Book review: King Rat by James Clavell

This is a book a colleague of mine recommended to me some time ago. I am generally weary of personal accounts about war experiences, given their inherently biased nature. This book was no exception. Being written in the 1960's it had none of the World War 2 - era ethnic connotations about the Japanese. Additionally, aims to stay clear of passing historical judgment at all. Remarkably, it manages to avoid concentrating on the topic of the war and delves into the interpersonal relations between the prisoners of war in POW internment camp in Southeast Asia. Now that we have the historical setting, let us dive in.

The Story

The story is told from the perspective of a British prisoner of war and follows his experience and interactions at the camp. At the center of the storyline is a character nicknamed King Rat, a charismatic and resourceful American POW who seems to make use of everything and everyone to his advantage. The book introduces a number of characters to plot, giving each the detailed description they deserve. This attention to detail makes for an enjoyable and surprisingly quick read, despite the fact that the book is almost 500 pages long. what caught my attention almost immediately were the realistic and gritty depictions of everyday life, people and their experiences. The whole setting is reminiscent of a high school, albeit one where you could die from hunger or be shot to death. And it only makes sense for it to be so, after all the vast majority of soldiers in the war were in their late teens and early twenties. The story follows the life and exploits of King Rat, his successful and not so successful business endeavors, it tells the story of who he is and how he operates. What I did find to be lacking, however, was one specific omission in particular.

The omission is King Rat's personal story and why he came to be who he was. This doesn't take much away from the quality of the storytelling and how enjoyable of a read the book was, but it is something I found to be somewhat lacking. The story subtly keeps track of the events outside the camp, including the much longed-for victory of the Allies. This is where things suddenly take an unexpected, yet logical and rightful turn. As the Allies come to liberate the camp, King Rat comes to grips with reality. It becomes painfully obvious to the reader that for all his charisma and prowess, he is not any more worthy than the other prisoners out there. In fact, the qualities he possesses that made him "King" are inapplicable to the real world. The reader comes to realize that through the eyes of an outsider, he is a well-dressed, yet absurdly arrogant and entitled specimen. As reality sinks in for King Rat, as the camp is liberated, his charisma appears to be no more, instead he is looked upon with disdain by his fellow prisoners.

Summary

In summary, the book is both a light-hearted, enjoyable read, and a thought-provoking memoir of one of the worst periods in human history. I would recommend to anyone with historical interest and a desire to explore the human condition. What is important to keep in mind, is that the story is indeed based on real experiences and goes to show how transient and shaky human relationship dynamics can be. Those with power today can easily come out of favor, depending on the circumstances. With these words, I leave you to the book and hope you find it as immersive as I did.