Shogun

            James Clavell: WWII veteran, prisoner of war, and one of the most renowned writers of the 20^th century. Clavell is an author whose name is spoken with respect. He isn’t by any means the most famous, but he is certainly among the most talented… in every respect. For one, his impeccable research is unparalleled. A scholar on Japanese culture was quoted saying that Clavell’s novel on an Englishman in Japan, Shogun, is, "a virtual encyclopedia of Japanese history and culture; somewhere among those half-million words, one can find a brief description of virtually everything one wanted to know about Japan.”

            It would be easy to say, “he’s a bland historian, there’s nothing different about his books,” but that would be quite a misinformed opinion. The novel has in fact sold many millions of copies and has earned praise from all walks of life. A teenager with dislike for history or/and learning would thoroughly enjoy reading Shogun, and incidentally, become an astute scholar of Japanese culture overnight. On the other end of the spectrum, a scholar of Japanese culture would be reveling in glee.

            The book is set in feudal Japan, year 1600, and takes the reader through the rise of the fictional Toranaga shogunate, which parallels the real Tokugawa shogunate.

            There is only one aspect of the novel that could be criticized, its length. The book is 1,000 pages or so and that length scares some readers off, likely tempering the novel’s success. However, the pages fly by when the reader’s senses are transported to Japan and the length increases the volume of information the reader unwittingly absorbs.

            Often, we say to ourselves, “I haven’t read a good book in a while,” or “there are millions of books, there must be one that I’d love.” Rest assured, Shogun is there.

Things Fall Apart in the Notes From Underground

There has never been a more distressed, troubled anti-hero in all of literature, than the underground man in Notes From Underground. However, it wouldn't be fair to place blame on Fyodor Dostoyevsky as the first line of the novel is "I am a sick man..  I am a spiteful man.  I am a most unpleasant man" (3). The reader is made well aware that the underground man is mentally unstable from the get-go, but awareness does nothing to damper the impact the demented ideas, thoughts, and actions have. Is the goal of the author to produce a work so utterly twisted that the reader is left speechless and clambering for something to say? Where is the literary value? Why would a happy person choose to punish themselves by reading this? These are harsh criticisms, but the underground man would likely agree. The underground man is to his novel as Dwight Schrute is to the Office. Then again, the underground man would agree with anything that inflicts suffering on himself. He compulsively makes himself suffer, and if possible, tyrannizes others to make them suffer as well. He is remarkably adept at both. Ninety nine percent of the time, we read for one of two reasons. We will read to entertain ourselves or read to learn. Notes From Underground manages to accomplish virtually nothing of either, in fact, it has produced the inverse affect. At best, it has infuriated us, at worse, it has pushed a step backwards in intelligence. The author's outrageously extreme, ludicrous way of including legions of completely and utterly extraneous and unnecessary bizarre terms and words has, at best, impeded on our abilities as writers to produce clear, concise language. Furthermore, the underground man's moral compass has been so long broken that he has lost the ability to communicate with other people on a real level. It is as if the lines between literature and reality have been blurred, irreparably so.  After reading, perusing, skimming, researching, and exploring thousands and thousands of pages of writing, it can be said on good authority that the Notes From Underground and its anti-hero protagonist is one of, if not the, most profoundly infuriating novels ever written... Maybe that is what makes it so exceptional. After all,"...the most intense pleasures occur in despair..." 

He Doesn't Get Out Much - The Underground Man

A long time ago, in the nineteenth century, a Russian named Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote a piece of literature that is so compelling and morally acute that it is perhaps one of the most studied pieces of writing ever - Notes From Underground. The story is entirely fictional, but the innately human questions the author asks and attempts to answer in part one of the book are all too real. Initially, the reader is revolted, and a little intrigued, by his style of writing. The writing is radically different from anything else; there is nothing like it. He seems to speak in endless contradictions and riddles, as well as having superfluous syntax, nonetheless, his singularly overly-wordy writing style seems oddly fitting for the ideas that are probed. On occasion, we become introspective. Usually in reaction to an event or emotion, but usually we don't have any idea what is going on with us and don't make the effort to decipher the emotions, motivations, and feelings in their entirety. The underground man does just that, as well as highlight political ideals and struggles in old Russia. This book must be approached with an open mind and a sharp mind. At once, we must open our minds and expand to begin to comprehend the scope of the writing, but also make our minds keen and sharp to interpret the writing. The phrase "method to the madness" most definitely comes from this book. No author is quite so abstract while still managing to remain on point and not succumb to pure folly as Dostoevsky. He brazenly begins his book by degrading himself in the most conspicuous of ways. The underground man says, " I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. I am an unpleasant man..." (3). It may seem that the beginning is only a melodramatic hook, alas! From the beginning the book deteriorates further into a maelstrom of confusion and madness! The contradictions are abundant, and the soul is depraved.
The following clip accurately depicts the mental state and feelings of the underground man. The behaviors are remarkably similar as well.