King Rat
The Epic Novel of War and Survival
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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James Clavell
About this listen
The epic novel of war, savagery, and survival in a Japanese POW camp by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell
Japanese POW camp Changi, Singapore: hell on earth for the soldiers contained within its barbed wire walls. Officers and enlisted men, all prisoners together, yet the old hierarchies and rivalries survive. An American corporal, known as the King, has used his personality and wiles to facilitate trading with guards and locals to get needed food, supplies, even information into the camp. The imprisoned upper-class officers have never had to do things for themselves, and now they are reduced to wearing rags while the King’s clean shirt, gained through guts and moxie, seems like luxury in comparison. In the camp, everything has its price and everything is for sale. But trading is illegal—and the King has made a formidable enemy. Robin Grey, the provost marshal, hates the King and all he represents. Grey, though he grew up modestly, fervently believes in the British class system: everyone should know their place, and he knows the King’s place is at the bottom.
The King does have a friend in Peter Marlowe, who, though wary of the King and himself a product of the British system, finds himself drawn to the charismatic man who just might be the only one who can save them from both the inhumanity of the prison camp but also from themselves. Powerful and engrossing, King Rat artfully weaves the author’s own World War II prison camp experiences into a compelling narrative of survival amidst the grim realities of war and what men can do when pushed to the edge. A taut masterwork of World War II historical fiction by bestselling author James Clavell.
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- By Darwin8u on 11-08-12
By: George Orwell
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Journey to the End of the Night
- By: Louis-Ferdinand Celine
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Louis-Ferdinand Celine's revulsion and anger at what he considered the idiocy and hypocrisy of society explodes from nearly every minute of this novel. Filled with slang and obscenities and written in raw, colloquial language, Journey to the End of the Night is a literary symphony of violence, cruelty, and obscene nihilism. This book shocked most critics when it was first published in France in 1932, but quickly became a success with the public in Europe, and later in America.
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Miserable Ride with Cynic Supreme
- By W Perry Hall on 03-15-17
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In Pharaoh's Army
- Memories of the Lost War
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether he is evoking the blind carnage of the Tet offensive, the theatrics of his fellow Americans, or the unraveling of his own illusions, Wolff brings to this work the same uncanny eye for detail, pitiless candor, and mordant wit that made This Boy's Life a modern classic.
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Boring Waste of Time
- By Ethan on 08-21-22
By: Tobias Wolff
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The Quiet American
- By: Graham Greene
- Narrated by: Joseph Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Alden Pyle, an idealistic young American, is sent to Vietnam to promote democracy amidst the intrigue and violence of the French war with the Vietminh, while his friend, Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, looks on.
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Terrible narrator nearly derails Greene novel.
- By Richard on 07-12-12
By: Graham Greene
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Cannery Row
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Jerry Farden
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is: both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. Drawing on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, Steinbeck interweaves the stories of Doc, Henri, Mack and his boys, and the other characters in this world where only the fittest survive, to create a novel that is at once one of his most humorous and most poignant works.
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Five stars with a Caveat
- By Bette on 04-23-12
By: John Steinbeck
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Johnny Got His Gun
- By: Dalton Trumbo
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered - not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives. This is no ordinary novel. This is the story of a young American soldier terribly maimed in World War I - he "survives" armless, legless, and faceless, but with his mind intact.
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READ THE INTRODUCTION LAST
- By Carollynn7 on 11-27-11
By: Dalton Trumbo
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The Note Through the Wire
- The Incredible True Story of a Prisoner of War and a Resistance Heroine
- By: Doug Gold
- Narrated by: Conrad Coleby
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe, two people meet fleetingly in a chance encounter. One an underground resistance fighter, a bold young woman determined to vanquish the enemy occupiers; the other a prisoner of war, a man longing to escape the confines of the camp so he can battle again. A crumpled note passes between these two strangers, slipped through the wire of the compound, and sets them on a course that will change their lives forever.
