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Noble House (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "The police officer was leaning against one corner of the information counter watching the tall Eurasian without watching him..." (more)
Key Phrases: dew neh loh moh, drop dead money, quai loh, Hong Kong, Noble House, Brian Kwok (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
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  Hardcover, March 31, 1981 -- $45.80 $0.01
  Paperback, May 18, 2009 $12.24 $9.78 $7.34
  Mass Market Paperback, October 31, 1984 $8.99 $5.23 $0.01
  Audio, Cassette, December 31, 1999 -- -- $5.00

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Noble House + Tai-Pan + Gai-Jin
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The last time I was so taken with a spellbinding safari was when I read Gone With The Wind." -- Los Angeles Times. -- Review


Review

"The last time I was so taken with a spellbinding safari was when I read Gone With The Wind."—Los Angeles Times.

“Clavell’s biggest triumph yet…storytelling done with dash and panache...a rousing read.” —Washington Post

“Fiction for addicts…extravagantly romantic…a book that you can get lost in for weeks…staggering complexity…not only is it as long as life, it’s also as rich with possibilities.” —New York Times

“Tremendous entertainment…a seamless marvel of pure storytelling.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A mesmerizer…spellbinding.” —Los Angeles Times

“Breathtaking…only terms like colossal, gigantic, titanic, incredible, unbelievable, gargantuan, are properly descriptive.…Clavell has made himself the king of super-adventure thrillers.” —Chicago Tribune Book World
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 1376 pages
  • Publisher: Dell (September 1, 1986)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0440164842
  • ISBN-13: 978-0440164845
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,408 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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James Clavell
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The police officer was leaning against one corner of the information counter watching the tall Eurasian without watching him. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dew neh loh moh, drop dead money, quai loh, secret sack, gan sun, little oily mouth, old amah, double quinella, bad joss, attention zeroed, sell column, thank all gods, gods bear witness, nuclear carrier, tai pan, copper cash, foreign devils, smuggled guns
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hong Kong, Noble House, Brian Kwok, Phillip Chen, John Chen, Paul Choy, Richard Kwang, Peter Marlowe, Noble Star, Four Finger Wu, Sir Geoffrey, Pilot Fish, Dirk Struan, Goodweather Poon, Linc Bartlett, Roger Crosse, Venus Poon, Hag Struan, New York, First Central, Lando Mata, Sinclair Towers, Butterscotch Lass, Sir Luis, General Stores
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Tai-Pan by James Clavell
Gai-Jin by James Clavell
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Noble House
72% buy the item featured on this page:
Noble House 4.5 out of 5 stars (77)
$8.99
Shogun
9% buy
Shogun 4.7 out of 5 stars (316)
$8.99
Tai-Pan
9% buy
Tai-Pan 4.6 out of 5 stars (94)
$8.99
Gai-Jin
4% buy
Gai-Jin 3.1 out of 5 stars (75)
$12.24
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Customer Reviews

77 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (77 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Clavell takes to Hong Kong, September 9, 2004
By therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
  
Clavell was perhaps the greatest Western writer of Asian historical fiction. In this epic novel he captures the spirit of the Western trading companies as they maneuver in British Hong Kong. We find out what has happened to the house and lineage first created in Taipan, and how the trials and tribulations have been passed from generation to generation.

This book captures many of the strengths of the entire series:
- Characters are portrayed as complex individuals, not just one dimensional drones
- There's tons of history and cultural lessons hidden between the story lines
- Character lines are carried cross-book in the series

Definitely a solid (if not short) read!
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible spellbinding read!! An all-time favorite!, June 8, 2005
By JanSobieski (United States of America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Ian Dunross, in a driving torrential rain, arrives at the Struan Building in Hong Kong. There he meets with Alastair Struan, the current tai pan (ultimate ruler) of the Noble House. At this meeting Struan confers the title of tai pan on Dunross and he must take an oath to uphold the traditions and oaths established by the first tai pan and founder of the Noble House, Dirk Struan, one of the first and certainly the mightiest of the China Traders from the early 19th century. At this meeting Dunross discovers that a ship containing a disproportionate amount of the Noble House's uninsured wealth has gone down imperiling the House's future.

The book then jumps forward three years, to August of 1963, and the Noble House's financial predicament has grown, if anything, worse. Linc Bartlett, an American billionaire, and his ambitious and stunningly beautiful protégé, K. C. Tcholok arrive in Hong Kong aboard his private Boeing 707 (remember this is 1963). They are in Hong Kong to establish a presence in the lucrative Oriental markets and to make a deal with the Noble House or one of its competitors.

Hidden in the wheel-well of the jet are rifles, ammunition, and grenades which are strictly prohibited in Hong Kong. Their origin as well as their purpose is revealed to us gradually as we come to know the protagonist and current tai-pan, Ian Dunross and the multitude of complex problems that he must contend with.

