Empire of the Sun Family Review

A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.Based on J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, tells the story of a boy, James Graham, whose privileged life is upturned by the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, December 8, 1941. Separated from his parents, he is eventually captured, and taken to Soo Chow confinement camp, next to a captured Chinese airfield. Amidst the sickness and food shortages in the camp, Jim attempts to reconstruct his former life, all the while bringing spirit and dignity to those around him.—Jeff Hansen <[email protected]>1941. The Japanese are occupying much of China in the Sino-Japanese War. Diplomatic security protects the International Settlement in Shanghai, the many westerners there still leading a very comfortable, western-styled life. Twelve year old Briton Jamie Graham, the son of a mill owner, has lived his entire life in the International Settlement, that life one of wealth and privilege. As such, Jamie, an airplane aficionado, is a spoiled child, who has not even learned Chinese, expecting any natives with who he deals, including the household domestics, to speak English. That comfortable life changes with the Japanese entry into WWII through the attack at Pearl Harbor. Simultaneously, the Japanese overtake the Settlement, including all its private property, forcing its western residents to evacuate immediately. It is through Jamie's self-absorption that he becomes separated from his parents during the evacuation, he, now alone, needing to fend for himself for the first time in his life. It is during this time if Jamie will grow up and learn to live within the new tenuous situation that he will either live or die, life which he hopes will mean eventually being reunited with his parents sometime down the road.—HuggoJamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor named Basie, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirits, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.An aristocratic British youth is separated from his family at the start of World War II after the Japanese Army invades British controlled areas of China. Reduced to living on the street and fighting for food, the youth is eventually interned in a Japanese POW camp for British civilians. Here, admiration quickly develops both for captured American pilots and the Japanese themselves. When the war ends, the boy torn from everything he knew attempts to again find his parents.—Anthony Hughes <[email protected]>