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A review by justinlife
Shōgun by James Clavell
5.0
This book is as frustrating as it is brilliant. I read this book because I saw one of my other friends had rated it highly on Goodreads and it was something I didn't expect. Once I dived into this book, I can understand why. One can't help but be impressed with this novel. It is epic in its scope and it succeeds magnificently. The more I continued in this book, the more intrigued I became. The world created was so believable and so well researched that that alone made this book amazing.
The reason why this book was so frustrating is because the characters aren't all that likable. That doesn't mean they aren't realistic, but at the beginning of the book, all of the characters either come across as selfish, stubborn, cruel, or just mean. It takes about 300 pages to really get to like Blackthorne, one of the main protagonists. Even then, it's only a little. He continues to grow as a character though, and by the end of the book, I found myself understanding his position, even his obstinate behavior. He was hard to take and I found myself asking "why am i reading this?" any time there was a scene with him.
The answer quickly came because whenever there was a scene with him, there was usually Mariko. Mariko was such an interesting character. A woman of two worlds, both Christian and Samurai and completely committed to both. For some reason, I understood her more than any other- seeing the beauty of both Christianity and Buddhism. She was immensely fascinating.
This book is worthy of the five stars, but if you choose to read this book, go into it with the knowledge that there are a lot of characters. Sometimes, it's hard to keep them straight as they come in and out of the novel. The book sometimes meanders, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed the descriptions of the world- the political intrigue, the politeness and the insults underneath the politenesses. Yes, this book is immense, but if you give it the attention it deserves, you will find yourself enjoying it. I particularly ate up the innuendos, insults, double meanings, triple meanings, and straight up manipulation whenever it showed up in conversation. Everything in the book seemed layered and it was glorious!
The reason why this book was so frustrating is because the characters aren't all that likable. That doesn't mean they aren't realistic, but at the beginning of the book, all of the characters either come across as selfish, stubborn, cruel, or just mean. It takes about 300 pages to really get to like Blackthorne, one of the main protagonists. Even then, it's only a little. He continues to grow as a character though, and by the end of the book, I found myself understanding his position, even his obstinate behavior. He was hard to take and I found myself asking "why am i reading this?" any time there was a scene with him.
The answer quickly came because whenever there was a scene with him, there was usually Mariko. Mariko was such an interesting character. A woman of two worlds, both Christian and Samurai and completely committed to both. For some reason, I understood her more than any other- seeing the beauty of both Christianity and Buddhism. She was immensely fascinating.
This book is worthy of the five stars, but if you choose to read this book, go into it with the knowledge that there are a lot of characters. Sometimes, it's hard to keep them straight as they come in and out of the novel. The book sometimes meanders, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed the descriptions of the world- the political intrigue, the politeness and the insults underneath the politenesses. Yes, this book is immense, but if you give it the attention it deserves, you will find yourself enjoying it. I particularly ate up the innuendos, insults, double meanings, triple meanings, and straight up manipulation whenever it showed up in conversation. Everything in the book seemed layered and it was glorious!