We discover early on that there is a Judas Iscariot in the Noble House, the comprador Phillip Chen's son, John Chen, who is inexplicably kidnapped. Bartlett is playing the Noble House against it's arch-enemy and biggest competitor, Rothwell-Gornt run by Quillan Gornt, a descendant of Tyler Brock who is the arch-enemy of the first tai-pan, Dirk Struan. Gornt is using his former mistress, Orlanda Ramos, to spy on Bartlett and to manipulate him into a favorable disposition toward his company.

Ian Dunross has a highly secret source of intelligence named Alan Medford Grant from a London Strategic Planning Institute and one of his reports to the tai-pan is intercepted by Roger Crosse of Hong Kong Special Intelligence. Shortly afterwards Grant turns up dead in England as a result of foul play. The information in Grant's reports are yet another important element in the complex tale crafted by Clavell. We learn from the report that the Noble House has a Russian mole within and that there is a mole high up in the Hong Kong government.

Nearly every rivalry and association has its roots in the past dating back to at least the original China traders of the early 19th century. Clavell does a marvelous job of integrating the past and the present drawing on his knowledge not only of China and the Orient, but of high finance with repeated references to Sun Tzu's "Art of War."

Even some of the characters from Clavell's marvelous "King Rat" make an appearance. The King himself does not appear and is only alluded to, but Robin Grey, as a labor MP and Socialist sympathizer, and Peter Marlowe, a writer and thinly disguised James Clavell himself do appear.

Clavell is an astute observer of human nature enabling him to craft an amazingly complex and engaging tale tying together a multitude of disparate elements in a believable manner that is too often overlooked in todays half-baked novels. This book is long at over 1300 pages but well worth the effort. I would recommend reading Clavell's "Tai Pan" first, if possible, but this is not mandatory.

I first read this book on a vacation to Harbor Island in 1981 and was so utterly absorbed by the book that I ignored many of my social responsibilities.

I've just completed reading the book again at age 54 and have actually enjoyed it MORE than the first time I read it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars James Clavell's Greatest Work, August 6, 1999
By Matthew Teng (Singapore) - See all my reviews
Noble House is undoubtedly Clavell's greatest work. Although Tai-pan, Shogun and King Rat are excellent books in their own right, Noble House keeps the reader enthralled to the last page. Tai-pan makes good reading in itself and serves as a prequel to Noble House. However, it is not necessary to read Tai-pan before Noble House. I did not but I still found this work exciting. The plots - CIA versus KGB versus PRC Intelligence versus MI-5/MI-6, Gornt versus Dunross versus Bartlett, Orlanda versus Casey and a variety of characters (other than those already mentioned), makes the 1400 plus pages light work - it is truly a classic by an author with deep insights in the culture and international relations of Hong Kong and its neighbours and trading partners. The boardroom drama is intense and Clavell leaves the reader guessing who will emerge winner until the end. I recommend this book to anyone.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Noble House by Clavell
Start with Shogun by Clavell and work up to Gai-Jin, Noble House, King Rat and the rest of the Asian saga. They are tremendous and educational
Published 2 months ago by John J. Eberwine

4.0 out of 5 stars Too many blunders about Russians
This book is a gripping as other Clavell books. However, I hope his sources of information on Chinese stuff were better than on Russians. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Julia

4.0 out of 5 stars Ayn Rand Jitterbugs With Chairman Mao
As always, Clavell puts together a wonderful labyrinth of subplots that keep this capitalist/communist/opportunist thriller moving all 1370 pages. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Daniel-san

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Clavell Novel
This is a long book, but then it is just part of Clavell's running story, and really fits in with well with Tai-Pan. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Joseph Guillaume

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing was Noble
I intended to read this book a long time before I did. I've always been fascinated by the slippery world of the market players. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Strawgold

5.0 out of 5 stars I have read it twice, given enough time I will read it again.
An all time great read. I loved it! I am already planning on reading it a 3rd time.

Noble House and Shogun are tied for the top spot in my personal list of top ten... Read more
Published on November 14, 2007 by Gary A. Welch

5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERPIECE WORTHY OF THE TAIPAN!
James Clavell was a WONDERFUL Writer (yes, with a capital W) and NOBLE HOUSE was a gift he left to us!

Through his eyes we visit Hong Kong in the 1970's. Read more
Published on September 28, 2007 by NeuroSplicer

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
James Clavell was an excellent writer ... I'm always glad to read (and re-read) his material. Just finished Noble House. Read more
Published on February 8, 2007 by Tim Warneka

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Entry in the Asian Saga
The characters in this book are just so real. This book, like the others, isn't packed with incredible action and suspense but it's an amazing story all the same and a very... Read more
Published on August 13, 2006 by J. R. Fielhauer

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting look at high powered business in Hong Kong
This is a long but very enjoyable story. It captures the plots and dangers of business and finance in Hong Kong in a way that makes it so the story never gets boring. Read more
Published on August 2, 2006 by J. Anderson

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