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)

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.

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.

Good Quality Semi-historical Fiction

An enjoyable read, Lots of blood and guts, honor, and some pretty good characters. A bit of a slow start, but an excellent choice while you are waiting for the third book in The Otori Trilogy. Not the same level as Across the Nightingale Floor, but close.

Dismal...

I've given this dreaful book two stars because the author clearly put a lot of work into it. Unfortunately, it was to no avail -- in terms of quality it doesn't really deserve even one star.

To start with, if you want to introduce that many characters in such a short time you'd better be pretty sure that you're Tolstoy, otherwise you just have a list of names. And a list of names does not a novel make.

Then we have Japan and the fascinating Japanese people. Well, actually, we don't. Not even a little bit. Even the old pulp master James Clavell took some trouble to get into the Japanese psyche and the driving forces behind it and Japanese history. Here we just have cardboard cutouts.

Alas, this also holds true for the plot. Plod plod plod blood plod plod blod kiss plod plod plod missionaries. All very tedious.

To round it all off you have not even pedestrian narration by a reader who would clearly be better off recording special offer announcements for a big discount store.

Oh dear.

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 Listen

First the bad news...

The combination of Japanese names and jumping between various sub-plots, times and cultures can be challenging in an audio book. I imagine that this would be less disruptive in the written form.

but...

I found it worth the effort. Besides being entertaining, I absorbed a bit of Japanese history in spite of my general impatience with anything vaguely educational. It was somewhat of a cross between "Shogun" and the "Otori Trilogy". The ending was somewhat disappointing in that it seemed to resolve little and largely attempt to sell the next book of the series. To that extent, it worked - I'm anxious for the unabridged version of "Autumn Bridge"

Clunk

That's the sound of the wooden characters and the sound of my player after struggling through the first 30 minutes. I was hoping it would be as enjoyable as Lian Hearn's trilogy but it wasn't even close.

Great listening

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

Listen to the Otori Series instead.

I have tried getting past the first two hours of this book about six times now and can't make it. The lack of plot moving action and the numerous characters bogged me down and I lost interest early into this novel. I got this as I enjoyed the sound of Autumn Bridge and then realized this book came first so I purchased that. I don't even want to attempt getting Autumn Bridge after the disappointment of this novel. If you're looking for a good read, check out the Otori series.

Very entertaining

I really liked this book, its characters, and its subject matter. I saw one review that compared it to Lian Hearn's books. The topics are similar but the style, plot, tone and overall feeling are all very different. That comparison doesn't seem justified or accurate. I think this is an enjoyable book and very fascinating in its own way. I recommend it.