If by 'inescapably' you mean trapped in sprawling meandering threads with no meaning or relevance to the story that must be read out to completion before you realize you've been had, sure.

The sword buried in earthquake and the samurai-wife subplots come to mind even all these years later.

Still, it was riveting compared to the shaggy dog that was Tai-Pan, the only book I've had the distinction of hurling at the wall in disgust at its non-conclusion.

There is a 70s TV mini series that did a good adaptation of the Shogun book. So I decided to read the book, it was well worth it. At 1000+ pages I wish it could have been longer. I loved it.

Thanks for the suggestion. Adding 'Shogun' to my reading list

If you are adding Shogun then surely you also must add Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. A sprawling epic loosely based on history, with real historical people as characters

Thanks for suggestion. Added to my reading list ...

Highly recommend the audio book, if you're into that.