Shōgun, Part One

The Asian Saga

By: James Clavell

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 24 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

By the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell’s Shogun is soon to be a major FX/Hulu TV series!

Shogun, the classic epic novel of feudal Japan that captured the heart of a culture and the imagination of the world, is now available for the first time in serial format. Part One contains the first half of the complete novel.

After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen—Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne’s loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.

Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, Shogun is a critically acclaimed powerhouse of a book. Heart-stopping, thrilling action melds seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the best-selling novels of all time but one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, Shogun is, as the New York Times put it, ‘'not only something you read—you live it.’‘

Also available: Shogun: Part Two

©1975 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Publishing

Nice romanticized view of Japan (Americanized)

First of all I wanted to start by applauding research that went into the book. The customs, costume descripitons and cultural differences are really nicely summarized. Is it realistic? Surprise, surprise none of modern descriptions of feudal Japan are. The view we have of samurais is an effect of Meiji restoration and our current view on Bushido and Samurai caste is based on Japan's own reflections.

When it comes to writing itself it leaves something to be desired. The book is mainly he said, she said, he thought. It's sometimes hard to follow on who's POV the writer takes. It's not amazing, but it's fine. American writers rarely are great when it comes to craft of this kind. It reads a little bit like a script for a movie or tv show.

The story itself draws on reality and makes some changes, but nothing major (at least until the end of book 1)

Performance of James Clavell is exceptional and I highly respect the Japanese reading.

Overall while there are some bad aspects the book gets my respect for taking very difficult subject and popularizing it for modern audience.

not as good as the (80s) show

a friend first introduced me to the original TV show and somehow I thought the book it was based on would be good too. its kinda meh, characters are quite unbelievable. I find it hard to believe one of a group of Samurai would jump head first to his death off a cliff, just in order to gain the attention of their master down below..