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gwparsons's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Having read Schindler's Ark just last week, this made a fascinating counterpoint, WWII on uh other side of the world, where people may not have been treated as needing extermination, but in actual fact were still appallingly treated.
Jim (Jamie to his parents) is 11 when the home he knows in Shanghai is taken by the Japanese. Fending for himself, his parents vanished, Jim does what he must to survive, his instinct to live overcoming pride and dignity. Through Jim we see the harsh reality of life for a conquered people, the strong and opportunistic who thrive on the chaos of war, the prison conditions that many didn't survive.
And that fact that it's based on the author's own experiences is both illuminating and saddening, that a boy and probably many more like him had to grow up instantly or die.
There are no holds barred in prison life descriptions, and you can really picture the people Jim encounters, though the guards and Japanese in general (as well as the indigenous Chinese) are sketchily written: it's all about the Western prisoners.
Not a light read but powerful and a very good insight into the war in the East.
Having read Schindler's Ark just last week, this made a fascinating counterpoint, WWII on uh other side of the world, where people may not have been treated as needing extermination, but in actual fact were still appallingly treated.
Jim (Jamie to his parents) is 11 when the home he knows in Shanghai is taken by the Japanese. Fending for himself, his parents vanished, Jim does what he must to survive, his instinct to live overcoming pride and dignity. Through Jim we see the harsh reality of life for a conquered people, the strong and opportunistic who thrive on the chaos of war, the prison conditions that many didn't survive.
And that fact that it's based on the author's own experiences is both illuminating and saddening, that a boy and probably many more like him had to grow up instantly or die.
There are no holds barred in prison life descriptions, and you can really picture the people Jim encounters, though the guards and Japanese in general (as well as the indigenous Chinese) are sketchily written: it's all about the Western prisoners.
Not a light read but powerful and a very good insight into the war in the East.
enyajm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
dont_lnow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bearpolar's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
asimgasimzade's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mike_word's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
janekeats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Empire of the Sun is a book I think everyone should read, even if it isn't your typical style or genre. It is a bit of a challenging read and hard to get through, but it being a semi autobiographical account of the author's experiences as a child in WWII Shanghai is something I don't think I can put into words. Seeing Jim change from a carefree 11 year old child to a teenage who has seen more than anyone, let alone a child should see is horrifying and yet you remain in awe of his strength even when he wishes for it all to end. I truly applaud Ballard for being able to tell this story.
harrythesequel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Despite how boring I often found this book, I also really, really loved it. This is an odd comparison, but it is an almost gruesome parallel to the 'Chronicles of Narnia' - on the Eastern front of WW2, Jim is a child who was not sequestered safely in the countryside, yet was exploring an entirely unknown world to him. Naïve and coming of age, we sit in his mind as he witnesses the conflagration of not only a deadly war, but the explosion of years of simmering tensions - between the Chinese and the Japanese, the Japanese and the West, the Chinese and the colonizing Westerners, and the Chinese internally (communists vs. nationalists). The complexities around him are darkly illustrated by his internment, and the way his mind copes with the trauma - I often got a skin-crawling, gory feeling in my spine as I muddled through Jim's hazy desire to stay a prisoner, because he had decided his Japanese jailers gave him the safest chance of staying alive.
The war through the eyes of a British boy born in Shanghai, used to the high life, and in awe of majestic Japanese war planes, is an interesting perspective. The disillusionment in those novel brings to mind For Whom the Bell Tolls, All Quiet on the Western Front, and other devastating WW2 fiction, but its unique for its almost effortless focus on the natural observing and unlearning of the world one knew, and the world that grows out of the smithereens left behind after the scorched earth of battle. I found it difficult and dark but really eye-opening, and I thought Ballard was astute in his repetition of the fact that the victory reels broadcasted in Shanghai after the allied victory were but a mere advertisement for the next wars to come.
The war through the eyes of a British boy born in Shanghai, used to the high life, and in awe of majestic Japanese war planes, is an interesting perspective. The disillusionment in those novel brings to mind For Whom the Bell Tolls, All Quiet on the Western Front, and other devastating WW2 fiction, but its unique for its almost effortless focus on the natural observing and unlearning of the world one knew, and the world that grows out of the smithereens left behind after the scorched earth of battle. I found it difficult and dark but really eye-opening, and I thought Ballard was astute in his repetition of the fact that the victory reels broadcasted in Shanghai after the allied victory were but a mere advertisement for the next wars to come.