)

“Adventure-filled.” (Entertainment Weekly)

If you like Shogun you should like this

Awesome on book 2 now, interesting the author seems to have stopped writing, that is a true shame as this book is fantastic and part 2 starting off very good.

Solid escapism, a good read.

Set before the Meiji Restoration, East meets West with both protagonists from both cultures using each other to achieve personal and political gains. Throw in a little mysticism and ninja action and you have an entertaining story. Grover Gardner keeps the listener engaged and delivers a fine performance.

Fun listen.

The story was exciting. Kept me going during workouts. Didn't like narrator very much. Narrator sounded a bit pompous or condescending at times, or overly dramatic. But overall, definitely worth listening.

Very good!

I enjoyed this story, somewhat reminiscent of Clavell's Shogun but written with a greater perception of the Japanese viewpoint - well, of course since the author is Japanese.
Very well written and translated, good balanced characterizations, likable characters, fast moving plot and a satisfying outcome. What more could one want? The next book by the same author!

Entertaining Story!

What made the experience of listening to Cloud of Sparrows the most enjoyable?

Listening to the mispronunciation of the majority of Japanese words and names was like chalk on the chalkboard. I'm so surprised that quality control for a narrator was lax. So listening to it was not enjoyable....

What did you like best about this story?

The Story was another great Japanese story of historical fiction and thrill... and always these interesting "gifts" by the characters.

How could the performance have been better?

A different narrator.

For love of ancient Japan

I love this book. I am a lover of history, and Japan's rich history is no different. I have always been saddened (to put it mildly), that my country was responsible for making Japan open to outsiders and thus ending it's ancient history. This is a wonderful book, that is written in such vibrant detail, as to the remanence of Japan's ancient history before being thrust into the modern world. The tale is exciting and moves briskly. I look forward to reading the follow-up book.

A book that truly captures fuedal Japan

What made the experience of listening to Cloud of Sparrows the most enjoyable?

It truly embraced Japanese culture

What did you like best about this story?

The intrigue that goes on below the surface in Japan

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

Genji

If you could take any character from Cloud of Sparrows out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Genji

Any additional comments?

I hope more books from Takashi Matsuoka come to Audible

Marred by awful Narration

After tearing through Shogun and Musashi, I was looking forward to diving into Cloud of Sparrows. From everything I've read about it, it would likely be right up my alley.

But, as unfortunately happens now and again, good books are hard listens due to less than ideal narration. While not exactly monotone, it wouldn't say it is far from it. I pushed through the first hour, and nearly all characters sounded similar to the point of occasionally not being able to recognize who is speaking without context clues. I may have been able to persevere if it was just that but, for me, the final nail in the coffin for this listen was the almost constant mispronunciation almost every other Japanese name and word used.

Don't get me wrong, I do not expect a perfect accent from an English-based narrator reading a foreign-based novel by any means, and honestly expect some issues with foreign words. It's a challenge, certainly. But I feel like more effort was warranted in proper pronunciation.

This one will be a read for me, rather than a listen.

Interesting but...

This book was good in the fact that it is well written and it does seem to take the reader away to a different time and place: Edo Japan. Unfortunately, if you can get past the quite unbelievable plot and characters, you won't be able to escape the one dimensional narration. The narrator sounds better suited to a PBS documentary and does not pronounce many of the simplest Japanese words correctly (e.g. Edo). This would be a better read than listen.

grace and depth

The premise in "Cloud of Sparrows" was broad and beautifully realized. Main characters were complex and their plight was exciting. It had a cinematic feeling. The reader was very good. The second book, "Autumn Bridge" was good but not quite as thoroughly successful. I enjoyed the books of the Otori but I felt this was better.