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Such devotion
- By smilin29 on 01-01-24
By: Doug Gold
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Meat
- By: Joseph D'Lacey
- Narrated by: Chris Coxon
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In Abyrne, a strange town surrounded by a wasteland, the eating of meat is a sacred obligation. The town’s strict laws are brutally enforced by a ruthless Baron and a merciless Bishop. Adored by the townsfolk is Richard Shanti, Abyrne’s famous bolt-gunner – the most efficient slaughterhouse worker in living memory. In private, however, Shanti is a gentle man; a husband, and father to twin girls. The growing guilt about his murderous job weighs him down. Beguiled by a rebellious heretic, Shanti uncovers the harrowing truth behind Abyrne’s history.
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Holy Cow!!!
- By Michael on 12-30-19
By: Joseph D'Lacey
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Revolt in 2100
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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After the fall of the American Ayatollahs (as foretold in Stranger in a Strange Land) there is a Second American Revolution; for the first time in human history there is a land with Liberty and Justice for All.
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Heinlein's Future History
- By ShySusan on 05-30-12
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Cocaine Blues
- By: Kerry Greenwood
- Narrated by: Stephanie Daniel
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
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A series that just gets better
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 02-01-11
By: Kerry Greenwood
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A Bell for Adano
- By: John Hersey
- Narrated by: David Green
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1943, the American Major Victor Joppolo finds himself the civil affairs officer - the mayor - of a small town in Sicily. Equipped with the rulebook, How to Bring American Democracy to Liberated Territories, he sets about bringing choices to a people whose every recent activity had been dictated. Asking them what the town needs most, he is answered: give the town back its spirit - a bell to replace the 700-year-old one that was melted down for bullets.
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A quick little gem
- By Susan on 02-07-12
By: John Hersey
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Welcome to the Monkey House
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: David Strathairn, Maria Tucci, Bill Irwin, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, what these superb stories share is Vonnegut's audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.
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Classic Vonnegut
- By Michael Carrato on 08-17-06
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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While he was the curator of the CIA Museum, Nicholas Reynolds, a longtime military intelligence expert, began to discover tantalizing clues that suggested Ernest Hemingway's involvement in the Second World War was much more complex and dangerous than has been previously understood. Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy brings to light for the first time this riveting secret side of Hemingway's life - when he worked closely with both the American OSS and the Soviet NKVD to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
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Krondor the Betrayal
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The RiftWar is done. But a fearsome army of trolls and renegade humans, emboldened by the drug of destruction, has risen in strength from the ashes of defeat. There is one, however, who defies the call to battle....
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An Unforgettable Story of a Classic Computer Game
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Longtime ATF agent Ken Croke had earned the right to coast to the end of a storied career, having routinely gone undercover to apprehend white supremacists, gun runners, and gang members. But after a chance encounter with an associate of the Pagan Motorcycle Gang created an opening, he transformed himself into “Slam,” a monstrous, axe-handle wielding enforcer whose duty was to protect the leadership “mother club” at all costs.
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Hooked from the First Line
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Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place that might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Particularly as it’s carried though space on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown). It plays by different rules. But then, some things are the same everywhere. The Disc’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the world’s first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land.
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TERRIBLE Narration!
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England, 1364: When married off at aged twelve to an elderly farmer, brazen redheaded Eleanor quickly realizes it won’t matter what she says or does, God is not on her side—or any poor woman’s for that matter. But then again, Eleanor was born under the joint signs of Venus and Mars, making her both a lover and a fighter.
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Interesting, funny and thought provoking
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What listeners say about King Rat
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Martha
- 08-26-21
Iit is still a relevant story, so well written.
This will take you out of your world and dunk you into a universal reality. Worth the listen.
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- Robin in Alaska
- 01-04-16
Unforgettable story of harsh times
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. It is inside look at the nature of man when beset with physical and mental pains.
What was one of the most memorable moments of King Rat?
When the truth of the matter came unerringly to the individual who had consumed some very tasty "meat" at a great expense, only to realize it was RAT meat!!!
What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?
His ability to change the timbre and inflection of his voice for the differing of each one of the main characters.
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- Jesse James Edwards
- 12-25-22
Book I like
I like book
Book is good 👍
I like listen to good book
Me so happy
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- Nicholas John Stock II
- 01-21-24
Short but Great. Excellent Narrator.
So far, I enjoyed this book most of all the Asian Saga. Though it was shorter, it was a great story, well narrated.
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- J. R. Baird
- 04-13-18
Excellent book.
