King Rat (Asian Saga)

I cannot believe the previous reviewer and I had the same book. King Rat stands up there with the classic Ivan Denisovich any way you read it...for the great story, or for its cynical look into men's souls. This is truly Clavell's best work, no silly Ninja antics, no inane super TaiPans or Anjin-Sans and their ridiculous MegaMistresses...just a book about real men in real hell, simply written and therefore all the more powerful. King Rat is a young, cocky American civilian who finds himself drafted into the Army during WWII, and ends up a POW at the notorious Changi camp. But the King isn't an ordinary POW, he is the finagler par excellance. The savvy corporal trades whatever he gets and makes a profit however he can. And he holds sway over the corrupt POW officers because he deals for them on the black market, exchanging wedding rings and wrist watches for food -- with the King always getting his cut. Is the King wrong to take money or food as his price? The officers have been known to double deal themselves, giving King a fake Rolex to trade -- knowing full well the guard would punish King severely, maybe kill him, if the fraud was discovered. King isn't fooled. He just cheats right back, skimming a little of the top. The men of Changi are starving, their true blue, God Save the Queen officers are stealing their food and then playing bridge with clear consciences. Clavell has a great way of illustrating what most of us already know: the loudest braying patriot/hero/saviour is usually the most cowardly and venial. There is nobility, however, in the worst of us...and Clavell paints us a picture that is unforgettable. Is King the only truly uncorrupted soul at the camp? At least he's honest about his cheating. King shares his food willingly, uses his friends callously, and does his best to save those he can -- all things being equal. King's blatant disregard for moral fakery tarnishes him more than his actions. He befriends a young, innocent English pilot, all upper class bravado and stiff upper lip. At first, King seeks to use the pilot as an interpreter, but the friendship genuinely grows. King Rat looks in great detail at what men do what they have nothing left to lose. Some survive...one may even thrive. The rest cope and get by with whatever is inside them and a little luck. I hate to get all preachy here, because this is one hell of an exciting book. It's loaded with adventure. Although there is not enough explicit torture for the previous reviewer's tastes,I don't think most people would find it tame. This is not, however, a string 'em up and lash them book. It's about survival. Read it on any level you want, but by all means, read it.

King Rat has many unique aspects amongst the other novels in the Asian saga:- It was written first, with less connections to the rest of the series.- It's the shortest of the lot.- It's the most autobiographical, as Clavell spent time in that same prison. - There is the least cross-cultural interaction.Having said all of this, this WWII POW survival story is a compelling study of what people do to survive. In a sense, we all become rats, with one as king. Much of the book studies the manipulations between folks vying for power. There are the Americans trying to enforce prison standards. There are people living off of rank to hold a grasp of dignity. And then there is the King of the title, who finds a way to transcend above the problems, living off the black market and a network of informants.We are introduced to the character that most closely resembles Clavell in this novel too. Though he reappears in Noble House, we first catch the author as the King's sidekick, a downed soldier who has to struggle with where his loyalties are. I can not recommend the series enough. Whether you go through it chronologically as written, or in the order of time periods written about, you'll find this a deep addition to the series.

This book is lumped into the "Asian Saga" series of James Clavell, and yes, it takes place in Asia, but bears no other true resemblance to the rest of the saga. It's shorter, of course, but it's also not an epic...it takes place in a POW camp almost entirely.The character of King, the American trader who lives high-on-the-hog through his wheeling and dealing, is fascinating in the feelings of hatred & envy he generates. Everyone wants to be close to him, not because they like him, but because he can afford to give away cigarettes, share an egg, pour coffee, etc. He has learned to manipulate the system totally to look out for #1.He makes friends with unassuming British fighter pilot Peter Marlowe, who at first acts and translator and later as partner and friend to King. His character goes through lots of development, and he is really the conscious of the camp. Although not written in the first person, we really see things through his eyes.The book is packed full of colorful characters, many sketched only briefly, yet Clavell makes us see them all, and understand them.THere are moments of high drama, where our characters are close to being caught or captured, and the plot moves at a brisk pace.I found the ending of the story to be just a tiny bit rushed, BUT it made some powerful statements. When the war ends, the fear that sweeps through the camp, first that the Japanese will take vengeance on the POWs and second, the fear of "what do we do now," is very convincing. It's not what I ever thought the liberation of a POW camp would be like, and it really made me stop and think. And the dynamics that occur when the first officers from "outside" show up to help liberate the camp are fascinating.This book is an exploration of the human spirit that is dramatic, moving, occasionally funny and always unexpected. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

James Clavell is renowned for his works such as _Shogun_ and _Noble House_. This darkly autobiographical novel was, so far as I am aware, his first literary work. It remains his best.Clavell was a prisoner of the Japanese. He was held at the infamous Changi prison on the eastern end of Singapore island as described in the novel. Like the protagonist, Peter Marlowe, Clavell came from a good family, though due to his eyesight he was in the Royal Artillery, not the Royal Air Force (a little harmless wish-fulfillment, there).I think the novel impresses so many readers due to its stark simplicity and forthrightness, particularly in describing the moral dilemmas that confront Marlowe. With the issue of survival in the balance, does morality become relative? Marlowe concludes that the only man who could answer his questions, his father, is dead-- killed on the Murmansk run. But just as Changi is rebirth for Marlowe, perhaps it is the King-- the trader with the Japanese-- who becomes Marlowe's father and answers those questions.There are many, many layers to this book. I have read it many times and have always walked away with something new. As with the Changi experience, itself, I sense that there is never complete resolution.Clavell died several years ago. I hope that he found peace.Add this work to testaments like Iris Chang's, _The Rape of Nanking_, as a remembrance of what the Japanese did to the defeated.

Of all Clavell's books, this has always been my favorite. I will not deny that Clavell tends to use the same story and characters in every novel (compare shogun with tai-pan and noble house). I love all his books (even gai-jin which few seem to enjoy), but King Rat is the best. It really makes you think about human nature, and what's really important in life. All these people grew up in a certain lifestyle, and suddenly and thrown together in a POW camp, and under brutal circumstances. I have done research on POW camps at this time,and the findings are not pleasant, so it really is interesting to see how people change, and what they really value. Seeing as how Mr. Clavell spent time in Changi himself, all that we see in King Rat is an extension of that, and so you can really appreciate what he endured. It for these above reasons that I truly enjoyed this book above his other great novels, and why I have read several times over.