Shogun, Part 2 by James Clavell

Shogun, Part 2 Reviews

• 
  Debbie W.

  I enjoy historical fiction because I can learn about the history of different cultures, and this book didn't fail to deliver in this regard. I found the formalities, "politenesses", and customs in this epic novel of the samurai during 1600 extremely intriguing. Unfortunately, I didn't feel an emotional connection with one of the protagonists, Lady Mariko, as I did with the other characters, John Blackthorne and Toranaga, but that's my opinion. Otherwise, I would have given this saga 5 stars. I do recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates historical fiction!
• 
  Kalin Nikolov

  *4.6*
• 
  Andrei Bădică

  Cât de mult am așteptat să pun mâna pe Shogun-ul lui James Clavell! Habar nu aveam despre ceea ce voi descoperi la momentul oportun. Dacă cu primul volum am rezonat, nu pot afirma, în schimb, despre cel de-al doilea același lucru. În primul rând, autorul, pur și simplu, prelungește la nebunie, finalul: în loc să prezinte direct rezultatul războiului dintre seniorii Toranaga și Ishido, el inserează o serie de evenimente menite a efectua, aș putea spune, o radiografie a primului volum, oarecum. Un alt minus ar fi locul pe care îl acordă englezului John Blackthorne, devenit Anjin-san: când este un pion pe tabla de șah a puterii, când este, dintr-odată, prieten. Aș fi dorit, bineînțeles, mai mult accent pe latura politică, de unde și titlul Shogun, un rang important în ierarhia socială a Japoniei secolului al XVII-lea.
  
  „- (...). Alteță, Înălțimea voastră trebuie să știe mai bine decît toți bărbații cît de trecătoare și fără de seamăn este tinerețea, femeia.”
  
  „Cît de rușinos era că pînă și cei mai versați și deștepți oameni vedeau adeseori doar ceea ce voiau ei să vadă și rareori priveau dincolo de pojghița de la suprafața lucrurilor.”
• 
  Vilius

  Nėra labai lengvai skaitoma knyga - tiek dėl veikėjų gausos, tiek dėl rašymo stiliaus. Man prireikė įveikti kokį trečdalį pirmo tomo, kad pagaliau pradėčiau gaudytis kas vyksta, bet buvo verta. Tikras perlas istorinių romanų mėgėjamas ir besidomintiems japonų kultūra.
• 
  Pena Eduard-Andrei

  ,,Numai trăind la un pas de moarte poți să înțelegi bucuria de nedescris a vieții ".
• 
  Holly

  James Clavell is clearly a gifted writer. His Shogun books have taken me on a journey to far away lands where I've learned about samurai, ninja, ladies of The Willow Word, geisha, karma, daimyos and seppuku, honor and traitors. Clalvell's writing casts a spell over his readers and draws them into long and complicated tales full of so many dually named characters that it can make your head spin. His books take a commitment to read.
  
  I enjoyed these first two books of the Shogun series. That said, I didn't love them. I attribute Clavell's art of writing as the reason that I never reached a point where I wanted to give up and put them down for good. I have to respect that when all is said and done.
• 
  Mădălina Loghin

  “Leave the problems of God to God and karma to karma. Today you're here and nothing you do will change that. Today you are alive and here and honored and blessed with good fortune. Look at this sunset, it's beautiful, neh? This sunset exists. Tomorrow does not exist. There is only now. Please look. It is so beautiful and it will never happen ever again, never, not this sunset, never in all infinity. Lose yourself in it, make yourself one with nature and do not worry about karma, yours, mine, or that of the village.”
  
  A very very very good one! <3 I took my time to read it, without rushing it, and totally worth it!
• 
  Галина Ганова

  Една дума....брилянтна.
• 
  XO

  I felt like the end was incomplete, or maybe it was me wanting to read more of the story. You can look up the historical part.
• 
  Деница Костова

  Определено една от най-добрите книги, които съм чела.
  Герои, сюжет, атмосфера.
  Когато добрите писателски умения срещнат историческите личности, се получава шедьовър.
• 
  Петър Пеев

  Честно казано очаквах повече от тази книга. Факт, че във времето когато е писана всички тези подробности и детайли относно живота в Япония са били интересни за читателя. Лично на мен обаче ми дойдоха в повече. Прекалено много и детайлни описания на различни традиции, церемонии, значението на честта и т.н. Знам, че на други читатели това се харесва и придава автентичност на произведението, но лично мое мнение, че тези 1200 страници можеха да бъдат събрани в 800 и книгата нямаше да загуби от това.
• 
  Krisztina

  An enjoyable epic and a brilliant one!
  
  Clavell does an excellent job of leading the reader towards seeing the Japanese way, the culture, tradition, way of life and mentality. He succeeds to portray Japanese culture through the lens of a Western explorer and to show how completely one's opinion of a culture can change after exposure and thought.
  
  The reader gets into the head of everyone and the story will be deep in the head of one character, hearing their emotions, dreams, perceptions, and then it will be just as deply focused on another character a few paragraphs later, so you can never get bored of one voice .
  
  Despite the long-winded writing, I couldn't put it down, the pages flew by for me and I found myself wishing my baby would sleep more so I could read more as well.
  
  It's worth reading, surprisingly compelling.
  
• 
  Prateek

  Picked this up out of my interest in philosophy and life in feudal japan. This book indeed does a good job in painting that picture in nice detail though some of it seems exaggerated. Some characters are very well written, I absolutely admired Toranaga and Mariko!
  