Would you consider the audio edition of King Rat to be better than the print version?
I would have to say yes. My accents aren’t as good as the narrators. I found both to be equally enjoyable.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Peter Marlowe. The struggle for him to try to understand the King and his ways versus his British upbringing was interesting to listen to.
What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His accents and the feelings he gave to each of the characters.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The entire situation from all sides who were victims of the war and how they coped never ceases to amaze me.
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- ChisumFam
- 03-17-16
got kind of boring
the book was good but I didn't like a lot of the middle part when it got dull
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- Kindle Customer
- 07-30-24
Life in a Singapore Prison Camp
One man in the prison camp has the ability to wheel and deal to such an extent that those around him live a little better than the rest of the camp. This is the story of how he did it. Fascinating.
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- J.B.
- 08-12-16
Lord of the Flies; Lord of the Rats. One Together
“King Rat: The Epic Novel of War and Survival,” by James Clavell. Narrated by Simon Vance. The Asian Saga, Book 4. Clavell is one of the more interesting and noteworthy novelists telling tales of Asian continent happenings. His descriptions are educational in that they often explain the oriental milieu and therein mindset. He is one of the best at creating characters one can associate with and find intriguing. He does not fail us in King Rat; it is a great read (or listen).
Audible calls his compilation of works the Asian Saga, although there is no single or universal saga in Clavell's works. They tell of no one heroic and detailed account of a single epoch. Nevertheless, with few exceptions this “Saga” is well worth the read; at least for King Rat, Nobel House and Shogun. They are outstanding works of literature– while the rest are merely good. I would suggest Audible’s Book numbering is way out of kilter. King Rat is his first novel and it should be read first (although its societal teachings discern the distinctions between the British, Australians and Americans rather than in his later books which can be classified as comparisons between western and oriental values).
King Rat is a marvelous read. The setting is a Japanese prison camp for captured World War II ally combatants. From its initial opening lines there is one happening after another in how the weak, the shrewd, the moralistic and the depraved interact under the control of the Japanese to create their own camp or sub societies and conduct commerce among themselves. Clavell manages to put tension and meaning into every sub story and they all culminate into a cliff hanger circumstance by the end of the book. Clavell is a philosopher and through his characters and their personalities he reveals philosophical truths about capitalism and personal honor. He gives the reader much to think about and his stories always leave you with long lingering feelings after the read.
In this work though he takes on much more than mere political concepts. I was surprised that at even this early date (1962) Clavell defends transvestites long before our western societies matured and learned to understand and accept the sexual drives of others. There is more here though; for example he is able to study the place of husbands and wives in enduring long and unknown separations. He does this by at various points in the story, when the story focuses on a particular imprisoned character he often will follow that chapter with a chapter on what did or very well might have happened to their lovers at home while they were in war detention. At the very end of the book we actually learn the truth about many of those sojourns into the lives of the separated spouses.
The main character is the “King,” an American imprisoned soldier modeled after an Ayn Rand entrepreneur type who sets us a moral but very capitalistic system of trade in the camp. The King then meets and takes up a friendship with Peter Marlowe, a British officer with some family ties to the upper middle class, and it the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn friendship and adventures of the two that make this story great. Truly a fine and engrossing read.
That alone would give this book 5 stars but after the story ends, there is another small story that begins, when the camp is rescued by the allies when Japan surrenders. Remember Clavell, himself, was a prisoner of the war during WWII in a Japanese encampment. He gives us a stunning understanding of the mind of the liberating soldiers, their compassion and total misunderstanding of what three to five years in captivity means. Then Clavell shows us how the inmates react and most of all how the King becomes an ordinary man once the world is put back into its rightful place and we are left to consider who these men we came to know so well are and where they saved or further destroyed in being liberated? This book is very much in the character of a Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Excellent!
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29 people found this helpful
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- OB
- 04-05-20
Not shogun or Tai-Pan but good
Well written and thought provoking. A little desperate but I suppose life in a pow camp would be. I wonder what became of the king. I’m almost glad we don’t know.
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2 people found this helpful
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- JudyC
- 01-06-18
Human condition
Ah, the human condition! Where would you fit under those conditions? Food for thought and a look into the human soul surviving the unthinkable.
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