Empire of the Sun

In the International Settlement of Shanghai at the outbreak of the Pacific War, the boy Jim is separated from his parents when Japanese forces occupy the city. He survives among abandoned houses and looters, then is interned, spending years in the Lunghua camp among prisoners, guards, and the wreckage of air raids. The narrative stays close to a child's attention to food, aircraft, and adult bargains. It is a war novel of civilian captivity in East Asia, based on the disruption of a privileged colonial childhood rather than on combat at the front. The war is seen as hunger, boredom, and sudden danger.

Three-quarter bound in light brown cloth with a Modigliani paper front board printyed with an image in red, black and white. 1 map. Red endpapers. Red slipcase.