Gai-Jin

Gai-Jin starts off that way as well. The first 400 or 500 pages of Gai-Jin are classic Clavell. Combining many of the stories and characters from Shogun, Tai Pan, and Noble House. The books first 500 pages are terrific. Clavell using some familiar faces from his other books sets the stage for the Meiji Restoration in Japan.

The book in typical Clavell fashion talks about the history of Japan after the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853 as well as of China while it was divided up into spheres of influence.

Gai-Jin is so good at setting the stage for Meiji with its characters discussing Japan's options of either learning for the Gai-Jin or attempting a futile resistance and facing humilation like China suffered under the Opium Wars.

Unfortunately Clavell died shortly after finishing this book. And unfortunately the affects of his illness affect the second half of the book. The book just loses focus 1/2 way through. My gut feeling is that Clavell's illness just caught up to him. Because the book just goes downhill and nowhere which is not typical of Clavell.

Clavell will never be replaced. Other fictional books about Asia do not even compare. Cloud of Sparrows, The Laura Joh Rowland Books, are ok but not in Clavell's league. The first half of Gai-Jin reminds us how good he was. Unfortunately, he will never be replaced.


Brilliant and addictive, but unsatisfying in the end.   December 8, 2003
trashcanman (Hanford, CA United States)
Just finished this book yesterday.I was positively hooked on it once I opened it. A friend recommended this one to me since I'm a big admirer of Japanese culture. This book has so many complicated stories going on it can be rough to keep up with them all at once, especially when they all weave together, but you still care for each of the characters. The story allows you to see all sides of every conflict, there is no black or white, it's all grey. You root for almost every character, even though they are all conflicting with each other. For example, the Shogunate rule the country with military might while the revolutionary shishi samurai, driven to poverty by the shogunate's excesses, are organising a coup to restore power to the emperor. The man passed over as shogun, Lord Yoshi, is strong and admirable and beset by enemies on all sides; a target of shishi assassinations and power grabs from within his own shogunate. Meanwhile, he must deal with the gai-jin (foreigners) who have been allowed to settle in Yokohama and are hated by shishi and shogunate alike. But the British navy threatens to crush Yedo (Tokyo) and take Japan by force if not allowed to conduct their trade. As the Japanese have no guns or cannons, they must comply...for now. Hiraga (who uses several names over the course of the book to hide his identity) is a shishi who wishes to exterminate all gai-jin and the shogunate as well. Sounds like an evil character, but you come to understand his point of view and even root for the guy as he crawls through the snakes' nest that is the politics of 19th century Japan. Like I said, a lot of grey area, when the shishi attempt to assassinate Yoshi you don't know who to root for. That kind of stuff makes this book so engaging. The Gai-jin themselves are the focal point of much of the book with Dirk Struan's son, Malcolm, falling in love with a beautiful frenchwoman against his mother's wishes and that conflict threatens to dominate the entire book. Dozens of characters and sub-plots to keep track of, I couldn't wait to see how this all ended. Sadly, the result is not pretty. A truly shocking event happens which throws a wrench into the last part of the book and taints the rest of the story with melancholy as the brilliant political machinations, schemes, and conflicts that made the book so exciting in the first place practically vanish unfulfilled as the aftermath of the tragedy takes over. Worst ending ever. Or should I say worst lack of an ending ever? The epilogue is pointless and solves nothing. So much is unnecessarily built up at the end and then just left there to drive you insane long after the pages have ended. Well there it is; read it and love it, but just don't expect anything to be resolved. Just be happy that life goes on for these characters, even if you don't get to read about it.


A good story, but not up to previous works   March 16, 1998
fishen8r@flash.net (Los Angeles, CA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Before this book was, I wanted nothing more than another Clavell novel. King Rat was probably the moodiest book I have ever read (Very well done movie adaptation, too), Tai Pan the most exciting and both Shogun and Noble House the grandest. Gai Jin, like his previous efforts, had a wonderfully complex plot, with many interesting characters and scenes of extreme violence.

The book also gave a good view of 19th century Japan, but made many errors. While I can't remember the particular details (I read it four years ago), I do remember many errors in Japanese naming, wording (I speak Japanese and have read 19th century literature), and political events. I can forgive a lot for a good story, and this qualifies, but being from Clavell, I expected perfection.

That he was old and sick when he wrote the book does make me thankful that at least I got one more Clavell novel to enjoy. It is still better than the Asian Historical Fiction of most other authors (and there are so few).


Good, but the sequel doesn't surpass the original   April 10, 2001
SH in Tampa (Tampa FL)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Gai-jin is set after Clavell's "Tai-pan". The heir to the Noble House trading company, established in Tai-pan, travels to Japan to expand the fortunes of his great company. However, the new heir is not a strong as the great Dirk Struan and the rivals of the Noble House conspire to destroy it. All this treachery is set against a backdrop of terrorism and diplomatic intrigue as the warlords of Japan conspire to take advantage of the presences of the "gai jin".

This book has the murders, battles, rapes, natural disasters and convoluted politics that are the hallmarks of Clavell's writing. However, just like the Noble House heir, the book starts off wounded and never really recovers. Unlike many of Clavell's other books, there is no strong lead character to really carry the story, and as a result, it does not move as smoothly or as interesting as his previous books, Shogun and Tai-pan.

Unfortunately James Clavell has set the bar a little too high with his previous novels and this one isn't quite as good. Still, if you are a fan, it is worth reading. If you have never read a Clavell novel, pick up one of the others first and you will appreciate his writing more.


NO comparison To Shogun!!!   January 25, 1999
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I am a 16 year old Japanese student and I, like a few other readers, before reading this book, thought Clavell was amazing. NOw I think he is semi-amazing. I read Shogun, and I was completely drowned in the book, I lived it as well as the characters' lives. HOwever, I think Gai-Jin took all the wonderful aspects of Shogun to the extreme.

Clavell still takes the reader right into the story, and, as always, thrills us with his understanding of the Japanese way, but he goes a bit too far... I find there is way too much sex and lust... all surrounding the character of Angelique Richaud. I don't understand why he chose to put her in the novel as such a big part of it.. I agree she is a vital part, but I don't understand why every time Clavell would write anything about the gai-jin that he would have to include something about either Andre fantasizng about raping her, or someone else checking her out.

Other than that, the book was amazing.