by Sue,
Well,
ladies, I think this might be a salutary lesson to me:
don’t choose a book just because it’s won a prize. Reading the reviews,
we are
in for some deeply depressing, gruesome scenes. Perhaps tellingly, there
is no
Reader’s Discussion section in my edition; and though the book is widely
acclaimed, there are those who feel it would have been a much better
piece of
work if the love interest had been excised and the text much shorter. My
hardback’s pretty heavy. The book is topical in that it deals with WW2,
concluded seventy years ago and thus the subject of much attention here
in the U.K. “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” provides an Australian
point of view, and is set on the Burma Death Railway. Given a claim I
made
previously about reading being good for our humanity, does this text add
anything to our understanding of human motivation for and response to
war? This
is all a bit heavy, ladies. Can we find any humour in it? Please. 
Hello Ladies!
ReplyDeleteHope you are both doing well. Nothing too crazy going on here. Summer has been a little cool so far. I’m a bit envious of your heat wave, Sue. Is it still going on? I’m pleased to not be so tardy on this month’s book. I think there are some spoilers in here, so please hold off reading my review until you’ve finished.
I have to say this book was sad and emotional, but extremely powerful. I was very captivated by this book. We forget sometimes how cruel humans can be, and also how resourceful and resilient. How did you ladies feel about Dorrigo Evans? Despite all his flaws, I admired him greatly. I admired his fortitude during his time in the POW camp. I marveled at his determination to protect the soldiers from pain and death. One part that particularly struck me was when Dorrigo gave up the steak. Dorrigo is so conflicted between his desires and the needs of the men. He feels that he is not selfless or strong. Isn’t selfishness a basic animalistic instinct? But it is our humanity that helps us rise above that selfish nature as Dorrigo did.
Along with Dorrigo’s humanity, Mr. Flannagan created many deep and extraordinary characters with great depth. This may have been a reason I found this novel so powerful. His characters were not one dimensional. Even the “villains” were hard to completely hate. They too are humans with weaknesses and flaws. I saw them, not as the enemy, but merely soldiers performing the duties of their nation. Typically when reading a novel, I tend to love the protagonist and despise his nemesis. But this time that wasn't the case. It was incredible how Mr. Flannagan was able to create such characters.
Sue, you note that some people would prefer that Amy and her part in the novel be removed but I disagree. The Narrow Road to the Deep North was intense with little humor. Amy and Dorrigo’s love affair gave a reprieve to the reader from the horror of the POW camps. I believe that this was Mr. Flannagan's purpose in Amy. I did feel a great deal of sympathy for Ella. It was a shame that she ended up with a man who could not and did not love her. It seemed to me that Dorrigo would never have loved Ella whether or not he had ever met Amy. Do you ladies agree or do you think he would have eventually loved her if Amy had not been present?
Again Sue, I found this novel to be one of the most powerful novels I've ever read. There was just so much emotion and intense themes. I very much look forward to your thoughts on this novel.
Much Love,
Katie
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteSo pleased you’ve posted early, Katie. I have to post early, too, because we will be in Turkey in a few days and I’m not sure about Internet connections.
I’m not sure about the British heatwave either. But Mum seems to think it’s warm, so perhaps it’s continuing. It’s certainly very hot here in Malaysia and Brunei. And mosquito ridden. Nevertheless, it’s really good to meet up with friends and relatives. We’ve been spoilt rotten.
So pleased you enjoyed the book, Katie. Your comments are a real tonic. You’re right about needing the relatively light relief provided by the sections dealing with Dorrigo’s relationship with Amy. And I’m with you entirely about Dorrigo’s relationship with Ella. It was never going to be good. His motivation for getting married (to cement his move into her social class?) revealing a superficiality – and subsequent awful selfishness – completely but temporarily overcome by life in the POW camps. He certainly reflected the best and worst of human nature – a really human, admirable hero whom sympathized.
Why do we think the author has him discover he’s Frank Gardiner’s uncle? Early on, Darky saves Dorrigo’s life. Failure to save Darky’s life haunts Dorrigo. Does it matter if they are related? Or is it an insight into Dorrigo’s brother? Or into an Australian society that, like Japan, had its own racial issues?
You couldn’t help but love Darky Gardiner: and whilst I know giving Rooster MacNeice a particularly horrible ending would have reduced events to pantomime, it would have been satisfying.
I’m not sure about the humanity of the Japanese: the scene in which the Japanese soldier is viciously slapped by a superior, and the description of Goanna’s life as a Korean in Japan, seem a laboured and inadequate explanation of Japanese cruelty: bullying encourages bullying in any culture. But Flanagan certainly did a wonderful job of making Nakamura into an inhumanely practical and convincing character.
