King Rat Audiobook By James Clavell cover art

King Rat

The Epic Novel of War and Survival

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King Rat

By: James Clavell
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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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.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio
Asian American Classics Fiction Historical Multicultural Sagas Sea Adventures United States War & Military Adventure King War
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What listeners say about King Rat

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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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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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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Book I like

I like book
Book is good 👍
I like listen to good book
Me so happy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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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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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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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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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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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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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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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