Umiko Wada is successfully running her private investigation business and is discrete and effective. However when engaged to find a missing man her assignment becomes much greater and encompasses national scandals. Meanwhile her rather difficult mother has opened her doors to disgraced former sumo wrestler and Wada has a whole other set of concerns. Following Goddard's last book which introduced the world to Wada, he has unleashed this rather wonderful tale. The plot is labyrinthine, the parallel stories become a little confusing at times but are linked together brilliantly at the end and several strands of post-War Japanese history are addressed in a pertinent but low key manner. All in all a very satisfying read. ( )

Loosely based on his own experiences during World War II, Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard was originally published in 1984. It tells the story of Jim, the young son of British ex-pats, who was eleven when the Japanese occupied Shanghai. During the chaos, he becomes separated from his parents and spends the duration of the war on his own.

Eventually imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp, Jim adapts to a life of starvation and violence, surviving by scheming, stealing and knowing who to ingratiate himself to. The author does an excellent job of relating the conditions through the eyes of a child and how the sickness, death and violence kept all the prisoners on the brink of madness. As Jim ekes out a miserable existence with no parental guidance and little adult supervision, it becomes clear that the boy simply accepts that the inadequate food, arbitrary punishments and killings are part of his everyday life.

Although the book is based on the author’s own experiences, it is a work of fiction. Written in a simple yet compelling manner, the story is challenging and powerful. The author conveys the young boy’s thoughts and feelings in a realistic yet at times almost dreamlike style. This is a coming-of-age story that explores large issues and stirs the readers’ emotions. ( )

Pretty good story of a boy interned by the Japanese during the war in the Far East (Shanghai). ( )

Reason for read: TBR Reading 1001, ROOT
I do not enjoy Ballard's writing but I did like this book which is basically an autobiography that gives insight into why Ballard writes such stories as he does. It is essentially fiction. The author was in China with his parents when Japan attacked China and he saw the horrors of war, the starvation, the diseases, corrupt people, and even the white flash as the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This all would be a strong case of PTSD. ( )

whoah. ( )