Customer Reviews

Tokyo Station

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

 

 

For anyone that is not aware of it, this book is the British Edition of Martin Cruz's last published title "December 6", with a different title, assumably altered for some reason to better fit the British marketplace, although I'm sure the fact that many people will get confused and purchase the book twice is not a negative factor to the publisher. So if you have already read "December 6", there is no reason to get this book, unless you are a collector who wants the binding variant.

Great story, but don't buy it if you already have December 6. Its the same story.

This book is the British edition of "December 6"! I bought it blind, thinking it was a CIA story . . .

So don't get taken!

Set in three periods before the onset of World War II-1922, 1937, and 1941-"Tokyo Station" is a good old-fashioned thriller that will keep you glued to your economy class seat for the duration of the San Francisco to Narita red-eye. The protagonist is Harry Niles, the son of bible-thumping Kentucky missionaries who are often far from their home, in Tokyo, saving Japanese souls-which leaves young Harry to run wild on the streets of Tokyo. He grows up in the 1920s on the streets of Asakusa, the old entertainment district of Tokyo, a raffish and wild and entrepreneurial American boy getting into trouble and fun with his Japanese pals.

This places him in an odd position as Japan's military machine in the 1930s begins its suicidal rout of Asia and, ultimately, Pearl Harbor. In addition to his black market activities, Harry becomes increasingly suspect-mainly by the Japanese military but also by American and British diplomats and business people. And justifiably so: he is a spy. As Japan prepares to attack the US, Harry walks a tightrope-stay in Japan with his Japanese lover, flee with the wife of the British Ambassador-as his is pursued by a mad, brilliant army officer whom he offended in Nanking many years earlier during Japan's murderous occupation.

Though Smith dredges up the occasional anecdote familiar to anyone resident in Japan more than a year or so, the story crackles with intensity. A great read.

Despite the previous Reviews, Amazon lists "Tokyo Station" and "December 6th, 1941" side by the side in the Category "People who brought.." as if these were different books. Why do they feel the need for such deceptive advertising? If it hadn't been for the reviews, I would have bought this book myself.

GREAT BOOK BUT i ordered tokyo station ,
thinking that i would enjoy it as i had smith's DECEMBER 6. so i ordered the book and waited to receive what i thought would be an enjoyable read.
THE BOOK ARRIVED and to my surprise it was DECEMBER 6 under a different title. can i get refund?

peter stensrud

[...]

written from the eyes of a boy in Toykyo,. one of Mr. Cruz smiths best,escaping the world of his missionary parents from the time before and during wwII

Yes, this is 'December 6th' given a different title for this British publication, and yes the print is so small that I have to wear special bifocals to read it, but those are the book's only flaws. Re-reading Martin Cruz Smith is as satisfying as a first time through. I continuously discovered details I had missed on first reading, and found the telling of the events leading up to the invasion of Pearl harbor riveting. The characters are finely drawn and the story is complex. It is almost sad to imagine Japan on the brink of war, still hovering on the edge of the 9th century.

"Tokyo Station" is the British title for a work published in the US as "December 6." Under either alias it is an exceptional read; how Cruz Smith managed to absorb the essence of the pre-war Japanese demi-mondaine is beyond me, but he certainly did, just as his Russia-based Arkady Renko novels capture the Russian Zeitgeist.

I bought Tokyo Station because Cruz Smith has only so many titles in print, and I enjoyed each so much I wanted them all. But beware the cunning Brits!

This item was suppost to arrive on Nov.23rd. It still isn't here. It's over a month now since I have ordered it.