Gai-Jin

The Epic Novel of the Birth of Modern Japan

By: James Clavell

Narrated by: John Lee

The dynamic epic novel of political upheaval and societal change in late 1800s Japan, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell

This epic novel by master writer James Clavell, loosely based on the Namamugi Incident and Anglo-Satsuma War that took place in the late 1800s, is a richly researched, panoramic view of Japan’s budding relationship with the Western powers, its sweeping societal changes, and the political upheaval that followed.

As Malcolm Struan, the son of Culum and Tess Struan, and a small band of Westerners travel down the Tōkaidō road, they are attacked by two Satsuma samurai, who mortally wound John Canterbury and seriously injure Malcolm, who then finds reprieve in the merchant village of Yokohama after a narrow escape facilitated by the unscathed Angelique.

Angelique Richaud, Malcolm’s penniless but beautiful French companion, is thrown into a world of political intrigue, fierce devotion, unstable family dynamics, blackmail, and secrets as the trading houses battle for supremacy.

With a cast of dynamic and fully recognized characters, Gai-Jin spins a tale of passionate love affairs, devastating loss, intense power struggles, and the fight to survive and thrive in a hostile new land that will leave listeners longing for another foray into Clavell’s extraordinary Asian Saga.

©2015 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Compared to Taipan and Shogun this was mediocre.

Shogun in Taipan are epic books by the same author. This book was much less engaging. In addition, the performance was not as compelling. This may be due to the lack of depth and relation to some of the characters. The voices of all the Japanese characters sounded very similar. Also some of the Japanese word pronunciation was incorrect. If you don't speak Japanese then that won't bother you. This book was just okay. I'm glad I finished it, but I'm also glad it's over.

great book. I'm sad to see it end.

I had hoped for an ending as legendary as shogun and tai pan. this book was good all the way through.

In so many ways so much better than a movie

Books have such better character development and plot and scenery if you use your imagination. This is a fantastic way to enjoy James Clavell's brilliant writing, and the performance enriches the remake with the accents and characters and inflections.

John Lee's telling of this story was excellent.

Another Clavell work that is excellent in both depth of character and story. Please to anyone interested start with Shogun and follow the tale. You will enjoy the journey.

Awful reading

The reading of this book was awful. The accents were terrible and often the book would say a person yelled or raised their voice and the reader would actually read it quieter. The book itself wasn’t as good as the first two but wasn’t awful.

Typical Clavell Brilliance

If you enjoyed the first two of Clavell's Asian Saga, Gai-Jin won't disappoint. Maybe not as good as Shogun, but then again, what is? John Lee's reading was very good as usual.

One of the greats

Loved the story and the narrators performance of it. His changes in accent were pretty spot on and impressive, even if it didn’t make much sense that Japanese people would speak to one another in heavily accented “eengrish”; it still gives the reader the impression the narrator attempted to convey. I was caught up in all of it majority of the time. Well read, and well written.

I definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys long fiction novels with a Last Samurai adventurous vibe, for lack of better comparison. This book surpasses that crud film by far, but you catch my drift.

Give it a shot

Good story, but the Japanese accents need work.

I love the Asian Saga and have been going through it for the first time in audiobook format, and Im impressed so far with the series overall, but the Japanese accents the narrator uses in this story are atrocious to the point where I almost considered skipping this one. I don't know if it's intentional but practically every attempt at a Japanese accent sounds like a hybridization of French or some weird Portuguese dialect mixed with a very generic Japanese accent that even appears mockingly at times although I'm sure it's ignorance instead of an actual malicious interpretation but it's very jarring at times which doesn't help as I consider this book to be one of the weaker entries in the series, although James Clavell's writing manages to keep me engaged and the Narrator does a great job with the other accents, especially French which makes me wonder if there is a subconscious overlap when the narrator attempts a Japanese accent.

Tai pan and shogun are way better

This book drags big time, but it’s important for the greater arc of the story

Immersive and fascinating!!

Love the reader, story and perspective from a multiplicity of characters. Amazing insight into history