A brutally realistic account of soldier's survival in a Japanese WWII prison camp.

Clavell doing what he does best; making history come to life with very interesting and entertaining fiction.

Back for more...

i just found out that King Rat is in part autobiographical. Clavell was apparently a POW himself. That explains are great deal. i was very much awed that a fictional book could be so incredibly detailed and convey the day to day struggle of the characters so well. JC was writing from experience. Incredible!

As I was nearing the end of this hard-hitting novel, I started wishing I had counted the number of times I saw the word "eyes". Seems I saw that word more often, a lot more often, than any other.

Eyes. ~representing the hierarchy of power, the levels of it in and on all sides of the life inside this POW camp. Because what this novel comes down to is its theme of control: the enforcement of it, the conditions of it, the fear of it. On display, it's palpable and it's total.

I had thought of rewatching Bryan Forbes' film of this novel - but I first wanted to read the book. (There are still too many books that I've only seen film versions of.) Though it's been a long time since I've seen the film, I remember it well-enough to know that a good half (possibly more) of the book isn't in it.

As I recall, the film doesn't really offer an adequate depiction of the squalor of the camp - or the misery caused by camp leaders sadistically unwilling to abide by agreed-on humanitarian behavior. ~which, again, goes back to control and those drunk on power. I wouldn't say that the novel is particularly graphic in its description of any of the cruel treatment; Clavell's skill is such that the effect is there all the same.

Kept from the film as well is the book's numerous sections covering homosexuality - something oddly kept from just about *every* war film - a rare exception being 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence'. One would think it would appear more often, in some form, in accounts of worlds (at the time largely) without women. However, the homosexuality depicted in 'KR' isn't the desire of men for other men because they're *men*; it's the offering of and the desire for a human form when presented (verbally or visually) as an approximation of something feminine: essentially a type of heterosexual fever dream.

That said, there is one very brief 'observation' re: desire which, though subtle, is memorably erotic in its strictly male component.

About the film, Clavell said "my feeling is the film failed because Forbes took away the story thread and made it a composite of character studies." (Wikipedia) That's sort of an odd remark since the book's main strength is as a composite of character studies. There isn't really a plot, per se. There's an atmosphere of dread, despair and deceit, but the characters are the plot.

Certain, detailed sections of what Clavell calls the "story thread" (i.e., the depth of the covert business practices of protagonist Corporal King) were brought to the bare minimum for the film - still, the film was probably never going to be as overtly dramatic as 'Stalag 17', 'The Great Escape' or 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'.

But that doesn't make it less powerful. Again, Clavell's skill is sharp in re-creating the arena of pain in his semi-autobiographical work. It seems he did not forget a thing; not what anything looked like or smelled like... or felt like. (A number of internal monologues for various characters are particularly impressive.)

'KR' is a rather fast read. You almost don't have to exert yourself or think much; just let the no-fuss writing style propel you forward. In a way, it's not like reading at all. It's often like listening to someone tell you a very involved tale around a campfire.

Seeing a similarly titled review here, I recalled reading this book in the 1960s (or there about, it was many years ago and there was movie adaptation later).

I remember it highlighted some 'cultural' issues (American:British and British:British) in a closed and desperate environment, but don't remember enough to comment further other than to say it must have been written well enough. The story wasn't the kind I found above average though, or I would remember it better.

Clavell is better known for his later Shogun and other Japanese history novels, but this earlier novel about the lives of Americans and British POWs in a Japanese prisoner of war camp is a classic. The title character is an American with a true gift for survival in the underground economy of the camp, and the book raises many questions about what the most ethical road is to take in an impossible moral situation.

King Rat by James Clavell. "And in no time at all they were arguing and swearing and no one was listening and each had a very firm opinion and each opinion was right". Clavell's debut novel based loosely on his own life spent in Japanese prisoner of war camp Changi, Story centres around 2 fictional characters an American "King" who is a very successful black marketeer, and British RAF pilot Peter Marlowe whose language skills forthrightness endears him to King.
Story is basically of these two involved in one ridiculous sometimes hilarious episode after another definately more ridiculous episode, surrounded by other resourceful prisoners hanging out of each others pockets in bands of two's and three's called a unit. woe be tide if you cheated your unit, you were good as dead if you went lone ranger. So sometimes story felt jaded and some brutalities left unsaid guess public weren't yet ready as in later war stories came out. Clavell concentrated on his understanding of of it all. I found my self laughing "what the hell did I just read" I appreciate eating an egg more than ever now. I actually have empathy for Rats. I now question is it really "stealing" or it just being "liberated" I appreciate having an electric stove I'm thankful for having the ability of wearing a shirt. I'm not curious at what rat meat tastes like I feel like ironing my shirt while I'm wearing it. I feel risky. I feel thankful for every moment I'm breathing. Remembering War stories of the men and women involved is important so that we can rail against further war, simplistic but hey what else can we do.

I read this in the 90s as I was binging on Clavell's Asian Saga. (Just discovered I missed one.)

Also discovered this story is semi-auto-biographical as Clavell was actually a POW at the camp described. And have therefore added a "history" tag.

It's not cool to praise James Clavell - and indeed, Shogun is extremely silly. I recall a couple of Japanese people cringing when I once was foolish enough to mention it (I believe they showed the series on Japanese TV).

But this book, which is based on Clavell's own experiences as a World War II prisoner of war, is pretty damn good. There's something universal about his description of camp life. He doesn't try and draw any moral, and there are no obvious symbolic associations, but at the end I found myself wondering what it was that I wasn't thinking about because I was so desperate to get enough food to stay alive. Or how someone who hadn't been subjected to those pressures would view me. It's worth reading!

At one time or another I've read most or all of James Clavell's novels. KING RAT is by far my favorite. I've lost count of the number of times I've read this novel. I also own the movie version of the story on DVD; and yes, I've lost count of the number of times I've watched the movie. I like the book better.

Clavell survived as a POW in WWII. The sub-story is that the Peter Marlowe character in KING RAT is a fictionalized version of James Clavell and that the Corporal King character is a fictionalized version of the buddy in the Japanese camp who actually saved Clavell's life.

I think all of Clavell's novels made it to either TV or Movie form; in some cases he wrote the screenplays, in most, not (he was too busy doing other more important things in Hollywood, or writing his next blockbuster novel). His career in Hollywood is almost as impressive as his novels (Due to lessons he learned the hard way in the POW camp? Correction: Due to lessons he learned the hard way in the POW camp!). Did you know that Clavell wrote the movie THE FLY? Did you know that Clavell co-wrote the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE? Did you know that Clavell wrote and directed the movie TO SIR, WITH LOVE?

I won't sport with your intelligence by relating the plot of the famous KING RAT story as told in novel and movie beyond to say that it is the story of how an American prisoner in a Japanese internment camp became more powerful than the Japanese warden.

For those fond of "How To" books like How To Succeed In Business, or How To Win At War, I wouldn't mess with SUN TZU or the latest rewording of Machiavelli. Go to KING RAT.

@hg47

Set during World War II, the novel describes the struggle for survival of American, Australian, British, Dutch, and New Zealander prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Singapore—a description informed by Clavell's own three-year experience as a prisoner in the notorious Changi Prison camp.

Great one.
Strongly recommend for my man-friends.
I'll definitely read more from Clavell in the future.

Когато един автор е способен да влезе под кожата на героите си, неизбежно влиза и под тази на читателите.

Задължителна, един вид!