Published by Open Road Media on October 25, 2016
The literary adventure novel is something of a rarity. Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and The Three Musketeers are still popular, although more commonly found in dumbed-down children’s versions. Modern writers with literary aspirations seem to prefer thrillers or horror novels or war stories to get the blood racing, although Carol Birch’s Jamrach's Menagerie proves that writers in the current century can still turn out an adventure masterpiece.
A master of the literary adventure novel in the second half of the last century was Stephen Becker. The three novels in the Far East Trilogy do not share common characters, but they are each set in roughly the same post-World War II time frame, and they all feature an adventurous American making his way in an ancient culture that he respects and admires — even when, as is inevitably the case, someone is trying to kill him.
The Chinese Bandit (1975) features Jake Dodd, who distinguished himself fighting the Japanese but ends his military career in 1947 after punching a general. He begins a dangerous journey from Peking to Turkestan, often accompanied by roving Chinese bandits. Like the other novels in the trilogy, unusual friendships play a strong role, illustrating the point that friendship does not depend on similar cultures or ideologies. It also illustrates the point (made repeatedly in the trilogy), that it is better to forgive your enemies than to hate them forever.
The Last Mandarin (1979) is the best of the trilogy and one of the finest adventure novels I’ve read. The protagonist is an American named Burnham who retires from the military and undertakes a secret mission to find a Japanese war criminal who was a central figure in the Rape of Nanking. The Japanese warrior is believed to be hiding in Peking, a place that Burnham cherishes. The novel is a perfect blend of humor and drama and humanity as Burnham confronts a moral dilemma while deciding upon the kind of life he wants to live.
The Blue-Eyed Shan (1982) is more pessimistic than the other two. Its protagonist is an anthropologist named Greenwood who lived in Burma among the Shan until he joined the war effort to defeat the Japanese. He returns to the daughter he left behind on an archeological mission at the request of a Chinese general he befriended during the war. The novel’s ending is bleak despite the humor that seasons the story, but as is true of all Becker’s work, the novel is beautifully written. The wonderfully detailed atmosphere and the mix of characters, including a Russian, the Chinese general, and a mixture of Burmese tribal members, are perfectly constructed.
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