Tai-Pan

This was a terrible let-down after the quality of King Rat. Clavell took a dramatic and compelling bit of history and happily butchered it (something I happily told him over lunch in the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club a few years after publication).

Worse, in many ways, was that Clavell had been given access to the historical documents of Jardines, the trading company whose head effectively founded Hong Kong. It was believed that Clavell was writing a serious history and some of the principals at the company (descendants of the founder), swore afterward that no writer would ever again gain access to the family papers -- something I hope does not happen.

Dreadful book.

A doorstopper of a novel that doesn't rise to the heights of Shogun. It's engaging and quite fun, but the length makes it hard to justify, compared to other historical novels. It relies quite a bit on repetition of the same themes and phrases by God and it's easy to see how you could cut it down severely without really compromising the contents. The novels chauvinistic and imperialist aspects might stand out to a modern reader but considering the time it was written and the period it's about, it's quite progressive.

In 1841, British forces are setting up shop on Hong Kong, and Dirk Struan, leader of the all-powerful Noble House trading firm, is at the forefront of knitting China and Great Britain inextricably together. Unfortunately, most of his family has just succumbed to plague in Scotland, his lone surviving son Culum resents his father and can't be trusted to rule Noble House, his arch-nemesis Brock is trying to destroy him, his Chinese bastard Gordon Chen is secretly involved with the Triad anarchists, the British government is skeptical of Hong Kong's value, other European powers are trying to disrupt British plans, the Chinese mandarins keep trying to violently dislodge the traders from Hong Kong, and the other traders are developing alliances and betrayals at lightning speeds. Oh, and Struan's young Chinese mistress really wants to get married.

In theory, this is exactly the kind of sprawling book that I love. Unfortunately, nearly all the Western-Eastern cultural interactions are inevitably reduced to "foreigners are strange, but I will allow them to continue in their misguided ways while I smirk from within my invincible cultural superiority." Which I'm sure happened in 1841 -- it's not as if Hong Kong was settled in the name of universal brotherhood -- but the book is so desperate to convey the point that it bludgeons the reader with redundant scenes. Clavell, we get it. But, wait! Clavell wants to puncture this kind of ethnocentric isolation as much as he wants to show more portray it, so he makes Dirk Struan into a near-messianic figure of tolerance and understanding. Struan really is settling Hong Kong in the name of universal brotherhood.

In short: eh. show less

Here's what I wrote after reading in 1988: "The master storyteller strikes again. This predecessor story to Noble House explains the origins of Hong Kong and its powerful conglomerate, Struans. Most memorable characters? Of course, Dirk Struan, the Tai-pan, who is ruthless, adventuresome, cunning, and surprisingly sensitive. Also memorable is May-May, his beautiful Chines mistress who helps him to be more "chinese" and less "barbarian". Memorable also is her seemingly favoriate word, "fantastical", "I'm fantastical urgent about marriage". Dirk Struan stuck with me; still think of some of his approaches and actions to this day!

James Clavell’s Asian Saga is a wonder of adventure story writing that covers the long history of European engagement with the Far East, especially with Japan and China. The core of the series is the two books Tai-Pan and Noble House which follow the Struan family as they battle for mercantile success in Hong Kong.

Tai-Pan covers the founding of Hong Kong in the middle of the 19th century and the origins of many of the traditions, friendships, relationships and feuds between various families and factions, both Western and Chinese, that we see in their more mature context in Noble House.

Dirk Struan is the central character here and although he sometimes comes across as impossibly talented, lucky and omniscient he does represent the kind of driving mercantilism that defines the 19th century. The story drives along with plenty of brio and enough incident and twists to please anyone.

The western characters tend to be drawn as black or white, whereas the Chinese characters are more nuanced and subtle, perhaps representing the author’s clear respect for Asian culture.

The pidgin English used to represent interactions between westerners and Chinese is of its time (the book was written in the 1960s) and would probably not be acceptable today; but, it does show the gulf in communication between the two cultures. I did find the broad Scots accents of the Struans and the uncultured speech of th Brocks a little wearing.

I loved 'Shogun', the first of James Clavell's asia saga; however, I loved it partly because I love Japan, so 'Tai-Pan', set in Hong Kong for the most part, was never going to fare as well.

I loved the way, in 'Shogun', that Clavell used the Japanese language, teaching his readers simple words and then no longer providing a translation for them, once they became familiar enough. However, the same trick doesn't work as well here, with the use of pidgin English, Struan's thick Scots accent, and the poor English of the pirate-traders like Brock or Scragger. In fact, this attention to detail on Clavell's part nearly wrecked the experience for me, though with time I grew used to the presentation, and now cannot imagine it written any other way.

The plot runs similarly to 'Shogun' in its style - once again, a relatively short period of time is explored over the course of about a thousand pages, and once again the end of the book is by no means the end of the story. 'Tai-Pan' is more obviously a book in a series, part of his saga; the story of the four half-coins is not concluded, and a number of notable ends are left quite loose.

