The Mr. Moto Books

[nuranar]

Acting on jordannamorgan's recommendation of the Mr. Moto films and Wikipedia's description of the Mr. Moto books by John P. Marquand, a couple weeks ago I found myself the proud possessor of four out of six novels.  Unsurprisingly, given my track record, I zoomed through all four in less than a week.

Wikipedia supplies a lot of analysis in a lengthy and slightly disorganized article, which I have not completely read because Wikipedia users are not careful of spoilers. However, it seems pretty clear that, while both are excellent, the Mr. Moto of the movies is a very different creature from the Mr. Moto of the books.  The former is "a benevolent InterPol agent" and "hero-at-large," while the latter is "a dedicated and cold-blooded spy for Imperial Japan."  They take place in the 1930s, when Japan was making steady expanionist progress.

* Your Turn, Mr. Moto (1935)
* Thank You, Mr. Moto (1936)
* Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
* Mr. Moto Is So Sorry (1938)

Each of these novels focuses on someone besides Mr. Moto, rather as the Morgaine books, while centered on and motivated by Morgaine, actually focus on Vanye.  Wikipedia lumps all four of these men as "British or American expatriates," when in reality, all four are American and only one is truly an expatriate.  They are all distinct individuals; some with obvious problems, some with none; some on legitimate business, some in difficulties.  They all fill one of the spy-story tropes, of the uninvolved bystander getting involved involuntarily, but all react differently once they're in.  They're individuals, they're interesting, and they draw the reader into the story.  And yet they just miss being so dominating that there's no interest left for Mr. Moto.  It's only as I've been writing this that I've realized how skillfully Marquand drew his cast to obtain such a fine balance.

Mr. Moto is defined by his dedication to the Emperor, and he carries out this dedication in his work, using other people, or killing them, whenever it is best for the Emperor.  This characteristic is usually termed cold-bloodedness.  I find that this term is defined either as being completely dispassionate, or being completely cruel.  For Mr. Moto, it is complete dispassion.  He has emotion, and displays emotion, but it has no influence on any of his actions that affect the Emperor.  And for all that, he can be quite a likeable fellow.  In some of the books, his interactions with the protagonist are primarily benevolent; in some, he definitely seems an enemy.  It's completely dictated by whatever ends Mr. Moto is working for.  Plenty of times I'm glad he's in the story, working things behind the scenes; because he's really not such a bad guy, is he?  And then he says or does something that reveals that adamant quality underneath, and I blink, and shake my head, and can't quite comprehend.  For instance: Mr. Moto cheerfully informs the protagonist that it's now no longer necessary for he, Mr. Moto, to have the protagonist killed.  Mr. Moto is very, very happy at this, because he likes the protagonist.  What's unnerving is that that liking would have made absolutely zero difference if the protagonist's death had remained necessary.  But if there is no illogical mercy or compassion in Mr. Moto, neither is there any equally illogical malice or brutality.

This leads to one of my strongest impressions of the books: the sense of Eastern culture. It may sound fatuous, since I have little to compare to in either personal experience or other literature, but I feel that my understanding of both Japanese and Chinese culture, at least pre-World War II, has grown immensely.  A culture is at once both fascinating and impenetrable to those on the outside.  To begin to understand for one's self is hard enough; to convey that understanding to others is exceptional; and to do so within a suspenseful, plot-driven story is outstanding.

Wikipedia talks at length about the great plotting of the books, with many twists and changes.  To be honest, I did not notice this as much.  I was caught up in the pure suspense of it all.  I didn't stay up until 3 in the morning reading these, but I stayed up later than I should have.  They are quite absorbing and very carefully written.  I am looking forward to re-reading them.  I don't know if I read fast because I know I'll re-read the book later, or if I re-read the book later because I read it so fast the first time.  The fact is that I do read the book fast first, because I'm on fire to find out what happens, and that I always re-read the book again later, often more than once, to savor the writing and the plot and discover subtleties.  I have a very strong hunch that the Mr. Moto books will prove to have layer upon layer of subtleties.

Perhaps that is why this is rather an inadquate review.  I can now review an Alistair MacLean book both with a clear sense of my reaction and with an understanding of how the one book fits into MacLean's overall writing style and writing history.  That is because MacLean has a distinct and complex style of writing and plotting, and I've been reading his books repeatedly for years.  Marquand's Mr. Moto books may turn out to improve just as much on further acquaintance. I'm certainly looking forward to finding out.

Comments

[jordannamorgan]

Interesting! Glad they turned out to be worthwhile. (If you've watched the Moto movie I sent, I'd love a comparison.)

Honestly though, I'm still not wild about the idea of the character of central interest being a secondary presence. You seem to enjoy that arrangement well, but for me, it would be like having the Saint turn up a few times in a book that spends most of its time on Peter Quentin. :Þ

What I really want is the rest of the films. TCM is running an entire day of Peter Lorre next month, but none of those are on the slate, alas.

(I should also add that, based on the one film I have seen, I wouldn't call MovieMoto either "benevolent" or a "hero". He got rid of the bad guys to satisfy his own sense of honor; helping the token boring-nice couple was a mere side effect of that intention. An antihero definitely, but not a guy to be trusted to serve any interests but his own. Maybe that impression would change with the other films added to the context, but that's what I got so far--and that's the whole reason I found him so fascinating!)