  It wasn't as gripping as I thought it would be. I had to drag myself through some chapters. Story is slow-paced, and yet some of the major characters in play (Ishido for one) don't get enough spotlight. And the way ending is written is totally unsatisfying.
  
  Still, overall a good experience.
• 
  Марина Баракова

  Изумителна по начина, по който авторът е съумял да обрисува тези неповторими образи с противоречията, изкушенията, дори възгледите им за живота.
  
  Изумителна по начина, по който предизвиква страдание, но и разбиране що се отнася до изборите на самураите и спокойното приемане на собствената им карма.
  
  Изумителна по начина, по който в един момент не желаех да се разделям с нея и същевременно не можех да понеса и ред повече.
  
  Домо аригато годзиемашита!
• 
  Barry

  Seriously epic.
• 
  Yigal Zur

  read it years ago great novel and reserch
• 
  Jess

  Wow, this is a great book with a look into Japanese culture, comedy, war and culture clashes.
• 
  Nima

  vélemény az első kötetnél
  
• 
  Thomas Rydder

  Shogun is set in medieval Japan, in the time of warlords and endless battles. The samurai were the "knights" of their day, and reigned supreme in their land. A Lord's ranking and status dictated how many samurai he had at his disposal, and his army would gladly die - sometimes at their own hand - to serve him. The land was divided into provinces and the shifting of power was an endless tide of blood and deception.
  Into this world walks an English pilot, John Blackthorne, whose ship and crew are marooned by shipwreck and are now at the mercy of Lord Toranaga, in whose province they have come ashore. The rest of his crew suffer the indignities of wartime criminals, but Blackthorne is singled out by Toranaga because of his intelligence and quick thinking. He eventually melds into the Japanese community, and is immersed in the waves of deceit and deception, a pawn in the constant struggle for control.
  This book is an absolute MUST read to anyone interested in feudal Japan. The historic accuracy is unparalleled, and once you pick it up, you will not put it down.
• 
  Peter

  James Clavell is a fantastic writer when it comes to the setting of Asia. Much of the book is based on actual historical events, as are the characters so the story has an authentic feel.
  Clavell goes into fantastic depth in every aspect and the characters are very well developed. It has an addictive plot and is very hard to put down, though the 1000 pages may be daunting at first if you're one who likes to get started on new books. I couldn't say anything other than I loved it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys japanese history, war, and maritime fiction. The reason it is 4 stars and not 5, is that I wanted it to be relative to another of Clavell's novels Tai-Pan
• 
  Dora Mihayova

  Увлекателна книга, наситена с описания на японския бит и култура. Невероятен стил на писане, но то Клавел си го може :) В повече ми дойдоха само всичките задкулисни игри, сплетни, предателства, политически и търговски интереси.
  Тооолкова дълго време я отлагах, изпитвах някакъв страх, но го преборих, прочетох я и не съжалявам.
• 
  Jeffrey

  Check out my review for the first book as this is merely a continuation of that book. :P
• 
  denica Ivanova

  Words are not enough to describe the happines I experienced reding this book.
• 
  Meral Mastik

  В момента имам нова най-любима книга. В тази книга имаше от всичко-любов, война, власт, обрати, интриги(даже повече от турските сериали😂😂).
  Препоръчвам я на всеки, но и съзнавам, че не на всеки ще му допадне стилът на писане на автора.
• 
  Will Crook

  Masterpiece.
• 
  Първан Будинов

  Неслучайно е Класика.
• 
  Елисавета Мирославова

  Май това е най-големият шедьовър, който съм чела до момента.
• 
  Jason McCuiston

  This is actually a review of Parts I and II, as they are one singular story and not a novel and its sequel. In fact, I'm so glad that my copy of Part II came in the day after I finished Part I because the first volume doesn't really end. It just stops.
  At any rate, this is an epic in every sense of the word with action, adventure, intrigue, romance, heroism, villainy, cruelty, faith, and almost every other conceivable facet of the human experience. And, if you are so inclined, it can even teach you conversational Japanese. There is so much information contained within and threaded throughout this story that the reader cannot help but learn a great deal about this era in Japanese and world history. I love this book so much it took me longer to read than it should have, as I started dragging my feet when I saw how few pages remained.
  If I had one complaint, it is that the ending feels summarized rather than told as part of the narrative, but this is just because I would have loved to read another 500-1000 pages of Shogun. I believe that this title has usurped the role of My Favorite Book, held until now by the triumvirate of Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, Dumas's Twenty Years After, and Yoshikawa's Musashi.
  Long may it reign.
• 
  Mitzis

  I love historical fiction, and this book provided a deep and satisfying exploration of ancient Japanese culture, which I believe provides great insight into more modern experiences with Japan - WWII and even today. I loved, loved, loved learning about ancient Japan; their culture and perspective is fascinating! I enjoyed how the book begins from Blackthorne's perspective and ends with Toranaga's. I didn't give the book 5 stars for several reasons. Although the reader is obviously talented, I found his "Blackthorne" voice annoying. And, I found the ending to be rather anti-climatic. After listening for 50+ hours to a very detailed explanation of everything Japanese, I felt a bit cheated at the end with the rushed finale and the vague lack of resolution. That said, I would recommend it to any and all readers - if only to learn more about truly exquisite people.