Shogun - A novel of Japan

The year is 1600. The English pilot John Blackthorn serving on the Dutch ship Erasmus is shipwrecked on the coast of Japan. He and his crew are taken captive by the local Japanese samurai. This is the beginning of Blackthorn's life changing adventure in the fields of Japan. The sailor, a Barbarian and an English Protestant is at first reluctant to understand the Japanese culture. In the 17th century the Japanese culture is highly different from the European one. It is based on the ideas of duty, courage, and respect. The Japanese samurai are extremely loyal to their master; for them this loyalty transforms into a life purpose and a form of self respect. They are even obligated to kill themselves (sepuku, or more famous as harakiri) or their families as an act of subordination to their governor. Polite and in the same time proud, the Japanese value their rituals and traditions, aiming to protect them from outside influence.

Years after Magellan made his famous voyage around the world, the Europeans are struggling to gain control and influence in the distant island country. When Blackthorn arrives on the coast of Japan, it is already highly populated with Spanish and Portuguese priests. They are spreading Catholicism by trying to convert as many Japanese from their Buddhist believes and are controlling the trade with China and the rest of the world. At the time of the novel, England is at holy war with both Spain and Portugal. While the latter are Catholics, the English have already separated from the Pope's Church in Protestantism. This peculiarity determines the complex relationship between Blackthorn and the Jesuits. Seen as an enemy of the right Faith by the Spanish and the Portuguese and as a dangerous barbarian by the locals, the English pilot finds himself in the middle of a severe conflict. Slowly but surely, Blackthorn gets acquainted with the Japanese customs and traditions; he learns to be polite and considered, to take showers regularly, and to eat only fish, fruit, and vegetables. He is given a Japanese name, Anjin, which means pilot. The more time he spends among the Japanese, the more Anjin starts to appreciate their culture as his own. He slowly forgets his old habits, his country, his wife. Even though he constantly searches for ways to travel back home, the reader feels that Blackthorn's affection with Japan grows. This is strengthened by his learning of the language and by his love for Mariko, one of the most powerful Japanese women.

Blackthorn's knowledge soon makes him one of the closest samurai and hatamoto to the daimyo (that is Japanese ruler) Toranaga. Shogun is actually based on true historical events, several months before the critical battle of Sekigahara. The country is on the verge of a civil war, since all of the powerful daimyo aim at the highest title possible - the shogunate. Shogun is a hereditary military dictator, the most powerful person in Japan.

It is difficult to write a review and to try and incorporate all the delicate aspects of this masterpiece. Shogun is nearly 1200 pages long, which feature a thorough comprehension of the Japanese culture and customs. Clavell's talent is visible throughout the novel; the author successfully mixes the historical drama with the political drama; he focuses on love, sex, pride, glory, and duty in order to give a comprehensive picture of Japan in the 17th century. I absolutely loved Shogun, the first novel of his Asian saga, which also includes King Rat, Tai Pan, and Noble House. All of these novels center on Europeans in Asia and examine the consequences of the clash between the Eastern and the Western civilizations. Clavell's knowledge on the subject is extensive; his long descriptions do not bore the reader but add to the full image of the Eastern cultures. I have read reviews that Shogun is far too long and that some of the parts must be omitted in favor of concision. I disagree completely. There is not a single chapter I would delete or shorten. Clavell does an amazing job in understanding and exploring the motives and values of the Japanese samurai.

I loved two words from the novel. One of them is "karma". The Japanese accept whatever happens to them by simply exclaiming "Karma". They regard life as temporary and as a gate to death, which is eternal.The second one is "ya". It refers to the physical and mental balance of the human being. As Mariko, Blackthorn's lover explains, when you learn to drink tea from an empty glass or to watch a stone grow, then you are in perfect balance with yourself. In addition to being a historical masterpiece about the great empire of Japan, Shogun is also full of philosophical suggestions. In fact, Westerners have a lot to learn about stability,balance, honor, and respect from the Eastern civilizations.

For 10 days I was immersed in Clavell's world. I learned a lot about Japan, I started thinking about the metaphysical questions and I didn't realize how these nearly 1200 pages flew by me. I would recommend this to anyone.

My Experience on the Sofia Book Market

The annual Sofia Book Market is a fact. From 7th to 12th of December the National Culture Palace becomes the center of a reading fever. All publishers and bookstores are there, presenting their most famous bestsellers and trying desperately to make the ever so poor Bulgarian reader spare some money on a new book (s). Of course, there is 20% off on every novel you purchase, which is a very good reason to at least think about improving your library.

I do not need to mention that I was there the first day the market opened. I spent 2 blissful hours going around it, checking out new and old books, making a list of all the novels I wanted to buy, smelling new books, asking questions. Basically, I has having the time of my life. I was pleasantly surprised by the initiative of the French Institute. The latter created a reading cafe in the middle of the market, where one can sit, go through some of the contemporary (and no so contemporary) French pieces of literature and just read. Basically, you can sit there the whole day, surrounded by the smell of books and read with no fee at all. You don't have to buy a book or pay anything; you are entitled to read as much as you want. I took advantage of this opportunity and that is how I stumbled on a book, which I bought afterwards.

