The classic, heartrending story of a British boy's four year ordeal in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. Newly reissued with an introduction by John Lanchester. Based on J. G. Ballard's own childhood, this is the extraordinary account of a boy's life in Japanese-occupied wartime Shanghai - a mesmerising, hypnotically compelling novel of war, of starvation and survival, of internment camps and death marches. It blends searing honesty with an almost hallucinatory vision of a world thrown utterly ...
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The classic, heartrending story of a British boy's four year ordeal in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. Newly reissued with an introduction by John Lanchester. Based on J. G. Ballard's own childhood, this is the extraordinary account of a boy's life in Japanese-occupied wartime Shanghai - a mesmerising, hypnotically compelling novel of war, of starvation and survival, of internment camps and death marches. It blends searing honesty with an almost hallucinatory vision of a world thrown utterly out of joint. Rooted as it is in the author's own disturbing experience of war in our time, it is one of a handful of novels by which the twentieth century will be not only remembered but judged. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard's works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Zadie Smith, Rivka Galchen, Hari Kunzru and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.
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Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.17, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.17, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.17, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.17, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.17, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
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Add this copy of Empire of the Sun to cart. $5.18, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Simon & Schuster.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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This is a much more in-depth rendering of his experience than the movie. It's a good read although it bogged down in the middle. Recommended.
Shortfeather
Dec 3, 2009
Empire of the Sun
The book is realistic, written in the second person, and very frank without being either overly grahpic or morbid, when describing the misery and death endured as a prisoner of the Japanese in China, during WWII. There is hardly any likeness between the book and the movie. The book is reality, the movie is, at best, loosely based upon the book. The book can get almost mundane, whereas the movie is idealistic and action packed for the feel-good appeal. For someone who has traveled to or lived in the Far East, the book makes it easy to visualize the sights, smells, the flora and fauna, and the living conditions the author knew as a young boy turned teen-ager living and surviving in pre-war and WWII China.
A worthwhile book to add to your library.