A review by bellatora
Empire of the Sun, by J. G. Ballard
4.0
I haven't seen the movie version, but from what I gather from Wikipedia, there were definite discrepancies.
I liked the first part of this book a lot. This was Jim as a neglected child of wealthy expats in Shanghai, where it's clear from the outset that he is one of those scrappy, independent boys that are so often the heroes of kid lit. Then the Japanese invasion occurs and Jim is left to run wild as his parents and the other grown-ups he knows are captured. It's like Home Alone, if Macaulay Culkin ended up as a POW instead of outwitting bumbling burglars. This was hands-down my favorite part of the book. It's exciting, because I think it's kind of every kid's dream to run loose throughout the city, do whatever you want (including riding a bike in the house!) and eat whatever you want with no grown-ups telling you what to do. It's terrifying, because Jim is abandoned and alone and any minute some soldier could take him away or shoot him. And it's heartbreaking, because while Jim enjoys his freedom, he feels terribly abandoned and alone.
The middle section was pretty good. This was Jim as a POW. Jim is a ruthless survivor (though with moments of compassion) and it's pretty clear why Jim made it through when so many others didn't. The kid's tough and clever. Children can be good narrators of horrific experiences, because they don't tend to dwell; they view the world with an odd mix of acceptance and curiosity and Jim's no exception.
Then the last section was confusing as frack. This is the end of the war, and I honestly lost the narrative here. It was like the end of [b:Life of Pi|4214|Life of Pi|Yann Martel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320562005s/4214.jpg|1392700]. In both cases, I couldn't tell if the confusion was the result of weak writing, or an attempt to show the chaos and disorientation of the end of a long ordeal.
I liked the first part of this book a lot. This was Jim as a neglected child of wealthy expats in Shanghai, where it's clear from the outset that he is one of those scrappy, independent boys that are so often the heroes of kid lit. Then the Japanese invasion occurs and Jim is left to run wild as his parents and the other grown-ups he knows are captured. It's like Home Alone, if Macaulay Culkin ended up as a POW instead of outwitting bumbling burglars. This was hands-down my favorite part of the book. It's exciting, because I think it's kind of every kid's dream to run loose throughout the city, do whatever you want (including riding a bike in the house!) and eat whatever you want with no grown-ups telling you what to do. It's terrifying, because Jim is abandoned and alone and any minute some soldier could take him away or shoot him. And it's heartbreaking, because while Jim enjoys his freedom, he feels terribly abandoned and alone.
The middle section was pretty good. This was Jim as a POW. Jim is a ruthless survivor (though with moments of compassion) and it's pretty clear why Jim made it through when so many others didn't. The kid's tough and clever. Children can be good narrators of horrific experiences, because they don't tend to dwell; they view the world with an odd mix of acceptance and curiosity and Jim's no exception.
Then the last section was confusing as frack. This is the end of the war, and I honestly lost the narrative here. It was like the end of [b:Life of Pi|4214|Life of Pi|Yann Martel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320562005s/4214.jpg|1392700]. In both cases, I couldn't tell if the confusion was the result of weak writing, or an attempt to show the chaos and disorientation of the end of a long ordeal.