Half A Book Review: Noble House
Noble House by James Clavell
I got through about one-hundred fifty pages. Just couldn't finish it.
I thought it might be full of anecdotes about the history and culture of Hong Kong. I now have in-laws there and from there, we've visited once and we'll be visiting again one of these days. I was fascinated by the place and would like to learn more about it.
I got through about one-hundred fifty pages. Just couldn't finish it.
I thought it might be full of anecdotes about the history and culture of Hong Kong. I now have in-laws there and from there, we've visited once and we'll be visiting again one of these days. I was fascinated by the place and would like to learn more about it.
That, and my original plan was to read my wife's old paperback copy of Shogun, but the print was too small for my middle-aged eyesight. Noble House looked like the best pick from the hardcover Clavell novels on the shelves of our local library.
Turns out it is like an especially tedious episode of Dynasty set in Hong Kong. Ayeeyah! The main characters aren't even Chinese -- they're bloody, boring Brits.
Turns out it is like an especially tedious episode of Dynasty set in Hong Kong. Ayeeyah! The main characters aren't even Chinese -- they're bloody, boring Brits.
Labels: book review
posted by Mike Laursen at
10:32 PM
3 Comments:
I liked Noble House and a few of Clavell's other books, although Shogun was the best.
I think it's unfair when you hate a book because you expected it to be a different book. Someone I knew hated The DaVinci Code because he thought it would be more like Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
Sometimes it's better to have low or no expectations.
I still have this whole guilt/commitment thing that I must finish reading any book that I started.
The good part about that is that sometimes a difficult piece of art will start out slow, but get better as you commit time to it. Steinbeck's "East of Eden" was like that -- like the first 500 pages were a bit tedious, but the rest of the book was so amazing that it's now one of my favorite books. I get frustrated when I recommend, say, some brilliant but flawed piece of music to a friend, and they don't make the effort to see past the flaws.
Having said all that, sometimes I just plain don't want to finish some book I have started. As part of my program of fighting my natural tendency to do everything the hard way, I've given myself permission to do that.
Ya know, that's a good point. There's no reason to keep reading a book you're not enjoying. There's too many other books that resonate more with you.
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