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A review by raj_page
Shōgun: The Epic Novel of Japan by James Clavell, James Clavell
5.0
The book boasts so many Larger than Life characters.
The character's have so many dimensions to them.
On the surface level, one can say that the character's sense of pride, the willingness of doing seppuku at the drop of a hat is a little skewed, but when you try to analyze the characters, it makes sense.
Even the willingness of doing seppuku can be understood by the simple logic in a society which is so intertwined with politics, where honor is used as a political maneuver at times, living without honor can be worse punishment than death.
The ostracization which would follow would be unbearable.
Another thing proving that this book is a good character study is the layers of truth for each character.
Every character has a different version of themselves with each other character and this version can change with time.
Take Yabu for example.
At first, Yabu shows a face of a tyrant who enjoys cruelty.
But by the end, he shows that he is equally capable in poetry as he is in guile.
At first, we see Yabu as a threat to the protagonist Anjin.
But by the end, we see that him as a friend, albeit as a temporary one created out of necessity.
Diving more in the character will be flirting with the spoiler territory but all I can say is that there are many more layers of the characters that we see.
And this is just one of the many characters in the book.
Definitely a recommend.
Also, the TV miniseries could not capture the whole essence of this book. So try reading it instead of watching it.
The character's have so many dimensions to them.
On the surface level, one can say that the character's sense of pride, the willingness of doing seppuku at the drop of a hat is a little skewed, but when you try to analyze the characters, it makes sense.
Even the willingness of doing seppuku can be understood by the simple logic in a society which is so intertwined with politics, where honor is used as a political maneuver at times, living without honor can be worse punishment than death.
The ostracization which would follow would be unbearable.
Another thing proving that this book is a good character study is the layers of truth for each character.
Every character has a different version of themselves with each other character and this version can change with time.
Take Yabu for example.
At first, Yabu shows a face of a tyrant who enjoys cruelty.
But by the end, he shows that he is equally capable in poetry as he is in guile.
At first, we see Yabu as a threat to the protagonist Anjin.
But by the end, we see that him as a friend, albeit as a temporary one created out of necessity.
Diving more in the character will be flirting with the spoiler territory but all I can say is that there are many more layers of the characters that we see.
And this is just one of the many characters in the book.
Definitely a recommend.
Also, the TV miniseries could not capture the whole essence of this book. So try reading it instead of watching it.