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Gai-Jin (Asian Saga)

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Gai-Jin: The Third Novel of the Asian Saga by James Clavell(1999-12-02) Paperback

Middle English Edition by James Clavell (Author)

4.3 4,521 ratings

Book 2 of 6: The Asian Saga

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Grand in scope and scale, filled with the richness and passion of two great histories coming together, Gai-jin is the long-awaited sixth novel in James Clavell's magnificent Asian Saga. Sweeping us back to the enigmatic and elusive land of his best-selling Shogun, he weaves an extraordinary tale of Japan, now newly open to gai-jin - foreigners - and teeming with contradictions as the ancient and the modern meet in a clash of cultures, of nations, of generations. It is 1862, and in Japan's Foreign Settlement of Yokohama, reverberations from an explosive act of violence will forever alter - and connect - the lives of the major characters. Malcolm Struan, at twenty, is heir to the title of tai-pan of the most powerful and bitterly contested English trading company in the Orient, the Noble House. Malcolm's fate, and that of his family's legacy, become inextricably intertwined with that of a beautiful young French woman, Angelique Richaud. Desired by many, loved purely and passionately by Malcolm, Angelique will hold the future of the Noble House in her hands. Intricately interwoven into the story of the struggle for control of the Noble House is a powerful parallel story of the Land of the Gods, Japan, a country ripped apart by greed, idealism, and terrorism as groups of young xenophobic revolutionaries, ronin, attempt to seize the Shogunate and expel the hated gai-jin from Japan. One man, Lord Toranaga Yoshi, a direct descendant of the first Toranaga Shogun, attempts not only to protect the Shogunate, but to usher it, and Japan, into the modern age. Amid the brutality and heroism, the betrayals and the stunning romance, a multilayered, complex story unfolds. Here the dark and erotic world of the pleasure houses - the Ladies of the Willow World, spies, and terrorists - meets the world of pageantry and power - monarchs and diplomats. And here East meets West in an inevitable collision of two equally powerful cultures as James Clavell creates a vibrant and authentic

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Popular Highlights in this book

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Know your enemy as you know yourself and you need not fear a hundred battles; know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat; know neither the enemy nor yourself and you will succumb in every battle.
Highlighted by 66 Kindle readers
‘First know the problem,’ Toranaga wrote in his Legacy, ‘then, with patience, you can find the solution.’
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ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015X39T7I
Language ‏ : ‎ Middle English

Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 4,521 ratings

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James Clavell

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James Clavell, the son of a Royal Navy family, was educated in Portsmouth before, as a young artillery officer, he was captured by the Japanese at the Fall of Singapore. It was on this experience that his bestselling novel KING RAT was based. He maintained this oriental interest in his other great works: TAI-PAN, SHOGUN, NOBLE HOUSE and GAI JIN. Clavell lived for many years in Vancouver and Los Angeles, before settling in Switzerland, where he died in 1994.

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Geddes J

FOREIGNERS

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024

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This is another extraordinary story by James Clavell. Rivalries among Japanese warlors still alive, two hundred and fixty years after Titan aha initiaged the shogunate. The last chapters are epic, emotive and fullfiling. This is a great novel.

One person found this helpful

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Mike Jagd

After 1000 pages of reading, i was disappointed it ended.

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2024

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This might be the weakest of Clavell's books in respect to tight plots and action--HOWEVER. As an epic historical fiction it ranks with the best. One plot decision about two thirds through the book really tied it all up into a worthwhile bundle. Once you finish this--and hopefully the preceding books in the series--you will have an excellent understanding of the West's complex history with Asia and Asia's view of the West.

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Benjedi A.

Beautiful. Not like Shogun. But still

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

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One of the best things written on paper. I love it. You will love it too if you buy it.

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Lilly Flora

In spite of an great start more than half of "Gai-Jin" gets bogged down in tedium, making it not James Clavell's best book

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2008

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I don't think it's a stretch to say that if you love historical epics at some point you're going to make the acquaintance of James Clavell. His six volume Asian saga is legendary; has been made into movies and mini-series and gone through countless printings. And as someone who loves nothing more than an absorbing historical epic (especially a nice long one) it was inevitable that I would get around to the series one day.

But though they may be famous and revered, Clavell's books are also a lot of work to read. Crammed full of history, cultural details and political machination they can be tiring to read so even though I really, really loved "Shogun" it was a long time before I sought out the sequel, "Tai-Pan", which, while not as action packed as its predecessor (in fact it was a little tedious at times), was still strangely wonderful. And then I moved on to "Gai-Jin."

Spanning four months the novel reveals the tensions and struggles of the isolationist Japan against the white men determined to break into the trading markets. Most of these traders are either characters from "Tai-Pan", now 21 years older and hopefully wiser, or their descendents. Basically the novel is made up of the strife between the Japanese and the Gai-Jin (the white men), Japanese fractions against other Japanese fractions, the lives of the white people living in their designated village and an assortment of not so romantic romances.

Clavell's writing style is very soothing and descriptive and has always reminded me of James Michener. But in this novel, which boasts an impressive page count of 1236, the writing becomes tedious. Yes, there is action, adventure; romance, family conflict and a great deal of political strife but after about 500 pages it all started to loose its appeal and I started counting down to when I'd be finished. By page 1000 I had no more will to go on.

