“Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life.”After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen—Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is late sixteenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, … people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne’s loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.
Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, Shōgun is a critically acclaimed powerhouse of a book. Heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat action melds seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the bestselling novels of all time but also one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, Shōgun is, as the New York Times put it, “…not only something you read—you live it.” Provocative, absorbing, and endlessly fascinating, there is only one: Shōgun.
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One of my top ten
The first novel I could not put down. 40 years later I’ve purchased an eBook version for me and a paperback for my son.
Couldn’t put this one down. One of Clavell’s Asian Saga series. The interplay of British and Japanese culture in the 1500s was fascinating. Clavell does his homework and reflects the nuances of Japanese culture well. Highly recommended
Interminable but mind-grabbing with an unexpected twist ending.
Loved it. Could not put it down!
Clavell is terrific at historical novels
I read this book before my first trip to Japan in order to get some background on the country. It was a captivating look at Japan during the feudal era and gave me great insight into the nature of the Japanese people. As I traveled through the countryside I could vividly imagine what it was like to ride through the mountains on horseback. …
One of my all-time favorite reads! This long saga has you learning Japanese alongside Anginsan. Loved this book. Hated it to end,
I read this book YEARS ago and thoroughly enjoyed it along with the other books in the series. Fascinating and engrossing look into differing cultures and the inevitable push of western sensibilities into the Japanese sense of tradition.
Shogun is one of the best books I have ever read! It is magnificent.
This is one of my all time favorite books! I find the Far East cultures fascinating and this book provide a great insight
So informative, entertaining, educational, a wonderful transportation to another time and another world. I absolutely loved it. A must read!
A real classic. Can’t recommend it enough for anyone interesting in historical fiction.
This book was very easy to read. As a reader, I was pulled along from set to set. It is a wonderful blend of history and fantasy. I highly recommend this book.
Anything by this author is a must-read! The characters are all three-dimensional. One of my favorite things about him is that he will mention characters from other books (and other countries and time periods). If you enjoy James Michener books, then Clavell is an author you must read.
One of the best historical fiction books written that uses Japan as a setting. Clavell did his research and created brilliant characters in this, possibly his most novel. Fascinating. I was so engrossed I almost burned the dinner.
As novels set in history go, it is hard to beat anything by Clavell. This story sets its ‘hero’ in a world that is alien to his experience – and evokes a feeling of feudal Japan as good as any I have ever read.
I always enjoy this author’s books. Read this book years and loved it. I read it again recently and enjoyed it just as much.
I read it ages ago and can’t recall much of it. But I enjoyed reading it.
Monumental book. I’ve read it three times. Fabulous!