I'm still not close to finishing this book. I just passed the 400 page mark and got a bit discouraged. As with any novel this long, there are parts that feel like a desert. I remember reading Anna Karenina and thinking all that writing about Levin mowing was just put in there to test your mettle and see if you're worthy enough to finish such a long book. I'm in a stretch like that right now and I'm waiting to see if I'm worthy.
For me, the boat information in Shogun is my challenge. I have no idea what a "fore poop" is and I don't intend to learn. I don't know my aft from my fore and it is making this part dry and boring.
Some people may see this as a chance to expand one's knowledge of boats and sailing. Not me. I just want to get through these parts to get back to the Japanese history (which I recently learned is mostly true, just with a few name changes) and the tension of foreigner in an unwelcoming land.
While I'm sure Shogun is an important read, I wouldn't say the writing is lovely. It is well written but not beautifully written. I don't find myself underlining passages or trying to work any passages into a facebook status update because of their deep meaning.
I read The Thornbirds earlier this year and I can see similarities between these two books (other than that Richard Chamberlain played the main character in the mini series). Both authors tell a story well. The characters are carefully crafted and dynamic and you learn something about the land in which the novel is set. But neither book is a classic. Maybe Shogun will change my mind sometime in the next 670 pages but I doubt it.
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