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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
This story has everything a great epic should have. Adventure, intrigue, love. And pirates! And a monster storm. And the endurance of family and honor.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a slog. Much less interesting than Shogun. Took me a lot of energy to finish it
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whereas Shogun centered around the development of Blackthorne, the brutish English castaway who finds a deep appreciation and respect for the Japanese culture, Tai-Pan features the Scottish merchant king Dirk Struan, head of the illustrious Noble House trade company, already finely enmeshed in Chinese customs. However, Clavell widens his scope on his dramatis personae, making Struan the thread that connects all other characters to the greater story of Hong Kong, British-Chinese politics, and the realities of the tea and opium trades. Tai-Pan, set 200+ years after Shogun, is a far more international narrative, bearing witness of China opening to the Western world from multiple perspectives. This is where Tai-Pan shines most, in proferring up characters who are unique, fleshed out, and complete with setting-appropriate opinions and flaws. Some characters promise more payoff then is given to them (many of the women, unfortunately), but each progress through their stories by inches, acting upon or developing through events that are both believable and fair for the times.
Struan as protagonist is largely stagnant in character, but compelling nonetheless. His progressive, cosmopolitan views throughout the novel are already set on page one, where his years abroad have given him ample time and reason to have adopted effective Chinese hygienic practices (such as bathing, wiping after defecating, changing out of begrimed and sweated clothes, etc.) and has learned the intricate methods of conversing with the Chinese elite to acquire social currency and maintain face. He is surprisingly conservative in some views (he won't admit that steamships will replace his clippers and cutters one day), and the emotional core of his journey involves him coming to terms with his feelings for his Chinese mistress, May-May, and whether to commit to the social suicide that accompanied marrying a foreigner during the 1840s. Most of the book Struan is pushing the plot forward through outmaneuvering his adversaries, gambling heavily on his self--assured ability to manipulate others, and using his immense wealth, militant skills, and clout to achieve everything he wants, and steer the course of everyone's lives around him. It can grow tiresome to read of Struan's latest success, but Clavell does a fine job making the journey entertaining to read nonetheless.
There are elements of swashbuckling adventure, political intrigues, and the cultural and historical education to pepper each page of this lengthy epic and Tai-pan will indeed entice any fan of the genre. Clavell is a master story-teller!
Struan as protagonist is largely stagnant in character, but compelling nonetheless. His progressive, cosmopolitan views throughout the novel are already set on page one, where his years abroad have given him ample time and reason to have adopted effective Chinese hygienic practices (such as bathing, wiping after defecating, changing out of begrimed and sweated clothes, etc.) and has learned the intricate methods of conversing with the Chinese elite to acquire social currency and maintain face. He is surprisingly conservative in some views (he won't admit that steamships will replace his clippers and cutters one day), and the emotional core of his journey involves him coming to terms with his feelings for his Chinese mistress, May-May, and whether to commit to the social suicide that accompanied marrying a foreigner during the 1840s. Most of the book Struan is pushing the plot forward through outmaneuvering his adversaries, gambling heavily on his self--assured ability to manipulate others, and using his immense wealth, militant skills, and clout to achieve everything he wants, and steer the course of everyone's lives around him. It can grow tiresome to read of Struan's latest success, but Clavell does a fine job making the journey entertaining to read nonetheless.
There are elements of swashbuckling adventure, political intrigues, and the cultural and historical education to pepper each page of this lengthy epic and Tai-pan will indeed entice any fan of the genre. Clavell is a master story-teller!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If I could give this book 6 stars I would.
It was terrifical good.
YOU ALL NEED TO READ THIS!
It was terrifical good.
YOU ALL NEED TO READ THIS!
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes