December 6

A Novel

De: Martin Cruz Smith

Narrado por: L. J. Ganser

From Martin Cruz Smith, author of Gorky Park and Havana Bay, comes another audacious novel of exotic locales, intimate intrigues, and the mysteries of the human heart: December 6.

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.

©2002 Titanic Productions. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

One of the Best for me.....

Great listen, the imagery was great took me to 1940s Far East and Japan in particular. Classic Cruz Smith, perhaps my fave of his as i lived many years in Japan myself and captured the essence of life there be it during WW2. Needless to say highly Recommend!

Lighter than expected

The dusk moods of his Russian novels is absent, replaced by the expressive meanderings of an American torn between an unexpressed duty to himself, his girl, his friends and his country and his recklessness, born of neglect. A nice backdrop to the Japanese war.

Really. a fatastic book

Great story and well read. Convincing plot. Beautiful description of Japan before the war. Good writing.

Abridged, as I recall

The audiobook ends prematurely compared to the hardcover version. There is one last, significant, episode missing — one that occurs after the denouement in the theater.

Interesting view of Japan

Unusual perspective of a missionary kid growing up in Japan who turned con as Japan heads to war. Relationships with women not so great.

Not Cruz Smith’s best

I had difficulty concentrating on the story line because the reader has such terrible pronunciation of the Japanese names and language in general.

Cruz Smith and Audible do a great disservice to the reader by not being more attentive to readers not familiar with the language used in books!