About this title: Clavell's adventure novel takes place in a World War II prison camp, Changi, where 8,000 English, Australian, and American prisoners of war are incarcerated. Left largely to themselves, the prisoners establish a hierarchy of power in which a brutal American corporal, known as King Rat, rises to the top.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Dell
Date Published: 1986-09-01
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Good. Paperbacks are previously owned. They are all in readable condition. They may have previous owners stamps, labels or names written or on them. The covers and spine may have creasing from previously being read. The corners may be bumped and there may be a small number of bent pages. Older books may have fading/discoloration due to light exposure. * read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, light aging to pages, light slant to book, stk #2390b9. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 480 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Crest Books
Date Published: 1963
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, light aging, stk #2289aa. 352 p. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Water Stain on cover that does not effect the book. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 480 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: No Edition Stated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Crest Books, New York
Date Published: 1962
Description: Good. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Shelf and edge wear to wraps. Soiling to wraps and page edges. Solid copy with clean pages. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Date Published: 1976
ISBN-13:9780340204450ISBN:0340204451
Description: Good. 0340204451 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Dell, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Good. 0440145465 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Dell, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Good. 0440145465 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780440145462ISBN:0440145465
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. OLDER COPY. HAS A PIECE OF COVER MISSING AND CREASING TO BACK COVER. NOT WRITTEN IN. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 480 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"A tough read about an incredibly tough situation. I had an aunt in a Japanese concentration camp in the East Indies. (Actually my father's cousin, but she was so much older, she was Tante Nelle to me when I met her years later.)
A different situation, but terrible for her. Her eldest boy was born there and she didn't know until after the war whether or not her husband survived. (He did.)"
"I first read "King Rat" as a young teen as part of Clavell reading binge that followed the initial broadcast of his mini-series, Shogun. Living in Singapore and touring WWII historical sites here reminded me of Clavell's semi-autobiographical novel of the dehumanization of POW's in Changi Prison during the war. I recommended this novel to my teen son and then re-read it myself. King Rat still details the psychological abuse and breakdown of ordinary men in sub-human conditions better than any other account I've since read. The survivors are left to deal with survival instincts that may not fit them for life in the "world".
*spoiler* As a psychological therapy, King Rat clearly was very important to Clavell, himself a POW at Changi Prison. The Peter Marlowe character is Clavell himself, caught between the British class system replicated in the military and the American prisoners' informality. The King is an American NCO whose talent for survival saves not only himself but Peter Marlowe, his company, and many others as well. At what price? The King is last seen in the novel as an object of contempt by his fellow prisoners and the rescuing forces. As a tribute to Clavell's adopted homeland (USA), Peter Marlowe transfers his gratitude from the King, the individual, to the country whose values shaped the King, America."
"I love this book. It's about a competitive, aggressive sergeant in a Japanese POW camp who makes himself king. However, despite its greatness, this book would not be published by today's American publishers. I was told by a senior editor of a top NY publisher that a war novel without women in it has zero chance of publication today. He said it's because women represent 70% of the novel buying market. Suppression. Banned authors. Nothing ever changes. Only the victims change."
"I bought this book again having read it years ago. I looked beyond the basic story of the captured soldier living in a Japanese camp who uses prisoners and guards alike to run a black-market business. Instead I interpreted the theme as a means to assist the prisoners in overcoming their misery and finding a mutual cause to either overthrow or join the enterprise."
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