King Rat: The Fourth Novel of the Asian Saga

I liked this book but was a bit surprised at how quickly it finished. It was a long meandering journey through the struggles of POW’s and really captured me more in the second half. Overall enjoyable and recommendable but would require the right person to recommend to and I’m hopeful the rest of the series gives me the closure I’m looking for.

What a great yarn! Excellent storytelling, with the kind of mundane, closely observed details of prison camp life that only comes by living it. It’s not perfect—it never quite lands on a consistent tone and swings between suspense and comic. Attitudes towards Asia span racist to patronizing, and always imperialistic, but that seems accurate.