Indepedent Reading Journal 8-26-08

Shogun by James Clavell. 1975. Dell Publishing Inc.

So I've progressed in the story, and so far so good. Blackthorne has found himself in a Japanese home under a sort of house arrest. He had been brought ashore by the "natives" who seem to be allied with one of his fiercest enemies, the Portuguese. Blackthorne encounters a rather obnoxious Portuguese priest who accuses him of piracy. Blackthorne then reveals to the reader that he and his crew truly are no better than pirates. They went from town to town burning and plundering- but only against the Spanish and Portuguese, which seems to make it just, at least to Blackthorne. Blackthorne is the first English sailor to reach the Japans. He finds himself learning what samurais and daimyos are. He even learns to bow when bowed to. This lesson (the need to bow) he learns in a rather gruesome way. When a samurai addresses a crowd of people, including Blackthorne, everyone bows to the earth. When the samurai instructs everyone to leave everyone keeps their heads bowed as they stand. Everyone except one unlucky man who neglects to keep his head bowed. This man is swiftly met by the sword of the samurai. He is decapitated and then hacked into pieces while everyone else goes about their business. This scene led me to pose a question. This is historical fiction, meaning it should seem somewhat real and believable. I found myself questioning whether or not a samurai of the 1600s would have been so swift and merciless in killing the man for a seemingly petty crime. I don't really know if the samurais were quite so savage, but my initial reaction was that this scene was a little too far fetched. Who knows though. This scene could have been based off an actual event for all I know.

Independent Reading Journal 8-26-08

I'm not sure if this is the right format, but I'll give it a try... (I forgot my notebook containing the sheet with formatting instructions).
Shogun by James Clavell. 1975. Dell Publishing Inc.

I've recently had a lot going on in my life so I'm a little behind as far as the blogging goes. I plan on reading this evening and posting another reading blog later tonight. For now, here's this blog:

I just started reading this book and I'm not far along, but from what I can tell Shogun is a novel about an English ship navigator in 1600 who sets sail on a Dutch ship bound for Japan. I chose this book mainly because my dad recommended it. My dad grew up in Okinawa Japan, so we have a lot of Japan related stuff at my house. I'm pretty interested in Japanese language and culture, so I thought I would trust my dad and give this book a try. Apparently the book was made into a big TV series on CBS in the 70s, so it should be pretty good-it was good enough for CBS. My taste is also similar to my dad's taste when it comes to media. Clavell doesn't waste any time. In the prologue the reader is plunged into a severe storm at sea. Blackthorne (the English navigator) and the crew are forced to fight for their lives as they attempt to navigate through coral reefs while fighting harsh winds and rain. I'm looking forward to progressing in the story and getting to know more about Blackthorne.