Asian Inspiration

I just returned from a vacation in Asia and was inspired to read about the region. All of these are by James Clavell who I have recently rediscovered.

Noble House tells the future of the Straun family, who we were first introduced to in Tai-Pan. Now it is 1963 and Ian Straun is attempting to make one of the biggest deals in his company's history with an American Company, Par Con. Linc Bartlett and his protégé, K.C. Tcholak are the dream team behind Par Con and their arrival in Hong Kong shakes things up. Not only are they working out a deal with Straun, but behind his back, they are working out another deal with his primary competitor and arch-rival. This book is very fast paced, the entire 1000+ page novel takes place over the period of one week and you would almost not believe everything that is crammed into such a tight time frame; espionage, backstabbing, vehicle tampering, mud slides, affairs, the list goes on. The twists and turns never cease and while I didn't read King Rat until after I had read this book, some of the characters make an appearance, which I enjoyed.

King Rat is an interesting novel; it tells the story of a Japanese-run prison camp named Changi on Singapore during WW2. What I didn't realize until after reading this book, was that Clavell himself spent time in that same prison. I am not sure how much of this novel is autobiographical but I am sure some of these things were culled from his experiences at the camp. King Rat is primarily the story of the King of Changi prison, an American corporal who dominates both the captives and the guards of the camp through his courage, insight and American business practices. We also meet Peter Marlowe, a RAF captain who is befriended by the King; their relationship is interesting. At first it seems as if Peter can only be helped by the King but we later realize that they help each other. The King even saves Peter's life and at the end, Peter tries to return the favor. I wont go into any more detail than that because I don't want to give it away. This is a short book compared to Clavell's other novels and it is a quick read since the stories of the prison are so engrossing. It really makes you think - prison is a great equalizer. It doesn't really matter who you were before, but only matters who you are now.

Tai-Pan is the precursor to Noble House and is where we are first introduced to the Straun family. Here is my review.