Gai-Jin cover art

Gai-Jin

The Epic Novel of the Birth of Modern Japan

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Gai-Jin

By: James Clavell
Narrated by: John Lee
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

The dynamic epic novel of political upheaval and societal change in late 1800s Japan, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell

This epic novel by master writer James Clavell, loosely based on the Namamugi Incident and Anglo-Satsuma War that took place in the late 1800s, is a richly researched, panoramic view of Japan’s budding relationship with the Western powers, its sweeping societal changes, and the political upheaval that followed.

As Malcolm Struan, the son of Culum and Tess Struan, and a small band of Westerners travel down the Tōkaidō road, they are attacked by two Satsuma samurai, who mortally wound John Canterbury and seriously injure Malcolm, who then finds reprieve in the merchant village of Yokohama after a narrow escape facilitated by the unscathed Angelique.

Angelique Richaud, Malcolm’s penniless but beautiful French companion, is thrown into a world of political intrigue, fierce devotion, unstable family dynamics, blackmail, and secrets as the trading houses battle for supremacy.

With a cast of dynamic and fully recognized characters, Gai-Jin spins a tale of passionate love affairs, devastating loss, intense power struggles, and the fight to survive and thrive in a hostile new land that will leave listeners longing for another foray into Clavell’s extraordinary Asian Saga.

©2015 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Political Romance Samurai Imperial Japan War China

Listeners also enjoyed...

Musashi cover art
47 Ronin cover art
The Ballroom Blitz cover art
Into the Wilderness cover art
When the Lion Feeds cover art
This Side of Heaven cover art
Nightsong: An Historical Novel cover art
War and Remembrance cover art
The Caine Mutiny cover art
Killer of Men cover art
Alexander cover art
War and Peace cover art
The Bastard cover art
For Whom the Bell Tolls cover art
A Splendid Defiance cover art
Elantris (1 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
All stars
Most relevant
Now, this was a Clavell book that I had only read once when it came out (having read and re-read his first 4 Asian Saga books multiple times). I vaguely recalled the original read as being slightly disappointing - long book, not as gripping as e.g. Shogun. However, I've been delighted to re-encounter it, reading the series in chronological order probably helping a little bit.

The story itself is as complex as ever, with a wide range of characters on both the European and Japanese threads. Once you have them straight in your head, they take you along with them, with every more twisted connections and secrets.

The narrator did a brilliant job, apparently coping with ease in switching from Scottish accents to English to French to Japanese to Russian to American.... you get the picture.

For me, then and now, the characters didn't capture my emotions as much as e.g. Blackthorne, or Dirk and May-May. But I enjoyed the story much more on this 2nd encounter, and rate it highly.

50h of epic listening!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

equally as good as Shogun. Same setting (just about) as The Last Samurai, but far more realistic and detailed. would make perfect HBO show

A Web of Warriors, Lies and Racism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Having read all his novels I'd forgotten how long winded this book was, found it a struggle to finish audiobook. And as to My Angel, has any woman alive or dead been so wonderful.......not. On and on went the author about her perfection in every way. Oh, and I found the ending most unsatisfactory, did her and Gaunt take control from Tess? Maybe the next book might throw some light on this, can't remember.

French Angel got on my nerves.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really enjoyed the previous 2 books in the Asian saga, this was OK. The story was not as compelling as the other 2. Te narration is top notch, so full marks for that.

Good but not great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

John Lee was able to voice all the different characters with their accents so well. It was such a wonderful world to lose myself into. Only one little thing: Sensei is not to be pronounced Sensai.

Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews