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A review by vivectelvanni
Tai-Pan by James Clavell
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
My first five-star review of the year, by God!
I thank my joss for this reading experience.
Clavell did it again. As with Shogun, I LIVED this book. I became the Tai-Pan and was walking in his shoes. Clavell is a true master story-crafter.
I was absolutely gutted by the ending of the novel. I knew what I was in for because of reading Shogun (still not over the ending there, either), but it didn’t lessen the impending doom I started to feel around the last third of the book. Struan feels it too and had the intuitive sense of his death (it seems). I shed a tear with he and May-May at the end, by god. They shouldn’t have been on the third floor of a building during a typhoon either, by god!
The villains in this story were horrendous. Gorth especially. Culum taking the rains at the end of the book was inspiring and perfect. The minor characters all immediately seized onto Dirk’s death and tried to eat Culum up, and he gripped the metaphorical sword instead. Dirk would have been proud.
With joss Gai-jin will be just as good.
I thank my joss for this reading experience.
Clavell did it again. As with Shogun, I LIVED this book. I became the Tai-Pan and was walking in his shoes. Clavell is a true master story-crafter.
I was absolutely gutted by the ending of the novel. I knew what I was in for because of reading Shogun (still not over the ending there, either), but it didn’t lessen the impending doom I started to feel around the last third of the book. Struan feels it too and had the intuitive sense of his death (it seems). I shed a tear with he and May-May at the end, by god. They shouldn’t have been on the third floor of a building during a typhoon either, by god!
The villains in this story were horrendous. Gorth especially. Culum taking the rains at the end of the book was inspiring and perfect. The minor characters all immediately seized onto Dirk’s death and tried to eat Culum up, and he gripped the metaphorical sword instead. Dirk would have been proud.
With joss Gai-jin will be just as good.