August 04, 2012

About Shōgun...

ShōgunShōgun by James Clavell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I adore James Clavell's writing style and the complexity of the plot. All those characters with their own personalities, goals and dreams; all intertwined together in different situations where they must make decisions that can have incredible and unknown to them consequences... it kept me on my toes till the end!

(view spoiler)[I really like John Blackthorne. His sharp mind, courage and lust for knowledge are qualities I dream of having, faced in a difficult situation like his. I really enjoyed the love story between him and Mariko, it was very beautiful, sad and magical!

I just have to put Omi-san in my review because I really admire his intelligence, japanese discipline and the way he was able to read people and to foresee several moves ahead. I wish things could work out for him and Kiku. They only had a few moments together and it was in the "Flower and Willow World" but still, I felt the intense attraction and true love between them.

With all those great people, the greatest is, of course, Toranaga-sama. He is  a real genius, although I don’t agree with his way of doing things. But maybe you can’t make everybody happy, you can’t not sacrifice some lives in order to be a leader. (hide spoiler)]


I put the novel in my favorites mainly because it's about Japan. I have this strange feeling in me when it comes to the Land of the Rising Sun. I just love reading about it, learning more about the culture, history. I am really willing to learn the language one day too, who knows ;)

In this story you can find adventures, politics, religion, culture.... mostly japanese, love, hate, war, courage and a lot more. In short:


  Incredible adventure I wish had never ended!



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