The Devil of Nanking: an extraordinary, electrifying thriller by one of Britain's bestselling crime-writers

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Mo also refused to play the game when it came to the personal appearances and book festival dog-and-pony shows that have become part and parcel of a writer’s life. She had done what was expected early on, including a public launch, shortly before her debut was released, when her indomitable agent Jane Gregory introduced her to the crime-fiction community during a festival in Manchester. Her motives unknown, this quest takes Grey to some of the most perilous corners of Japan and puts her in more danger than she ever could’ve imagined. The further Grey goes to complete her assignment, the more we discover about her history, as well as Chongming’s. My Review

The Devil of Nanking - BookPage The Devil of Nanking - BookPage

There is food for thought but it's undermined by the easy coincidences and my inability to empathise with the MC; her feelings were understandable but the plot armour she's wearing just felt like a cop-out most of the time. Excerpt of book: 18 January 2012. " The Nazi Leader Who, in 1937, Became the Oskar Schindler of China." The Atlantic.Associate Professor David Askew of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University said that Chang's book ignited an interest in Japan about the massacre, increasing the amount of publications about the massacre in Japan. He opined that a unified Japanese view of the massacre doesn't exist because of the internal debates and contentions surrounding the massacre, and that the different views can be categorized into mutually exclusive thought groups. He alleged that some aspects of her book undermined the argument put forth by the "Great Massacre School of thought," which advocates for the validity of the findings at the Tokyo Trials and concludes that there were at least 200,000 casualties and at least 20,000 rape cases, and is considered to be the most sophisticated and credible thought group in Japan. [49] The characters are another point of praise. All of them feel incredibly fleshed out and real. Grey is one of the most complex characters I’ve ever read in literature. She is trying to find the truth, yet she finds out so much about herself in the process. Shi also deserves immense praise for his characterization. A scarred, elderly survivor who finds something promising in Grey, Shi is initially very wary and bitter towards her. Shi and Grey fit together so incredibly well that it’s hard not to take notice. Even the extra characters and villains are fleshed out, which is something I want to see more of in fiction.

Of Nanking Photos And Facts That Reveal Its True Horrors 27 Rape Of Nanking Photos And Facts That Reveal Its True Horrors

An American hero in Nanking". Asia Times. 2002-08-24. Archived from the original on 2002-08-26 . Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL ( link) When the Japanese Army reached Nanking, their brutality continued unabated. They burned down the city's walls, people's homes, the surrounding forests, and even whole villages situated in their path. Set primarily in an alternate universe, her most recent novel, The Book of Sand, is the first in a series published posthumously under the author name THEO CLARE. Robert Entenmann". St. Olaf College. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05 . Retrieved 2007-07-23. To the invading army, the Rape of Nanking was sometimes even a game. Japanese magazines bragged about a contest between two soldiers, Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda, who had challenged one another in a race to see who could slaughter 100 people with their swords first.The Rape of Nanking is structured into three main parts. The first uses a technique—what Chang calls the " Rashomon perspective"—to narrate the events of the massacre from three different perspectives: that of the Japanese military, the Chinese victims, and of the Westerners who tried to help Chinese civilians. The second part concerns the postwar reaction to the massacre, especially that of the American and European governments. The third part of the book examines the circumstances that, Chang believed, have kept knowledge of the massacre out of public consciousness decades after the war. [11] :14–15 Atrocities [ edit ] But the organizers of the research were surprised to find that the veterans were forthcoming about the atrocities, and the magazine of the Veterans Association was forced to run an apology for the Rape of Nanking: Mo lived in Bath with her daughter Lotte-Genevieve. She was also the actress Candy Davis, who was most known as the blonde secretary on “ Are You Being Served?”

The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder | Goodreads

I went into this book remembering only that it was partly historical fiction. I prepared myself for some heavy lifting of facts, dates and maybe even geography :o My preparation entailed clearing my slate of all other tomes; I wanted to give this the attention Katherine (her review) said it warranted. Surely there are good and bad people in every culture. But the bad Japanese? These are in a league of their own. I have read accounts and seen documentaries of Japanese POW camps. Their torture techniques were elaborately conceived to not only inflict physical agony but also emotional degradation. The book also received praise from news media. The Wall Street Journal wrote that it was the "first comprehensive examination of the destruction of this Chinese imperial city," and that Chang "skillfully excavated from oblivion the terrible events that took place." The Atlantic Monthly described the book as "a crushing indictment of the Japanese army's behavior." The Chicago Tribune called it "a powerful new work of history and moral inquiry" and stated that "Chang takes great care to establish an accurate accounting of the dimensions of the violence." The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that it was a "compelling account of a horrendous episode that, until recently, has been largely forgotten." [35]Civilization, our grandest achievement, is so readily abandoned. The veneer of honor is replaced with a total disregard for human life. I wish I could say that what happened in Nanking was just an anomaly, but there are plenty of examples in history where civilized human beings became barbarians. Timothy M. Kelly, former professor of religious studies at Edogawa University, [44] alleged that her book contained plagiarized passages. [45] LDP-DPJ group plan to scrutinize 'Rape of Nanking' ". The Japan Times. 2007-02-23 . Retrieved 2007-07-21.