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Well, I just actually finished Daughter of the Dragon and went on to Mr. Moto tonight. The boys had friends over and claimed John Carter for their games, so what else could I do but monopolize the TV? *eg*

Off-the-cuff word is that while MovieMoto is certainly not the nice guy Wikipedia claims, he's still certainly not the single-minded Imperial agent BookMoto. He's definitely ruthless, and his "help" for Tom Nelson and the Joyce girl is purely incidental, also coincident with the books; but the thing that sets BookMoto apart is his single-mindedness when it comes to... what the Western world would call duty, but is something else in the East. Perhaps I missed some dialogue, (periodic explosions and gunfire plus screaming and yelling are hard to compete with), but he didn't seem much like a bona fide Interpol agent to me.

I'll have to do an actual book comparison later; it's too late tonight. Things are greatly changed around, which I'm sure comes as no surprise. In a way that's a shame, since of the four I read I thought it was the most dramatic. I'm okay with treating it as a separate entity, though, instead of an adaptation.

Philip Ahn was amazing.

[jordannamorgan]

It doesn't seem to me like MovieMoto is the agent of some organized group, either. He strikes me as very much a mercenary and freelancer.

Philip Ahn is my favorite Asian actor in classic films. :)

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

That makes his comparative ruthlessness all the more intriguing, and at first blush contradictory. I wonder what his personal code of honor would be in that case. Working him into the LXG would depend heavily upon that. BookMoto would never be a part of it. He wouldn't think twice about using it or its members, though. Hmm. Come to think of it, he would be a fascinating not-foe not-friend for the League to deal with.

He's in two I Spy episodes! Squee! One in particular is excellent - "Affair in Tsing Tao." I actually think you'd like it. And I see he's Korean - *headdesk* I really should have guessed that. For some reason, my years at A&M gave me the ability to usually guess what country an Asian is from.

[suededsilk.livejournal.com]

*cough* I think you mean "Carry Me Back to Old Tsing Tao". But "Affair in T'Sien Cha" isn't half bad either. ;) <--- sez person who watched way too many I Spy eps recently

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did. I know those really well, too. I was just concentrating on the ideas I was getting down.

[suededsilk.livejournal.com]

I knew you did; just clarifying for anyone who wanted to find them. :)

I should add an apology, too...I actually don't mean to correct people's statements so much. *looks sheepish* It's my OCD-ness and attention to detail - if something is the teeniest bit incorrect, I feel compelled to point it out. It has, on occasion, annoyed those around me in Real Life, so I don't want to annoy you here. :)

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I do want to defend myself of the charge of liking all secondary interests more than the central one. The Morgaine books are absolutely exceptions to this general rule, and they're exceptions not only because I happen to like Vanye a lot, but also because they're darned good books either way. I'm sure I've read books that followed the same pattern, but in which I liked the central character far more than the secondary. And because the emphasis followed the secondary, I didn't like the book, haven't read it again, and couldn't name an example to save my life. :D Same reason why I like very few with multiple narrative lines. It's not so much that I don't like that technique, it's that I like a particular character - usually the primary one - and really hate it when the story leaves him and moves somewhere else. It's my personal reaction to the characters themselves that makes the difference. That means that when my favorite happens to be a secondary character that the story follows, (a) it's rare and (b) it's more than adequate writing. So I write about it to commemorate the occasion. :D

[jordannamorgan]

Oh, I was quite sure of that. It's just that I *never* like it, so you like it more than I do by default. *g*

[suededsilk.livejournal.com]

Interesting review. :) I always like hearing about potential new reading material! I've never seen the movies or read the books, so they'd be brand new to me.

Admittedly, I'm glad to hear Mr. Moto isn't the focal character. *sheepish* Just based on your description, I don't know how well I would like a main character who's completely dispassionate in regard to people. I suppose *some* degree of dispassion is necessary in a job like that. Even Kelly & Scotty can be a little scary sometimes! But...you know that they have the best interests of an entire country and freedom at heart, as opposed to a single king or emperor. And generally, they *care*, even if they have to do something distasteful. Perhaps that's part of the difference, although it's a little chilling either way.

The whole honor/duty/face thing in Eastern culture is intriguing. It obviously greatly affects their viewpoints and way of life. I see some elements that we could probably use *more* of - honor, duty, respect, and the like - but also elements such as pride, which are wrong.

I've never been deeply fascinated by Asia (not to the point of endless research like some of my other interests, anyway). Maybe that's because it seems rather foreign and difficult to understand at first. But as of late, I've become a little more interested in it, partly because of my fashion studies, so I like that you brought it up. Obviously, so much manufacturing is done in Asia, and many of my classes dealt with that. One industry speaker in particular was discussing how differently they view business relations in China. Relationships are highly important, as opposed to our all-business, get-things-done mentality. They like to do business with people they have a relationship with, and very frequently, decisions will be made based on whether they like you, or whether you have a relationship with someone they know. Not that Americans *don't* do that, of course, but it's a whole 'nother level. For instance, take a business trip, and they'll go out with you to drink and karaoke till the wee hours, because they want to build that *relationship*.

Um...that diverged from the original topic...