Gai-Jin

Reader John Lee is Perfect but not Enough

Gai-Jin: The Epic Novel of the Birth of Modern Japan, Written by: James Clavell, and Narrated by: John Lee. I have long been a James Clavell admirer. I believe King Rat, and Shogun are engaging stories that make you a smarter human being. Tai Pan and Nobel house are cross cultural novels that make learning another value system and getting involved in either swashbuckling or business stories, fun. So when Audible decided to publish the “Asian” series, which is simply a compendium of this works, I thought I would listen to my prior reads and catch up on the ones I have yet to experience. I strongly recommend the above Clavell novels. As for Gai-Jin:

Gai-Jin is about 50 hours of listening. Tolstoy’s War and Peace is about 60. Spend your hours reading War and Peace. If you have already read War and Peace, read it again, instead of spending your hours on Gai-Jin. If you have read or listened to War and Peace, do it a second or third time rather than spend your time on Gai-Jin. There is very little here, particularly compared to Clavell’s above listed stories and certainly compared to Tolstoy.

This is a story about a very much hourly glass shaped and beautiful faced French woman who finds her way to Japan and is honed in on by every man in existence in an effectively otherwise barren western woman environment. Beauty is an enchanting allure. One though, gets tired of Clavell mentioning it endlessly – and you want to yell, please get on with the nonplused story. Oh, yes, the story. Very unlikely things happen to our heroine and she matriculates from a naive flirt to a Machiavellian dynamo. The crux of the story is this metamorphosis but there is no intellectual analysis or Freudian projections into why this is occurring. That’s the story. It can mildly entertain, but truly not worth 50 hours – maybe six, possibly nine.

Clavell’s prior works, give in depth analysis into medieval Japanese values, and explain why their society may be considered superior to Western, or teach one of the Chinese value system and compare it to capitalism, and in King Rat, speak of pride and/or disgust in humankind. None of that intellectual stuff is allowed here. In fact, there is lots of unexplained chatter of the Japanese system of government, but it is not intertwined with or juxtaposed against the Western systems. No measurement of oriental versus the British colonial value system. The book leaves each skeletally discussed and effectively never the two are intermixed to give one a comparative study.

Yet, the reading by John Lee was magnificent. He is truly a genius. Almost made the 50 hour fun. Almost.

Enough said. Find another Clavell or do consider Tolstoy.

40 people found this helpful

Two main characters I couldn't stand.....

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I really disliked this book. Reason simple, the two main characters drove me nuts. I couldn't stand them. I finished the book, but screamingly so. First James Clavell book I haven't liked.

If you’ve listened to books by James Clavell before, how does this one compare?

I loved Shogun and Tai-Pan, this book weaned me off his books.

Which scene was your favorite?

A scene which wasn't in the book

Could you see Gai-Jin being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NO

9 people found this helpful

Epic Novel, Epic Narration

What did you love best about Gai-Jin?

John Lee's voice acting in this audio book brought the story alive. Dozens of characters all had unique accents and inflection, and the manner in which Lee would narrate the action in the book always kept me on edge and wanting more. Lee reads in a deep baritone, but he is able to change the pitch and timbre of his voice to such a degree that even the female character voices were believable. His range of talent is out of this world. I plan on listening to more books narrated by him just so I can hear more of his voice.

The story was also very good. I always wanted to hear what would happen next, and I thought that James Clavell threw in a lot of gutsy plot twists that would have been impossible to pull off by a lesser writer. However, the story did get hard to follow at points. This is definitely a story that requires your full attention or you'll miss important details.

3 people found this helpful

The birth of modern Japan

How do you describe a book that deals with life death success failure and rebirth so well and seamlessly.
I have been captivated since word one. The world he paints is vivid precise and enthralling.

2 people found this helpful

An Epic Addition to Clavell's Asian Saga

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Gai-Jin is a brilliant novel filled with fascinating characters and epic story lines and I recommend it highly. It reads like a history book, a spy thriller, and a tragic love story all at once.

What other book might you compare Gai-Jin to and why?

Clavell's writing reminds me of James Michener. This book has much in common with the other novels in the series as well, especially Tai-Pan. Though characters from past books are occasionally referenced it is not necessary to read the previous books first or to read them in order.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

John Lee is absolutely brilliant. His mastery of accents; English, Irish, French, Chinese, and of course, Japanese, is amazing and the characters become alive in your mind. (As an American though I must say all of his Americans do sound a bit like drunk Yankees attempting southern drawls.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Epic Movie of the Birth of Modern Japan

2 people found this helpful

Engrossing

I enjoyed the historical parts that were tied to specific characters. It made learning the history very interesting. Yes I would recommend this to a friend. The higher ranking was because of the performance the story and the overall enjoyment I received.

2 people found this helpful

Great book great reader

Awesome book, love James Clavell. The reader is awesome, so many different voices, really brough the book together! Top notch. :)

3 people found this helpful

great book. I'm sad to see it end.

I had hoped for an ending as legendary as shogun and tai pan. this book was good all the way through.

1 person found this helpful

Great series

Loved all 3 books. You never knew what was going to happen. Really liked the unexpected.

2 people found this helpful

Typical Clavell Brilliance

If you enjoyed the first two of Clavell's Asian Saga, Gai-Jin won't disappoint. Maybe not as good as Shogun, but then again, what is? John Lee's reading was very good as usual.

2 people found this helpful