(i'm dating back this entry since i finished this book over a week ago but have been too busy to write my review)

when i picked up this book, i was sure it would take me ages to get through the 1100+ pages but by the time i reached page 1000 i was regretting that i had read the book so quickly. i didn't want it to be over ALREADY! it was engaging, funny, poignant, and mesmorizing all at the same time. i marvel at how much happened in that monster of a book and yet i feel that it was all worth it and there was nothing that i would cut from it. it was perfect in many ways.

the story begins with a mighty wind torturing a dutch ship that was trying to circumnavigate the globe at the hands of an english pilot, blackthorne. unfortunately, they hit a typhoon off the coast of japan and never make it much farther. the ship is ruined and the crew is marooned in feudal japan. blackthorne becomes the de facto leader of their group (the captain is ill) and is spared a life of hell and disease by an interested japanese lord who thinks blackthorne can be of great use to him. so begins blackthorne's journey into becoming a confidante, a warrior, and a civilized japanese samurai. he learns their language, adapts to their customs, accepts his karma, and falls in love. what more could a good story provide?

and there's so much more in this story! the battle of religions, the quest for trading rights, and the secession of the shogunate. too much to actually outline in such a small review but i wouldn't want to give everything away, now would i?

i'm seriously in awe of how good this story was. though clavell's grasp of grammar sometimes fails, it's the rhythm of his storytelling that keeps it all together. a masterpiece that i wouldn't mind reading again someday. i'm definitely going to be reading the rest of his asian saga, that's for sure!