Reading the Chunksters discussion

Here is the thread for the Shōgun buddy read.

Leader: Andrea

Thank you, Kristi! Yay! Many challenges, many reads! Life is sooo good!

ohhhh, i've always wanted to read this...well ever since the richard chamberlain mini-series...i cannot read all the books...i cannot read all the books...i cannot read all the books :*(

Yes, we can! There is no schedule here, and you are a fast reader, Stephanie. So a page at a time saves years without reading this book, and Andrea will encourage us! Besides, if not now, then when .... We are all bogged in the wells of families, paper work, classes, grading, or other innumerable and equally important things, but please join in - you are such an optimistic reader!

Zulfiya wrote: "Yes, we can! There is no schedule here, and you are a fast reader, Stephanie. So a page at a time saves years without reading this book, and Andrea will encourage us! Besides, if not now, then whe..."

you are awesome! and i feel pumped! yes, my answer is yes! :D

Oh odd. When I was commenting on the thread Song of the Dodo was the book linked. Sorry I don't really have enough interest in Shogun when in already involved in 5 Chunksters. I'm
So embarrassed! Sorry guys! I do still think this is the best group though!

Oh heck, now that I'm looking at it it looks fascinating. DECISIONS DECISIONS

I read this series in high school, would love to read it again. Hope I can make the time!

Here I go with another big book!

Yay! Look at how many people are joining! I also got to know Shogun first when I watched the mini-series in the early nineties. Maybe it's time to revisit.

To start our conversation, I think it is appropriate to specify what "shogun" was. This is taken straight from Wikipedia:

A shogun (将軍) (literally, "military commander") was one of the (usually) hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents (1203–1333), were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor. When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (Nanban period), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the emperor, with great symbolic authority but little political power, to the Pope, and the shogun to secular European rulers, e.g. the King of Spain. In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "emperor" in reference to the shogun/regent, e.g. in the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whom missionaries called "Emperor Taicosama" (from Taiko and the honorific sama).

The modern rank of shōgun is equivalent to a generalissimo. Although the original meaning of "shogun" is simply "a general", as a title, it is used as the short form of seii taishōgun (征夷大将軍), the governing individual at various times in the history of Japan, ending when Tokugawa Yoshinobu relinquished the office to the Meiji Emperor in 1867.

A shogun's office or administration is known in English as the "office". In Japanese it was known as bakufu (幕府) which literally means "tent office", and originally meant "house of the general", and later also suggested a private government. Bakufu could also mean "tent government" and was the way the government was run under a shogun. The tent symbolized the field commander but also denoted that such an office was meant to be temporary. The shogun's officials were as a collective the bakufu, and were those who carried out the actual duties of administration while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.

I read the first ten pages yesterday, and it is as intensive as a maelstrom!

I'm only 24 pages in, but I'm really enjoying this book! Now I just need to find more time to read it!

I started & immediately got sucked in. I forgot how Clavell likes to switch the POV from one sentence to the next. Really enjoying getting to know Blackthorne again.

The switch in the POV is equally unexpected, hilarious, and culturally penetrative. I am greatly enjoying the book.

It is hilarious, isn't it? The Dutch are like, We are supreme white people, conquerors of the world! And the Japanese are like, Go take a bath, you dumb barbarians!

Andrea wrote: "It is hilarious, isn't it? The Dutch are like, We are supreme white people, conquerors of the world! And the Japanese are like, Go take a bath, you dumb barbarians!"

The bath scene was superb!

A barrel of rotting fish offal is a powerful tool to develop manners and restore human dignity. A very controversial episode. On one hand, I appreciate the pungent irony, on the other hand, how can you teach good manners if the best example is the cold shower of suffocating and foul pottage.

Just wanted to check-in with everyone. How are you guys doing with Shogun? Mind posting your progress?

I am reading it and enjoying it greatly. It is nice to see the world inside out. We know so much about the Japanese medieval politics and their way of thinking. So far, I have read 120 pages, so there is a long journey ahead, but the spring break is for instructors as well, and I am looking forward to some extra reading time. :-)

I have finished Book One (I have the 1975 hardbacks that were printed as 2 seperate books), so basically 530 pages in. It is just as fascinating as the first time I read it 20 years ago, although I am getting more out of it this time around. Clavell's detailed writing is beautiful, if overwhelming at times. However, there is so much is going on it is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the characters, their relationship to each other & their schemes. I am going to take a little break over the next week to read some shorter novels; will dive into Volume Two later in the month.

Has anyone been reading this? I finished Shogun about a week ago and I am so glad I am finally done - this was a masterfully written epic indeed.

This thread just died out here. Does this often happen with this group? Is this the norm?

This is not the norm. Again when the leader doesn't lead the discussion it just kind of peters out. Is this a book you'd like to read?

I'm aware there are two prequels to this book. Not all are big books. I'd like to start with the first one, in order of narrative.

Luffy,
I hope you and many others will participate actively in the upcoming reads and discussions because it one of our objectives in 2014 to encourage active participation and sharing. I hope you will find the new discussions interesting and engaging.

And as Kristi said, if you want to read it, please let members know in the buddy read thread. I believe you can find people who would like to read it or re-read it.

Zulfiya wrote: "Luffy,
I hope you and many others will participate actively in the upcoming reads and discussions because it one of our objectives in 2014 to encourage active participation and sharing. I hope you ..."

Yep, what Z said ;)

Okay then, sisters; I'll keep that in mind.