Customer Reviews

The Chinese Bandit

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A thrilling yet thoughtful adventure, set in the chaotic China of 1947. An American marine, fleeing military justice, hooks up with a gang of Chinese bandits and learns some universal truths while dodging bullets of many armies.

I read this book for the first time in the late 1970's and I've read it 3 or 4 times since then. For plain, old fashioned adventure, this is one of my favorite books.

Let me say first of all that if I could have one job for the rest of my life, I'd want to be a guard/scout on a caravan, traveling the Silk Route from the Med to Peking. Yeah, I know, it doesn't exist any more, but that's the job I want. Marco Polo's travels, Marshall's Caravan to Xanadu, Michener's Caravans (I especially enjoy his Harvey Holt character in The Drifters) are all great adventure stories, and I've read them all. Any of the Errol Flynn's swashbucklers, Tyrone Powers in The Black Rose, Gunga Din or any old B&W movie on late night TV and I've packed my gear and I'm ready to go. I'm familiar with all of them.

Throughout my life I've encountered a lot of Jake Dodds; men and women who do their jobs extremely well when it matters most, but become bored and trouble-prone when they are required to sit around and mark time. These people are worth keeping, but they need purpose in their lives.

Jake's travels through China and over the roof of the world rank with any of the above titles, but where the classic adventurer as realized today is an archetypal cliche and quickly approaching comedy, e.g., Indiana Jones, Becker goes one step further and allows Jake to examine the consequences of his actions. Jake moves beyond being a one dimensional character and realizes what he gains and loses through his journey. Eventually he becomes a fully-fleshed protagonist. He accepts what he is and what's he has done. It just doesn't necessarily mean he's going to change.

The beauty of Becker's writing is that he does not preach to us about Jake's insights and awareness, nor does he give the book a "new-agey touchy-feely" taste. Jake makes mistakes and corrects them, or learns from them and moves on. No group hugs in this book, as is almost de rigueur in today's novels. We all have flashes of insight in our lives, but we don't get together and talk about it as someone beats a drum. Usually, we just give it an "humph" or "that's pretty cool."

Becker does not "dumb down" his story, nor does he pander to the reader. The Chinese Bandit is his story, not the censor's or the PC crowd, and he tells it well. Jake is the hero with a thousand faces (Joesph Campbell's excellent theory of heroes) and he faces his trials, tests, adventures, loves, and losses with fortitude and courage. Becker never stops the action for long, just enough to let Jake and his comrades rest and recover.

The only inquiry I have is: who wants to help look for the kegs of nails?

I originally wrote this review and submitted it under the hardcover edition banner. But, I wanted to get it out to more readers. This is a great book more readers should be aware of. And I'm glad I still have my hardcover edition.

It was going to be a movie at one time, but that fell through. You can still find the proposed ads for it on the net every once and awhile, though. They're actually pretty nice.

Hey, Tim. How's Mass?

I'll help look for the keg of nails. Anything to travel the Silk Route. Or to have an adventure as exciting and fulfilling as Jake Dodd's. I've known and loved this book for many years and just rediscovered it recently. Becker's characters, plot, and prose far transcend the journeyman genre writing you would expect in a story like this. This ranks with George MacDonald Fraser's books.

FIVE STAR BOOK----------FIVE STAR BOOK----------FIVE STAR BOOK

I RATED THIS BOOK AS FIVE STARS. FOR SOME REASON THE RATING CONTINUES TO DEFAULT TO ONE STAR.

I read this book for the first time in the late 1970's and I've read it 3 or 4 times since then. For plain, old fashioned adventure, this is one of my favorite books.

Let me say first of all that if I could have one job for the rest of my life, I'd want to be a guard/scout on a caravan, traveling the Silk Route from the Med to Peking. Yeah, I know, it doesn't exist any more, but that's the job I want. Marco Polo's travels, Marshall's Caravan to Xanadu, Michener's Caravans (I especially enjoy his Harvey Holt character in The Drifters) are all great adventure stories, and I've read them all. Any of the Errol Flynn's swashbucklers, Tyrone Powers in The Black Rose, Gunga Din or any old B&W movie on late night TV and I've packed my gear and I'm ready to go. I'm familiar with all of them.

Throughout my life I've encountered a lot of Jake Dodds; men and women who do their jobs extremely well when it matters most, but become bored and trouble-prone when they are required to sit around and mark time. These people are worth keeping, but they need purpose in their lives.

Jake's travels through China and over the roof of the world rank with any of the above titles, but where the classic adventurer as realized today is an archetypal cliche and quickly approaching comedy, e.g., Indiana Jones, Becker goes one step further and allows Jake to examine the consequences of his actions. Jake moves beyond being a one dimensional character and realizes what he gains and loses through his journey. Eventually he becomes a fully-fleshed protagonist. He accepts what he is and what's he has done. It just doesn't necessarily mean he's going to change.

The beauty of Becker's writing is that he does not preach to us about Jake's insights and awareness, nor does he give the book a "new-agey touchy-feely" taste. Jake makes mistakes and corrects them, or learns from them and moves on. No group hugs in this book, as is almost de rigueur in today's novels. We all have flashes of insight in our lives, but we don't get together and talk about it as someone beats a drum. Usually, we just give it an "humph" or "that's pretty cool."

Becker does not "dumb down" his story, nor does he pander to the reader. The Chinese Bandit is his story, not the censor's or the PC crowd, and he tells it well. Jake is the hero with a thousand faces (Joesph Campbell's excellent theory of heroes) and he faces his trials, tests, adventures, loves, and losses with fortitude and courage. Becker never stops the action for long, just enough to let Jake and his comrades rest and recover.

The only inquiry I have is: who wants to help look for the kegs of nails?

Every few years, I reread this classic and beautifully written adventure novel of a fugitive U.S. marine losing himself in China at the close of World War II. From its opening paragraph, the book draws you into a still-traditional China, and doesn't let go: "That summer they hanged a fat man at the Western Gate as a warning and example to all. In those days the penalty for most crimes was death. They swung him from a fresh gallows on the city wall, where twelve horsemen in silks could ride abreast, and once had. For sure he deserved it. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin." My old paperback version of the book finally disintegrated so I bought this used hardcover. The book arrived promptly and was in good condition, as described.

I read this the first time in the 1970s, when I was in my early twenties. I remembered it in detail for forty years. I always assumed I loved it because I was young and it was full of violence and sex. But on rereading it in my fifties I realize it's so much more than that. God I love this book.

Chinese Bandit is Becker's masterpiece. The story is excellent. The point of view and immersion into Chinese culture is authentic. Outstanding book worth re-reading.

This is the best adventure book I have ever read. It's the kind that sinks its claws into your mind and won't let go until you're done. I have read it many times and enjoy it each time I read it.

This book makes me really want to travel. Being a citizen of the world, I found this book to be well written and a very exciting book. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in exotic places and/or travelling.