GaiJin, James Clavell
GaiJin, James Clavell
6 Rating(s)
List: $29.95 | Sale: $20.97
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Gai-Jin

Author: James Clavell

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 50 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/26/2015

Synopsis

The dynamic epic novel of political upheaval and societal change in late 1800s Japan, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James ClavellThis epic novel by master writer James Clavell, loosely based on the Namamugi Incident and Anglo-Satsuma War that took place in the late 1800s, is a richly researched, panoramic view of Japan’s budding relationship with the Western powers, its sweeping societal changes, and the political upheaval that followed.As Malcolm Struan, the son of Culum and Tess Struan, and a small band of Westerners travel down the Tōkaidō road, they are attacked by two Satsuma samurai, who mortally wound John Canterbury and seriously injure Malcolm, who then finds reprieve in the merchant village of Yokohama after a narrow escape facilitated by the unscathed Angelique.Angelique Richaud, Malcolm’s penniless but beautiful French companion, is thrown into a world of political intrigue, fierce devotion, unstable family dynamics, blackmail, and secrets as the trading houses battle for supremacy.With a cast of dynamic and fully recognized characters, Gai-Jin spins a tale of passionate love affairs, devastating loss, intense power struggles, and the fight to survive and thrive in a hostile new land that will leave readers longing for another foray into Clavell’s extraordinary Asian Saga.

About James Clavell

James Clavell (1921–1994) was a novelist, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. He is best known for his epic Asian Saga novels, which launched with the 1962 bestseller King Rat, and their televised adaptations. He also wrote screenplays for such films as The Great Escape and The Fly, and was a writer, director, and producer on To Sir, with Love. His books Shōgun, Noble House, Tai-Pan, and Whirlwind were #1 New York Times bestsellers.

About John Lee

John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Calista on July 02, 2021

This is the 3rd book in the Asian Saga, but the last book that James Clavell completed. He was working on another when he died. The story of Asia still coming into the west is now up to the 1800s and the American civil war is going on and talked about in the story. We get into the world of the Japan......more

Goodreads review by Jim on October 21, 2014

Now I know why I didn't like this book as well - no strong central character. There are a lot of great characters & the writing is everything I've come to expect from Clavell, but every other book of his is fairly upbeat (sort of) with a great heroic, central figure. Here there isn't one. I don't kn......more

Goodreads review by David on April 29, 2010

I loved Clavell's SHOGUN, and while GAI-JIN takes great efforts to paint on-the-verge-of-Meiji Japan in great depth, this book is hardly SHOGUN. I'm on page 450 right now and feel as if everything so far could have been told in 150 pages...and I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to get through th......more

Goodreads review by Hannah on December 25, 2024

This is the last of the Asian Saga since each one is worse than the one before it. Shōgun was beautiful, and I loved it. Tai-Pai was mediocre at best. This one was plain awful. Only finished it to help me get to my pages goal for the year. But it was truly painful to get through it. It was far longe......more

Goodreads review by M.M. Strawberry on May 21, 2017

Aside a few mistakes (contradictions with earlier novels, such as the mention of May-May being Gordon Chen's mother when in Tai-Pan, she was not, among other things), this was a decent read. Like Tai-Pan, this plodded in some places, particularly through the later half of the book, but Clavell was ra......more

Quotes

“Engrossing…entertaining…the broad portrait is accurate and as colorful as an ancient Kabuki play.” People

“Exhilarating…a rich, enveloping novel.” Cosmopolitan

“A well-told story…few eras of Japanese history were more violent, turbulent, and politically exasperating than the 1860s…Mr. Clavell revels in the turbulence of political death and rebirth.” New York Times Book Review

“A grand historical perspective that makes us feel we’re understanding how today’s Japan came into being…Absorbing…Full of rich characters and complicated action.” New York Times

"Gai-Jin is Shōgun plus!…Great entertainment.” New York Daily News

"Gai-Jin is major reading. If you like Clavell’s other novels, you’ll surely sink your teeth into this one. He is a master at capturing the Japanese persona…He dives deep into the complexitites of a monarchic society and the early attempts at cross-cultural negotiations. The result is nothing less than a saga.” Chicago Sun-Times

“With great skill and intelligence…Gai-Jin is just the ticket. It has it all: murders, battles, rapes, earthquakes, sword fights, insanely convoluted political intrigues, and innumerable accounts of ‘pillowing’ with beautiful women.” San Francisco Chronicle

“Interesting, exciting…James Clavell fans will love it!” Milwaukee Journal

“Clavell keeps you turning the pages.” Los Angeles Daily News

“Compelling…The Japanese love fine jubako—lacquered boxes that fit within boxes that are in boxes. In Gai-Jin, James Clavell has written a jubako of a novel.” Christian Science Monitor

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