Empire of the Sun

By: J. G. Ballard

Narrated by: Jeremy Irons

The “profound and moving work of the imagination” (Los Angeles Times Book Review) that inspired the classic motion picture by Steven Spielberg, tells the epic story of a young boy’s struggle to survive World War II in China.

Shanghai, 1941—a city aflame from the fateful torch of Pearl Harbor. In streets full of chaos and corpses, a young British boy searches in vain for his parents. Imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp, he is witness to the fierce white flash of Nagasaki, as the bomb bellows the end of the war...and the dawn of a blighted world.

Ballard’s enduring novel of war and deprivation, internment camps and death marches, and starvation and survival is an honest coming-of-age tale set in a world thrown utterly out of joint.

Mixed feelings

There is no doubt that Jeremy Irons is a great actor. However, his delivery of this material is uniformly quiet, flat, almost inflectionless. This bothered me for much of the book until I decided this must be a choice to reflect Jim’s unflappable acceptance of all that was happening to him. Unfortunately, the sound quality of this recording is poor as well. All of this leaves me a bit undecided about this recording.

Wish it was unabridged

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend any abridged book to a friend, that's just not nice.

What did you like best about this story?

The story.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were a lot of them I liked, they were just too short.

Do you think Empire of the Sun needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, but the unabridged version would be nice.

Any additional comments?

I like the story a lot, just not the abridged version. You might as well just watch the movie. It has young batman in it.

A tough act to follow

I kept reading and rereading this story. This is now one of the books I can count on one hand. It ranks among the best, after a lifetime of listening to audio books.

I enjoyed it but it is abridged

I enjoyed it but it is abridged. It feels like things have been left out. Jeremy Irons reading is masterful.

The one audible book to have

If you're gonna buy one audible book to immerse yourself in, this is it. Jeremy Irons reads this book like no other bringing the characters and story telling to life as vividly as it was lived. I had to listen to the last part of the the book over and over again. I lack the words to praise this audio book appropriately so I will use this cliches. It is hauntingly beautiful.