Noble House
by James Clavell · first published 1981
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Sprawling, character-driven novel of rival business empires in 1930s Hong Kong. Its cultural detail and setting stand out, and it suits fans of Clavell's Asian Saga or long historical business fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The setting is Hong Kong, 1963. The action spans scarcely more than a week, but these are the days of high from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing and natural catastrophes -- fire, flood, and landslide. Yet they are days filled as well with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong -- the heart of Asia -- rich in every trade... money, flesh, opium, power.
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What Hacker News says
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…(Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, The Big Bounce) with mixed results, but I do I highly recommend reading the books, which are numerous. For a different sort of fiction, James Clavell's Shogun, Taipan, and Noble House are great. In fact, Noble House very well be my favorite book. It's a long (~1400 page) book about business dealings, political intrigue, and more. All set in the context of 1963 Hong Kong. Those who…
on “Ask HN: What literature do you read?” ↗Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions - looks like I've got a reading to do! I just remembered another incredible novel that I haven't read in years - Noble House by James Clavell; it's a novel about two warring business empires, set in 1930s Hong Kong.
on “Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?” ↗Clavell's whole Asian Saga (Shogun, Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, King Rat, Noble House, and Whirlwind) is amazing. My favorite is Tai-Pan - the book had a tremendous impact on me, and I'd imagine it would appeal to every real entrepreneur. The underlying themes are freedom, individualism,…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗How dare you slander The Noble House. I love most of his works, but Straung is peak Clavell.
on “A small lathe built in a Japanese prison camp (1949)” ↗Great book. Noble House (also by Clavell) is also excellent and takes place a century later, also in Hong Kong, and about the same firm established in Tai-Pan.
on “Shanghai Before the Foreigners” ↗…understanding basic accounting concepts: The Accounting Game: Basic Accounting From the Lemonade Stand. I also found two of the novels in Clavell's Asian Saga to be quite business-focused: Tai-Pan and Noble House. Not so much for the nuts-and-bolts of business, but just a large business organization being founded and growing over the course of multiple centuries.
on “Ask HN: Fictional business books like The Goal” ↗1) Shogun 2) Noble House 3) Excel by Que Publishing
on “Ask HN: What three books impacted your career the most?” ↗…Dick. Not my first time reading it, but just as enjoyable on this go-around. * QB VII by Leon Uris. Fiction, but based on some of Uris's own experiences as the defendant in a libel suit. A solid read. * Noble House, by James Clavell. The only book in his Asian series I hadn't read. Amazing, as are all the rest. * The Tao Trilogy by Wesley Chu. Eh. First book was decent, it got tedious after that. Only finished…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗I've read only Noble House. It's quite rich on the culture--maybe not so much as Shogun--and captures the setting quite well, but I didn't find it nearly as entrancing as Shogun. Worth a read, still.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗Yeah the Asian Saga includes King Rat, Shogun, Noble House, Taipan as well as Gai-gin, The Whirlwind. They're all pretty good books but I believe Taipan, Noble House and Shogun are considered Clavell's best work, in that order (personally I like Noble House best).…
on “Ask HN: What literature do you read?” ↗I read "The Noble House" and was fascinated by his writing. I'll probably read the rest of the Asian sagas.
on “Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?” ↗…'first make me care' to me is a manifest of Gen Z - tiktok - brainrot approach. From my perspective you miss most of the really good stuff by cultivating this approach. I.e. my favorite books - Tai Pan, Noble House; tv series - Better Call Saul! - require you to go through so much of initial boredom. It's also the same discussion as 'learn to code vs only do AI Slop' or 'learn math and algos vs only import functions…
on “First, Make Me Care” ↗Likewise. Noble House was a good read, but Shogun was much better.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗> This [Cryptonomicon, 1999] is also where the term "fuck you money" comes from. It's also in the 1981 novel Noble House by James Clavell.
on “What to do when an investor asks for your "Business Plan"” ↗I remember reading the term in James Clavell's novel Noble House, published in 1981.
on “Ask PG & other successful folks: how did your life change after FU money?” ↗