Empire of the Sun

by Shortfeather on December 3, 2009

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.