The main character, the eponymous Tai-Pan, Dirk Struan, is an interesting creation, but is too often the wisest person in the text, and is almost pointedly wiser than the reader would imagine himself to be. This can be a pain, but fortunately the other characters are developed enough to provide interesting counterpoints. I'm particularly glad that Clavell show more uses some of his book to round out the supporting cast, making them into three-dimensional beings rather than the crude caricatures they could have been. Longstaff is a good example - for much of the book he is a bumbling fool, but really he's just out of his depth; later, we see how he too can be a schemer, just like Struan.

Having read this book I am convinced of the need to read the remaining chapters of the saga. There are four more to read, but they go quickly despite their length, and so shouldn't take very long. show less

After reading Shogun and King rat (and really liking both books), I decided to pick up Tai-pan.

The books tells the story of Dirk Struan, the Tai-pan (leader) of a large trade company in Asia, trading between China and England. He has a lot of enemies he has to deal with, dirty deals to make, etc., etc. All this is done with the founding and rise of Hong Kong in the background.

The book really disappointed me. The characters are shallow, the story is simple and highly predictable, very repetitious and the end is, well... pretty ridiculous. People who are hoping for an interesting historic novel (I was one) don't need to bother, the book is a bad kind of action novel, coincidentally taking place in and around Hong Kong in 1840.

In all, not a book you have to read, even when you really liked Shogun and King rat.

This is my third James Clavell novel: previously I've read Shogun and King Rat.

Tai-Pan is about the foundation of Hong Kong in the 1840s, with the main characters being the families of two Scottish traders.

This is another engrossing tale, with Clavell's unique style. Surprising easy to read, and difficult to put down once you become interested in the characters and situations.

I didn't find it quite as good as Shogun, but that's maybe because I read Shogun first and it's difficult for other books in the same style to compete.

My main criticism is that I felt some of the characters were a bit one-dimensional, and there was a bit too much black and white. For example, Dirk Struan is a good guy, and his son is basically good if a bit naive; whereas Tyler Brock is a bad guy, and his son is just evil. I felt that Shogun was better in this respect.

I found the pigeon English interesting, because I wasn't aware of this meet-half-way language that was used in the Chinese pors in the 19th century.

James Clavell's Shogun is my favourite book of all time, and it was always going to be hard for this one to match up! It certainly measures up in length, but I didn't find this as endlessly fascinating. Struan's relationship with May May was probably the best thing about it for me; I found some of the business dealings and political machinations a bit dull.

The book was instructive in terms of Chinese culture, and it was interesting that both 'sides' (Western and Chinese) saw the other as uncivilised.

I enjoyed the fictionalized founding of Taiwan depicted by Clavell. When I read Shogun twenty years ago, I was engrossed and absorbed, and this was also great fun. Perhaps not great literature, but paints a full absorbing picture.

I thought Shogun was his best book when I read it, but found I liked Tai-Pan even more. There's more action & suspense with a twisty plot & far reaching consequences. If you plan on reading any other books by Clavell, you HAVE to read Tai-Pan. Without its history, you'll miss out on a lot. Dirk Straun, the hero, is probably my favorite character in all fiction. He is a tough, smart man that isn't afraid to unlearn his old ways & adapt. He has a wonderful enemy in Brock & intelligently fights his way through the convoluted founding of Taiwan as one of the preeminent heads of a trading house. His decendents carry on through out most of the rest of Clavell's books.

I read this book while traveling in Asia in 1988. When I reached the typhoon scene, I was in a high-rise "guest house" in Hong Kong just as a real typhoon was blowing in. The windows down the hall were open by necessity, and the gale ripped through the building for hours as my astonished eyes darted from the fictional typhoon on the page, to the roaring, wet wind tunnel, and back to the page. Wow! I never forgot it!

A recommended read, whether in a real typhoon or not!

I enjoyed this more than Shogun, mainly because the tension was ratcheted up by the quarrel between the Struans and the Brocks.

A foul-mouthed tale about the unpleasant people who set up Hong Kong. One hopes the Chinese settlers were nicer people. But I enjoyed "King Rat" for what it was, and I read this book. B grade entertainment

West meets East, the English and Chinese in particular at the birth of Honk Kong. A great tale of pirates, trading, war, settling and corruption, this novel has a bit of everything including stories of love and nurture, politics and keeping face. Based upon the place although the characters are meant to be fictitious it is easy to imagine people like the characters in the story which is very geographical and plays to the politics of the era though I am interested to know how historically correct it is. I read this soon after reading King Rat, the authors first novel about living during occupation centred on a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the second world war. Now I look forward all the more to the next book Shogun. This may be a book more enjoyed by men and fathers, but I think it would be a good read for all that enjoy a geographical novel and tales of pirates and empire.

Complicated historical drama, rather annoying in its male conquerer perspective. But interesting way to learn a bit about the history. 18th century pirate/seamen's dialog, funny, but annoying too.

A wonderfully well-written tale. I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

Clavell's works aren't the deepest, most intellectual books you'll ever read but they're easy to read and very entertaining.

