A review by isabellarobinson7
Shōgun: The Epic Novel of Japan by James Clavell, James Clavell
Rating: ?? stars
I am having trouble figuring out how to write this review (I've already written one that is basically half a dissertation and another that is me freaking out about all the weird sex stuff) so I think I am just going to write about what Shōgun is and isn't.
One thing that Shōgun is not, is a war epic. You can make up your own opinion if you do decide to read it, but for me, Shōgun doesn't have much blood and gore at all. In fact the majority of this novel is devoted to romance. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of samurai in this book, but not the kind you're thinking off. For instance, there is an old lady in this book. Super weak and fragile. She is samurai. Not a retired one. Just samurai. Because contrary to popular belief, samurai were just aristocratic nobles. They had weapons, yes, but their swords were more ceremonial than anything (mostly for gutting themselves, but I'll touch on that later). They did fight, but that was far from their primary purpose.
But what Shōgun is, is a cultural examination. Though I try not to, I tend to be quite a stickler for accuracy, be it adaptational or historical, but Clavell well and truly did is research, and it payed off tremendously. Emersion breaks can be a real irritation for me, but everything in this book felt so incredibly genuine that I almost never doubted Clavell's Japan was our Japan.
But I also hate contradictions, and 17th century supposedly "Christian" Japan seemed to be absolutely full of them! Though I said there was little violence in this book, almost all the deaths occurred through suicide. I kid you not, someone would make a small mistake, like touching something that was meant to be left alone, and afterwards they sit down on the spot and slit their stomachs! Then they lie there with their entrails in their lap until they die! Huh? Huh?! (Maybe this is just cultural differences, though.) Oh and don't get me started of all the sexy stuff. I don't even want to go into it. There's even a whole chunk of a chapter dedicated to discussing Japanese ways of pleasure, which, safe to say, I skipped. So they can kill anyone they choose (including themselves) at the drop of a hat; sleep with whoever they want, regardless of their gender and not worried about the age gap, thus have children with whomever they wish; and pray to Buddha while they're at it! But don't worry, they're still Christian! From everything I know, that's against quite a few of the Ten Commandments!
And then there is the romance. Or more specifically, the romanticised cheating. And this is not the cultural things Japanese had, this applies to an Englishman who is married with a child. Here's the bottom line: if you have made commitments to someone else; if someone else trusts you; if you are married, or in any romantic relationship of any kind, no matter how serious; and regardless whether they have explicitly told you "don't sleep with someone else" or not,
I am having trouble figuring out how to write this review (I've already written one that is basically half a dissertation and another that is me freaking out about all the weird sex stuff) so I think I am just going to write about what Shōgun is and isn't.
One thing that Shōgun is not, is a war epic. You can make up your own opinion if you do decide to read it, but for me, Shōgun doesn't have much blood and gore at all. In fact the majority of this novel is devoted to romance. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of samurai in this book, but not the kind you're thinking off. For instance, there is an old lady in this book. Super weak and fragile. She is samurai. Not a retired one. Just samurai. Because contrary to popular belief, samurai were just aristocratic nobles. They had weapons, yes, but their swords were more ceremonial than anything (mostly for gutting themselves, but I'll touch on that later). They did fight, but that was far from their primary purpose.
But what Shōgun is, is a cultural examination. Though I try not to, I tend to be quite a stickler for accuracy, be it adaptational or historical, but Clavell well and truly did is research, and it payed off tremendously. Emersion breaks can be a real irritation for me, but everything in this book felt so incredibly genuine that I almost never doubted Clavell's Japan was our Japan.
But I also hate contradictions, and 17th century supposedly "Christian" Japan seemed to be absolutely full of them! Though I said there was little violence in this book, almost all the deaths occurred through suicide. I kid you not, someone would make a small mistake, like touching something that was meant to be left alone, and afterwards they sit down on the spot and slit their stomachs! Then they lie there with their entrails in their lap until they die! Huh? Huh?! (Maybe this is just cultural differences, though.) Oh and don't get me started of all the sexy stuff. I don't even want to go into it. There's even a whole chunk of a chapter dedicated to discussing Japanese ways of pleasure, which, safe to say, I skipped. So they can kill anyone they choose (including themselves) at the drop of a hat; sleep with whoever they want, regardless of their gender and not worried about the age gap, thus have children with whomever they wish; and pray to Buddha while they're at it! But don't worry, they're still Christian! From everything I know, that's against quite a few of the Ten Commandments!
And then there is the romance. Or more specifically, the romanticised cheating. And this is not the cultural things Japanese had, this applies to an Englishman who is married with a child. Here's the bottom line: if you have made commitments to someone else; if someone else trusts you; if you are married, or in any romantic relationship of any kind, no matter how serious; and regardless whether they have explicitly told you "don't sleep with someone else" or not,