Whirlwind by James Clavell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Whirlwind
Book Review: Ending a bit too abrupt!
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read all the other Clavell books, and found this one to be a worthy member of the collection. In brief, the main plot is about a group of international helicopter pilots working various oil fields of Iran. This is set during the Iranian revolution of 1979 and things become quite dicey for all foreigners, especially the Americans, and things go from tense to worse for our friends running S-G, a British owned helicopter firm.The new characters and happenings in Iran are interesting and often tragic, but what really gives this book spice are the continuation and allusions to plots and characters from all the other Asian Series books. We find out what's happened to the Todas, Kasigis, Struans, Dunrosses et. all. Especially interesting to me were the little touches, like the fates of AMG, Riko, Roger Cross, etc. and the distant connection of John Ross. (Would have liked any hint on how/who was running Par-Con!)
The plot of modern day Noble House (Linbar, Profitable, and the Great Ian Dunross et. all) was quite good - but I felt given short shrift... the resolution is hinted at, very scantily so. There was so much intrique and hints of developments that could have made for a much more satisfying ending, but that was not to be. I mean, was Linbar just an ordinary birk, or much more sinister... was Profitable really engaged in a business with this inept buffoon, or was there another double cross pending? Ah well...in my imagination, rest assured, the villians have gotten their commupance!
Perhaps because I live in Hong Kong, I ache to read more on the Noble House. In Gai-Jin I wanted Tess to come on the scene, and in this book, I would have relished going along with Andy's return trip to Hong Kong... but not to be.
Anyhow, great beach/airplane reading and 1200 pages of dense plotting. Enjoy.
Book Review: Excellent work. Having lived through it, I know.
Summary: 5 Stars
It is a real pity that this excellent piece of work by a great author should be so underrated. For some of us who lived through those turbulent times in Iran, this book had an element of reality blended in with the fictional story line that was quite incredible.It is sad that this valid component of James Clavell's wonderful saga, was allowed to go out-of-print.
Book Review: Good ... but nothing compared to the Noble House or Tai-Pan
Summary: 3 Stars
The Whirlwind is James Clavell's last book in his famous Asian series that consists of the Shogun, the Tai-Pan, the Noble House, the Gai-Jin and the King Rat. It is a good book: worth buying and reading ... but it is far from the eloquence and finesse that the author demonstrated in the other novels of the saga. Overall: I would recommend it for those who are used to reading the Clavell-style stories heavily loaded with historical and cultural references ... but for a beginner I would rather suggest to start with Clavell's other masterpieces.
In any case, the book provides a reader with interesting information about Iran, its religious affairs, cultural background and societal traditions. I found this aspect of the book more fascinating than the "action" itself: for whatever reason I was not really impressed by the author's line of storytelling this time. But be aware, even some of the cultural elements in the Whirlwind might be misleading: for example one episode (in which two of the female protagonists get engaged in a light lesbian affair in a bathtub) I think is absurd or exaggerated. Also, I missed a more elaborate description of the Iranian gastronomy, an element that is so important in the other novels that feature stories in Japan or Hong Kong.
Well, for those who still insist on reading it ... go on and let us know what you think about it when you managed to wade through those 1350 pages ... !!!
Book Review: I think that this book is very bad. I won't read it again
Summary: 1 Stars
The book never got me past the 5th page so I can't review itBook Review: Important part of Noble House saga
Summary: 5 Stars
There are several important things to note about Whirlwind: one, it continues the saga of the Noble House, begun back in "Tai-Pan," by showing us some of what's become of Ian Dunross and his clan. Two, chronologically it falls after all the other books in this series, and since Clavell has passed away, this is probably as much of a conclusion as we're likely to get. It provides a "whirlwind" tour of Iran at the start of the Revolution but prior to the taking of American hostages. While the usual European power-brokers dominate much of this book, sharing time and pages with fervent, machine-gun-weilding revolutionaries, the characters who stood out most in my mind were the Iranian women. Sharazad and Azadeh bend but never break in this tempest and linger in the mind long after the story is over. Not the best book in the Asian Saga, but not the worst, either. If only Clavell had lived long enough to answer the questions surrounding the Struan/Dunross dynasty this book poses...