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)

Good story; distracting reading

Enjoyed the story, however the western pronunciation of Japanese names, places and objects was distracting.

Sparrows triumph over Crows

Throughly enjoyable tale of West meets East as past influences present. Not overly detailed but the writer blend knowledge with entertainment. Great book and well read

A very interesting approach to story telling

Character arcs are fleshed out, they intertwine with each other and keep you invested until the very last word.

The Quintessential Novel

Takashi Matsouka has written a masterpiece about Japan in the mid 1800's, where though threatened, the Samari culture still thrives. It does so, even though the Japanese live under the threats posed by the guns and canons of the multi-national war ships at anchor in their bays and the internal hatreds dating back hundreds of years.

Grover Gardner's reading of it provides a seamless transition from character to character, while imbuing each with the rich individuality that the author had so perfectly shaped with his words. If the book can be faulted in any way, it would be by its ending. Not because the author failed in any way, but because it ended. I wanted it to go on forever. With Gardner's final words, came the fearful realization that I might never again find a book so beautifully written and dramatically read.

Quite good

This book gets a five star because it is good. Not the best book in the world that you listen to 500 times, but it is really a good book. I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to the next in the series. I found the clash of the Japanese and American cultures for the first time to be funny and very realistic - my husband is Japanese and I am American, and many of the observations were only too true. Also, the characters were, for the most part, ones you could be swept away with and care about. Good narration only adds to the book.

Great listening

Thought this was right up there with Clavell's Shogun. Very enjoyable fictional history.

wow

I listen to books on tape while driving 1.5 hours each way to work. This is probably the most enjoyable book I have read all year.

Out-Shogun's Cavell's own Gaijin

Any additional comments?

Grover Gardner is probably one of my favorite narrators of all time so I was delighted to see that he had narrated this. A wonderful performance as always, in my opinion.

With regards to the book, the comparisons with Shogun are apt in ways, even if this feels much more modern (and shall we say concise) but a more appropriate comparison might be Cavell's own follow up to Shogun, Gaijin, which, I'm afraid to say, is in places absolutely wretched, filled with mostly unlikable characters, is glacial in pace, and too often is positively repellant. Sparrow in turn feels much more brisk and interesting, with characters that are mostly likable but if not are at least interesting. It feels less like pure historical fiction than Shogun and Gaijin, perhaps, but the trade off in my opinion doesn't stop Sparrows from being vastly more enjoyable on the whole.

An exquisite journey too soon over,

Takashi Matsuoka has written nothing less than a masterpiece. As if he were the true heir of the Akaoka clan. Deep gratitude

AAAARG!

Way too confusing. Couldn't get even half way through. And the author, even with a Japanese name, associates a Geisha with a Prostitute. I'm not sure if the author is spelling names wrong or if the narrator is that far off on the pronunciation.