Laurent Gounelle's L'Homme Qui Voulait Etre Heureux (The Man Who Wanted to be Happy) attracted me firstly with its title and then with the description on the back. Gounelle is a French psychologist and writer, who explores the problems of human happiness and mental equilibrium. As my mom says lately I am more and more into psychological books, novels that explore the nature of human content and stability, novels that help you discover who you really are and what you want out of life. By exploring so many different aspects, I get closer to understanding myself and my dreams. I also realize I am not the person I thought I was. I realize the dreams I thought would make me happy upon achievement do not bring anything but mere resentment and disappointment because I am still not happy. That is why I am determined (and actually fascinated by the possibility) to read as many self help, self understand, or whatever those books might be called. Some are very good (Eat Pray Love) some do not work for me (Froth on the Capuchino) and others just transform my world view completely (Ayn Rand's literature, although she is not really a self-help type of writer). I can't wait to see what Gounelle has to say about the subject since once more I will have the chance to touch the Buddhist culture and way of thinking through exploring L'Homme Qui Voulait Etre Heureux.

Of course I didn't want to limit myself to only buying one book but unfortunately due to budget restraints I had to. I nevertheless made a list of all the books I wanted to buy eventually (so that I do not forget) and I attempted to convince my mother that I absolutely desperately need all of them. She was not that sure at all, given that my room starts to look more like a library than like a living space ( I literally have no space to accomodate my books already) + she doesn't really believe in buying books. She is the type "I will borrow from the public library" type. I am different, so I am determined to own these novels one way or another. So here is my wish list for next couple of months:

1. Anne Heller - Ayn Rand and the World She Made
2. James Clavell - Shogun
3. Ray Bradbury - All
4. George Orwell - Animal Farm
5. Arthur Clarke - A Space Odyssey














If you still haven't visited Sofia Book Market, I urge you to do so. We must support this amazing initiative and prove that Bulgarians still read and are still ready to spare some cash for a good book.

James Clavell's King Rat

James Clavell's King Rat is maybe the best novel I have read in the last couple of months. Clavell demonstrates a rich life experience and a profound understanding of the human nature and its expression in various situations. With an enviable psychologism, the author portrays the detrimental effect of the war on the soldiers' spirituality; the ominous world cataclysm, which deprives these men of hope and belief and changes their relationship with others. 

The plot is set in the prison camp Changi in Singapur, where more then 10,000 warriors of the Allies (Australia, UK, and the USA) are kept by the Japanese government. The year is 1945 and the Second World War is coming to its end. These prisoners of war are living under terrible conditions - they are deprived of food, medicine, and normal sanitary utilities. The struggle of survival and the pursuit to adapt reveal the complexity of their characters. 

The protagonist, Peter Marlow, is an English officer, who strives to survive in the military prison camp. His friendship with The King (Clavell never mentions his real name) portrays the level to which war distorts and transforms human relationships. The King is an American soldier, who, through clever business and trade outside of the camp manages to live far better than the other inmates. He has surrounded himself with "loyal" subordinates, who in exchange of small services receive food and help from the King. The latter's most successful business idea is the farm of rats. The inmates start growing rats in order to sell their meat to the other warriors, claiming it to be chicken. At the end of the novel, the war is over and the camp is freed by the Allied forces. However, 3 years in Changi have dramatically changed these men. They are looked as alliens by the outside world; they are scared and insecure to return; they are not sure whether their loved ones are alive or waiting for them. With a great imagination Clavell gives us the destructive effect of war on the psychological and physical condition of these men. Even freed, they still feel afraid to return to the real world. 

James Clavell's King Rat somewhat reminded me of Pat Barker's Regeneration. In this novel the author depicts again the traumatic effect of war by examining a mental institution for warriors. Similarly, these men have seen terrible events on the battlefield and struggle to overcome them. 

The allusion to rats that Clavell makes is quite obvious. The life in the prison camp is difficult; hence only the strongest survive. As the author mentions at the end of the novel the strong rat eats the week, the clever one destroys the stupid, until only the fittest remain. Only to be substituted by better ones. In that sense the King is the strongest amongst the warriors. He successfully establishes business and trade relationships and controls the other soldiers by offering them food and shelter in exchange of services. At the end of the war, however, most of these soldier forget the help given to them by the King. He is now a simple officer, whom they threat as a subordinate, and not as a King. The reader even senses that the King misses the war and the sense of power and control it gave him in Changi. Only Peter Marlow remains loyal and honest to his friend, but the King refuses this friendship. He enters the real world weak, insecure, and unable to defend himself. Quite a change from the powerful and confident King we meet throughout the rest of the novel.

Clavell is amazing. Many claim this to be a manly novel because it largely focuses on the war. I, personally, enjoyed it a lot. The author's sense for the exotic (Singapur) combined with his great understanding of human nature and behavior results in an extensive gallery of characters, who, despite the difficulties, struggle to balance between life and death. 

My next destination in Clavell's world will be definitely Shogun, claimed to be one of the most eminent masterpieces in world literature. There, the author's fascination with the exotic is evident again, as he explores the rituals and norms in Medieval Japan. Can't wait.