December 6: Summary and book reviews of December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith, plus links to an excerpt from December 6 and a biography of Martin Cruz Smith.
December 6
by Martin Cruz Smith
Hardcover: Sep 2002,
352 pages.
Paperback: Nov 2003,
352 pages.
Set in the crazed, nationalistic Tokyo of late 1941, December 6 explores the coming world war through the other end of history's prism -- a prism held here by an unforgettable rogue and lover, Harry Niles.
In many ways, Niles should be as American as apple pie: raised by missionary parents, taught to respect his elders and be an honorable and upright Christian citizen dreaming of the good life on the sun-blessed shores of California. But Niles is also Japanese: reared in the aesthetics of Shinto and educated in the dance halls and backroom poker gatherings of Tokyo's shady underworld to steal, trick and run for his life. As a gaijin, a foreigner -- especially one with a gift for the artful scam -- he draws suspicion and disfavor from Japanese police. This potent mixture of stiff tradition and intrigue -- not to mention his brazen love affair with a Japanese mistress who would rather kill Harry than lose him -- fills Harry's final days in Tokyo with suspense and fear. Who is he really working for? Is he a spy? For America? For the emperor?
Now, on the eve of Pearl Harbor, Harry himself must decide where his true allegiances lie.
Suspenseful, exciting and replete with the detailed research Martin Cruz Smith brings to all his novels, December 6 is a triumph of imagination, history and storytelling melded into a magnificent whole.
Booklist - Bill Ott
Starred Review. When Smith chooses a place to write about, he makes it his own....This is a superb thriller and a remarkable evocation of a place..... Best of all, he tells a moving, believable love story in which individual lives are invested with great dignity, even in the face of national ideals.
Library Journal - Barbara Conaty
The pace is like a bullet train, the characters are limned far beyond the usual stereotype, and the locale is as evocative as the cherry blossom itself.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Dave
This is a wonderful tale. A mystery. A thriller. A love story. All taking place during a well known point in time.
You know that the bombing of Pearl Harbor is on the horizon and you know that this event and Harry are intertwined. What you... Read More
Rated of 5
by Steve
Let me start off by saying I liked this book. The plot and the characters were well developed. I genuinely liked Harry, scroundrel that he was. The love story held my interest and I felt it rang true. The ending was very exciting and faithfull to... Read More
Iran has dispatched its most deadly assassin to kill Frank Perry - unless Perry´s protectors can reach him first. A powerful and thrilling novel about how the past can haunt the present.
In spymaster Alan Furst's most electrifying thriller to date, Hungarian aristocrat Nicholas Morath becomes embroiled in a daring and perilous effort to halt the Nazi war machine in eastern Europe.
These are 2 of the 5 readalike suggestions for December 6. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
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of 5
by Dave
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