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4.5/5. Even with an ending that left me wanting more, it can't diminish the fact that James Clavell's *Shōgun* is an absolutely incredible book and a fascinating history lesson. If you're looking for epic historical fiction, this is it. Check out my full review to see why I think *Shōgun* is a must-read!

Back in the 1970s (1973-1979), my wife, her friends, and her colleagues had this thing where they'd pass around paperback books they'd read. Smart way to save money. Whenever my wife got a book she wasn't interested in, I'd pick it up. That's how I ended up reading Shōgun by James Clavell. I don't remember much about it now, except that it was a real doorstopper, but I could swear I read the whole damn thing.**Addendum: February 6, 2023Someone mentioned online that when they read the paperback v...

Way back in 1980, there was a TV miniseries based on **Shōgun** starring Richard Chamberlain. I was just a kid, but I remember watching it and being fascinated by the samurai with their katanas and the exotic culture it portrayed. James Clavell's **Shōgun** was first published in 1975, and it seemed to spark a resurgence of interest in Japanese culture, maybe best highlighted by John Belushi’s samurai character on Saturday Night Live. [Image of book cover] Anyway. James Clavell’s landmark mas...

Update January 2024: There's going to be a new TV show based on this book next month!I didn't like the 1980 adaptation, so my hopes for this one coming out in February are high that it'll be much better, as the trailer suggests. I like the casting choice for Mariko; she looks much closer to how I pictured her. Very promising!Update March 2024: Having now watched 5 episodes, halfway through the FX adaptation, I can say the following:- The show is "fixing" the book's most glaring issue, one that b...

This is The OneMy favorite book of all time. The one that transported me far away and long ago. The one that made our world cease to exist. The one that I read every spare minute of every day, even in elevators; a half page now and then. And when I was within 300 pages of the end, I stayed up all night and the morning to finish it.I became Anjin-san in the magical world of feudal Japan.Ten years later in 1985 I read it again. Magic, power, intrigue, JAPAN. I'm about due now to read James Clavell...

Honestly, I couldn't finish "Shōgun" by James Clavell. It's so awful on so many levels that I made it 75% of the way through and then just gave up. The only reason I got that far was because a friend recommended it, but nothing could possibly persuade me to continue reading this racist, sexist, extremely problematic monstrosity. Where do I even begin? This book is the ultimate white male fantasy. A glorious, wonderful, strong white male with a canonically-mentioned giant dick (so crucial to the...

As a depiction of Japanese history, it definitely suffers from what one reviewer hilariously described as (and I'm paraphrasing here) our "wide-eyed, Western, mythologized point of view."Which, alright—it *was* written in the '70s, after all.But as a story? HOLY SHIT, what a freaking story.I fell into James Clavell's *Shōgun* as a teenager and didn't surface until I'd devoured 600,000 words and had a passable, if awkward, understanding of transliterated Japanese.Three days. Three days of pure bl...

Okay, so I just finished reading all 1,152 pages of *Shōgun* by James Clavell, and honestly, the more I read, the less I liked it. I could *maybe* give it three stars, but I'm so unsatisfied that I just can't bring myself to do it. It's not even that it was hard to get through – considering how massive it is, *Shōgun* was a surprisingly fast read, even if I had to resort to some serious motivational tactics towards the end when I just wanted to be done with it. My main issue? I couldn't stand a...

People who know Japan tell me it's all a load of rubbish: samurai weren't actually itching to commit seppuku over every little thing. They had a strong sense of honor, sure, but they also quite liked, you know, staying alive. Who knew? Though I'm a bit red-faced to admit I totally bought into it when I read *Shōgun* by James Clavell. I'd love to see a Japanese author return the favor and write a similarly over-the-top historical blockbuster about a Japanese hero popping over to Europe in the lat...

Forgive me, I'm not worthy to review James Clavell's *Shōgun*. But if my Lord insists, I shall offer some humble thoughts on its mighty, even epic, story. *Neh?* The scope is vast, the characters and settings numerous, enough to make your head spin. But the plot follows a peregrine falcon's path: long but swift, with vicious twists on what seems a predictable route. I'm sure my Lord agrees parts are tedious. I don't mean the slow romance between Mariko and the Anjin-san, nor Toranaga and Ishido'...