To be clear, there's nothing really objectionable about the rest of the book; but after a certain point reading this novel became a chore instead of a joy. And just dragging myself through the dry spots, as I sometimes had to do in "Tai-Pan" didn't work here because there were just too many stretches where nothing happened. In addition there was not nearly enough character development. From the very beginning of the novel to after the ordeals the principal players went through most of the characters were flat and uninteresting. The exception to that rule was that what small changes that did occur in certain characters were completely inconsistent and constantly shifting.

I enjoyed a great deal of this book, really I did. But the tedium of the last 1/3 or so of the book made it something to slog through instead of enjoy. The experience of reading this did have me thinking for a time that I should give up on Clavell's saga, but my experience with Shogun and Tai-Pan , as well as the favorable reviews for King Rat , " Noble House and Whirlwind: A Novel of the Iranian Revolution helped me quickly discarded that notion.

Three stars and the possibility that someday I'll give it another shot to see if my perception of it could be changed.

If you want to read this book make sure to read "Tai-Pan" first, or most of the relationships between the trader's families just won't make sense. Reading "Shogun" isn't necessary to understand the story but it makes an excellent background to the culture and history of Japan. And it's a truly excellent book.

10 people found this helpful

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spookycat31

Good book

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024

Good book

The swan song for James Clavell and his Asia Saga. R.I.P.

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2015

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R.I.P. James Clavell, you are missed.

"Gai-Jin" was the late Mr. Clavell's last novel in his Asian Saga, and while not a perfect final effort, it is certainly a very good one IMHO, a lot better than many of my fellow readers here are giving him credit for. Sure, the plot does get a bit slow and challenging at times (Clavell's writing style doesn't have the breakneck, non-stop page-turning power of my other favorite fiction authors like Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, or Frederick Forsyth), and it gets a tad confusing keeping track of all the two-faced characters and trying to figure out whose side they're really on....but then again, this is true of every Asian Saga novel to some extent. In spite of the aforementioned minor flaws (plus the historical technical error of describing Gatling guns as being used in the American Civil War in 1862, when in reality it'd be two more years before the "Gat" made its way onto the battlefield), I found it overall to be very readable, and much quicker & easier to get through than Clavell's second-to-last novel in the Saga, that being "Whirlwind." In fact, I daresay it's Clavell's second-most readable and fast-paced novel after "Noble House" (my all-time personal favorite of the Saga).

The book gives a fascinating look at Japan in 1862 as the country began to make its transition from the Shogunate to the more modern and at least semi-Westernized phase of its history (cannons, desire to build a modern navy, "stoku kompeni" [sic], etc.). There's also neat historical and cultural references and tidbits such as the rise of the Krupp arms factory. Moreover, "Gai-Jin" fills in some gaps of the between "Tai-Pan" (set in 1841) and "Noble House" (set in 1963), such as how Tess Struan became known as the Hag, and how Rothwell-Gornt became the successor to Brock and Sons....plus some backstory on what happened in Japan after the events of "Shogun" (set in 1600), especially the legacy and descendants of Lord Toranaga and (to a much letter extent) the legendary Anjin-san, John Blackthorne. And oh yeah, we get a look at Royal Navy Captain John Marlowe, ancestor of Peter Marlowe, the protagonist of "King Rat," a supporting character in "Noble House," and based loosely on Clavell himself.

As a side note, the Japanese and Chinese sexual euphemisms and metaphors are quite memorable and humourous (was the latter intentional or unintentional on the author's part??), such as "Jade Gate," "Golden Gully," "Celestial Stalk," "One-Eyed Monk," and "Clouds and Rain."

Again, R.I.P. James Clavell.

27 people found this helpful

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F. Metkovich

Not a first edition

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

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The book was not a first edition like advertised, but for the price, I kept it anyway.

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024

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Excellent customer service, well packaged and item was as described.

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Clyde

Excellent read.

Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2022

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The story never stops or even slows down. I read this years ago and decided I should try the classics again and I am not disappointed. Characters are clear and more is learned of each one the further along in the book. Once again, I am thoroughly pleased by the writing and pictures in my mind from this author. Well worth the money spent.

One person found this helpful

Harvey

excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2024

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A great novel of Japan and the “foreigners”. Twists and turns and lots of plotting and intrigue. A carry on of Tai Pan with great characters. Brilliant schemes and subplots with exciting outcomes or maybe not!
Highly recommended

Eat

One of his best

Reviewed in India on July 26, 2019

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A James Clavell book that keeps you enthralled from the start to end .
Fascinating book
A Must Read .

Marcos Villela

A Saga do Oriente continua!

Reviewed in Brazil on June 26, 2017

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A continuação da saga do Oriente mantém o mesmo poder de atração dos demais livros de James Clavell. Ao se iniciar não dá para parar e é uma garantia de noites em claro sem desgrudar do livro!

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Great read about a fascinating period of history

Reviewed in Australia on January 21, 2024

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James Clavell really knows how to tell a story and this is a 1000 page blockbuster about Japan as it is opening up to the modern world.

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