I had a very hard time getting into the book. On my third attempt of starting the book from the begining, I finally was able to understand what the characters were saying. Once I was able to get into the story, I enjoyed it.

I read this because so many other people were reading it and recommending it. To me it was hard slogging to get through it.

I still like Shogun better but Tai-Pan is a very close second. Don't let the size scare you. Just read it.

Not as good as Shogun but still well written and worthwhile. Also set in Japan with rich history, characters and plotting.

Oh dear, what to read on long haul flight to Los Angeles? I chose this because "King Rat" was so good and I was struggling to find anything else to take my fancy. I gave this a good six hours of reading, but it didn't grab me, and I left it in a hotel drawer in Valencia for someone else to have a go.

2006: It's been more than two decades since I first read this book: it has retained it's readability, still able to transport me to a land I've never been and to a time more than 100 years before I was ever born. Of course, now I will have to continue to reread the entire saga, as will become evident at some point on my LT shelf.

2012: six years later and still a fantastic read. Next I will download [ShōGun] and so begin my foray deep into Clavell country. How rich.

One man's desire to establish himself as the dominant trader with China, his struggle to maintain a relationship with his son and a love story all wrapped up in one book. Loved it!

I read this because so many other people were reading it and recommending it. To me it was hard slogging to get through it.

I read this book after reading Shogun. I think I would have thought better of it if I'd read it first.

I have no interest in reading it again.

I read this book over 25 years ago, soon after reading Shogun, which I loved. At the time, Clavell was probably my favorite author, and I read all his books. Since it was so long ago, I barely remember the details, but I do remember that I loved the book.

I read this because so many other people were reading it and recommending it. To me it was hard slogging to get through it.

All that I really remember of Tai-Pan is that it did not come close to Shogun. So the 2 stars...

Fantastical good!

I'm working my way through this series again. The movie version of this was on TV this week and it reminded me how much I liked it the first time around.

Highly entertaining book.

great good fun

19th century English adventurer fights to make himself top dog in the new territory of Hong Kong

Historical

8432082201

Tous les James Clavell sont d'excellents romans historiques sur l'Asie. Celui-ci est l'histoire de la conquête de Hong Kong par des pirates britanniques, qui ne revaient pas tant de gloire que d'une base pour leur trafic d'opium chinois.

Dirk Struan is de Tai-Pan van de Grote Compagnie, het invloedrijkste en meest gevreesde handelshuis van het Verre Oosten. Twintig jaar lang zet hij zich dag en nacht in om Hongkong tot aanzien en bloei te brengen en er zijn imperium te grondvesten. Als China na de eerste opiumoorlog Hongkong afstaat aan de Engelsen, is het een poel van honger, armoede en ellende, een oord waar de misdaad welig tiert. Niemand heeft oog voor de schoonheid en de strategische positie van de haven. Niemand ziet de belangrijke rol die Hongkong als toe- gangspoort tot het mysterieuze China zou kunnen spelen. Niemand behalve één man: Dirk Struan. Met onverschrokken moed, doorzettingsvermogen en visie bindt hij de meedogenloze strijd aan met Tyler Brock, zijn concurrent, die Struan op alle manieren dwarsboomt en geen middel schuwt om hem in het verderf te storten. Doch zelfs als er bloed vloeit weet Struan van geen wijken. Met aan zijn zijde de hemelse schoonheid May-May, die een verbluffende wijsheid en een uitzonderlijke lieftalligheid in zich verenigt, trotseert hij alle gevaren.

UMA HISTÓRIA PASSADA NO INICIO DO SÉCULO XIX, QUANDO OS PRIMEIROS COMERCIANTES PENETRARAM NO TERRRITÓRIO DA CHINA CONTINENTAL - FABULOSAMENTE RICA E PERIGOSAMENTE PROIBIDA .QUALQUER FRAQUEZA ,HESITAÇÃO OU IGNORANCIA DOS COSTUMES ORIENTAIS ERA PAGA COM A VIDA PELOS FORASTEIROS.

Gran Bretaña compra a China la isla de Hong Kong y en ella empiezan a establecerse europeos y norteamericanos. La historia se centra en las peripecias de los occidentales para relacionarse con el milenario mundo oriental.

OORIENTE MISTERIOSO ,A CHINA AINDA INDEVASSADA ,SÃO O CENÁRIO DESTE GRANDIOSO ROMANCE HISTÓRICO DE JAMES CLAVEL ,UM ENVOLVENTE CONTADOR DE HISTÓRIAS ,OBSERVADOR BRILHANTE,QUE JÁ CONQUISTOU EXTRAÓRDINÁRIA POPULARIDADE EM TODO O MUNDO.MINUCIOSA RECONSTITUIÇÃO DE ÉPOCA E DE AMBIENTE .TAI-PAN ENVOLVE O LEITOR NIM VERDADEIRO CARROSEL DE ACONTECIMENTOS ,REUNINDO AO MESMO TEMPO TODOS OS INGREDIENTES PARA UMA DIVERSÃO INFORMATIVA ,EMOCIONANTE E HIPNÓTICA.

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