I loved Taipan, Shogun and Whirlwind when I read them. I think maybe this summer I should read James Clavell’s books again.
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I read Shogun back in 1975, I remember enjoying it, but not loving it. Certainly not enough to read other Clavell books. I also watched the original Shogun series. DH has not been enthusiastic about watching it, (worried about violence levels, but honestly, it can’t possibly be worse than Reina Roja which has way too many torture scenes.) My younger son and his wive have been singing its praises - they find it very funny and I think it resonates, because of their recent three years in Japan. I think I can get DH to watch the series, but I don’t think I’m going to reread the book - it’s just way too long!
I read Shogun when I was pregnant and on bed rest for S2. (Who still came four weeks early, but that’s another story.) I don’t remember anything about it but the scene when the big Japanese muckymuck boils his enemy.
DH is watching the re-do, not me. I read the novel and watched the original. Don’t mess with my memories of Richard Chamberlain. The Thorn Birds, anyone?
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I have had a run of okay reads recently, but I finally chose a great book. A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. About Palestinian women trying to break the gender roles in their culture. Excellent read!!
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I read that too, @Pnwfamily . Enjoyed it greatly.
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::::swoon:::::him chasing Maggie down the beach. Hot.
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The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - Any fans? It has had a lot of great reviews, but none in my book club liked it. We still had good discussion, did liked various aspects of it. Just too many busy plot lines.
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I enjoyed Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, but didn’t love it.
I might be the only person who did not like Demon Copperhead. It did not pass my 100 page test.
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I liked it and had one book group that also did. I had another group where after a few started it, they hated it so much they changed to another book for that month (and nobody finished it).
I do think it is an acquired taste, not for everybody. Both his rambling writing style and the number of characters make it harder to read.
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Heaven and Earth was difficult for me to get into/follow also due to the multitude of characters and the way the McBride went deep into backstories that were often irrelevant. However, reading his acknowledgments at the end gave me an appreciation for the story he told even tho it was meandering. I did enjoy the offbeat nature of the characters and their relationships.
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Two books past finishing Dahlia Litwick’s Lady Justice and I am still thinking about it. Very interesting profiles of trailblazers like Sally Yates, Stacy Abrams, Pauli Murray & others. So many important issues. I typically enjoy fiction more than non-fiction, but this one was broken down so you could read & process as you needed/desired. Overall, well done, IMO.
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I keep waiting for someone to mention Solito by Javier Zamora. It’s a memoir, about how he came to the US from El Salvador, with no family, as a nine-year-old boy. It’s gripping and emotional. IMO, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.
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I liked Heaven and Earth. A couple comments:
I don’t see deep backstories as irrelevant. I don’t think authors generally put things in for no reason at all. Backstories add depth to characters and often add details and information that may subsequent resonate with later information in ways that are not apparent at first. They are part of the authorial voice that writer chooses.
Likewise, “rambling” is a style choice which is totally legit to not like if that’s not your jam. I often love a good ramble myself. 
My general take is that good writers (and I think we can agree McBride is a good writer) have reasons for what they write. That doesn’t mean that we will always like who they write, or pick up those levels of meaning and reasons for being there. I agree that some writers pad for the sake of padding–that’s not good writing and I don’t think that describes McBride.
I’ll also agree that we don’t need to pick up on all the reasons for details being there and still enjoy a book just fine, and also that we might not like a book because we don’t care for that style of writing.
I guess I’m just questioning the idea that details are “irrelevant.”
Anyway, that’s my writer’s take on it. Carry on!
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I agree that the “backstories” in the book helped you to understand the characters and their motivations, tied the plot together, and added overall color to the story.
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You are not the only one who didn’t like Demon Copperhead. I just couldn’t get into it and stopped less than 100 pages in.
I also couldn’t get into Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.
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@garland I posted that response quickly this morning and suppose irrelevant was not the correct word I was looking for. It’s been a while since I read the novel so don’t recall exactly what it was about the backstories that I didn’t like - I suppose it was that the plot would be moving along and then suddenly it went off in a different direction about a character with a ton of detail at some precious moment in time. Since I don’t have a lot of time to read anymore, starting and stopping the book with a few days of time in between made it difficult to even remember what was happening b/c I’d gone off on some backstory about a character. So yes I agree “irrelevant” was not the best choice of adjective, but for me, there was just too much of it that it made it difficult for me to keep track of the plot and the characters (there were many minor characters).
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Hadn’t heard of it (as I quickly look it up on Libby)!
I think the word might be distracting. I haven’t read that book, but so many recent reads have alternating chapters or sections with different characters’ plot lines. Unless I’m binge reading, I often have trouble remembering who is doing what every time I come back to the book. Sometimes it isn’t even clear whose story I’m reading! Always happy when they come together later in the book.
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I see our library has Solito, so I’ll go on waitlist. I have options of book, ebook or audio. Any thoughts?