The research, the years the writer spent living with this horror and heroism, was apparently motivated by the experiences of the author’s father. One wonders whether Flanagan’s relationship with his father was anything like that of the children of the returned soldiers in Flanagan’s book. Perhaps not – his father must have talked about what happened.
The time shifts made the sequence of events difficult to follow, and I’m not sure what they added to the impact of the narrative. Makes the reader work harder, obviously, but the subject matter is already hard work. The most powerful sections concerning the war were almost impossible to read: the operation on Jack Rainbow whilst Frank Gardiner was dying unbearable; the hundred chosen for the march shaking Dorrigo’s hand meant I couldn’t read anymore for tears. Yet I know such a scene is film fodder – where it would seem a cliché.
Perhaps it is for that reason that I found very moving Mrs. Rainbow’s metaphor for love: the note that comes back to you – “ . . . like you’ve thrown a plum and an orchard comes back to you.” Without Jack, everything was silent.
(Sorry it's in two parts ladies - as ever, too garrulous!)
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of conclusions, I’m not sure about the scene at Mr. Nikitaris’s fish shop: is it rather clichéd too? Or is it that we’ve all seen so many war movies we’ve become cynical? I liked Darky’s comparison of the men to the fish in Mr. Nikitaris’s tank. (Do we think Flanagan is a vegetarian?!) The men’s meal with Marcos is Darky’s gift. Still, I wasn’t sure about it. What do you think, ladies?
Any humour in the book is confined to the soldiers’ conversations, where it wasn’t funny at all. We knew what was going to happen to the men, so light hearted conversation seemed like futile, sad bravery. But what else to do in their situation? The black humour in bringing up the rear of a stretcher carrying a dead body and hoping the body “ . . . don’t feel a final squirt coming on” has to be admired. And it certainly contributed to the horribly vivid depiction of life in the camp.
A deeply moving book, powerfully written – loved the poetry. But I think I preferred “Regeneration”. This could be because Flanagan is competing with all those WW2 and Vietnam War films. Perhaps the topic’s been covered in a similar way so many times I’m unable to fully appreciate the author’s particular perspective. He seems to be suggesting “All we need is love” of humanity. Without it, there’s only fire (lots of fires), water and failed individual relationships. Clearly, I’m simplifying here. Nevertheless, for all the excellence of the writing, something didn’t feel quite right.
It does need re-reading. I don’t know whether I have the emotional energy. And you’ll have needed a lot of energy to get through this really long review, ladies.
Take care of yourselves – hope it’s got a bit warmer in Australia, Nancy.
Love to you both
Sue
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteWell as usual I’m running true to form and am late with my comment. I did finish our novel a couple of weeks ago but have been slack with my post. I’ve lent my copy to my Boss so our discussions lately seem to start with….
So what do you think of Dorrigo?
or
Who is your favourite character, or who do you dislike the most?
I have to be careful as he hasn’t finished yet and I don’t want to be a big spoiler, not a good look with the Boss.. haha.
I hope all is well with you both, Sue I’ve been watching the unrest in Turkey on the TV and only hope you are no where near that and you and Jay are safe and enjoying yourselves.
I found this a very powerful novel as well Katie, and often struggled with some of the more horrible scenes. It was incredibly sad to read of the torturous conditions endured by all the POW’s.
I have recently been to Melbourne with Gracie and while we were there we visited the Shrine of Remberance and viewed the exhibits, it’s an amazing place, they had of course as one of the display the soldiers who built the Burma railway and it was very moving to be looking at actual people and scenes and be reading this story at the same time.
What do I think of Dorrigo?
I quite liked him. He seemed to have incredible courage and compassion when times where really tough. As a commander at the camp and when he braved the fires in Tasmania to rescue his family, he put his life in danger and saved everyone even though he had confessed to not really love any of them. He was a social climber and an obvious womaniser, and he seemed to enjoy the things that his celebrity gave him.
I feel Amy and Dorrigo’s relationship was important to the story, not only to provide some relief from the horrors in other chapters but also I guess to show the fallibility of a man who by his actions in a war situation was held up a hero but really thinks nothing of committing adultery with his Uncles wife in his Uncle’s home. I really like how Flanagan has made his hero human and full of contradictions.
I feel as you say Katie, Flanagan seems to have crafted multi dimentional characters. Also such contrasts not only with his characters personalities but also their life circumstances. Perhaps this is why he created the familial relationship between Darky and Dorrigo. Both men showed courage, leadership and honour but because of the social prejudices of the time, ended on very different paths.
Darky was my favourite character and I felt so sad at his unjust treatment. The contrast to Koto’s almost beheading of him and a fast death as opposed to the agonising slow dying by his beating was heartbreaking.
I also found the story of the soldiers dinner in the fish and chip shop a little coincidental and needed to keep reminding myself this was a novel and not a factual account of events and Flannagan moulded his story to suit his characters.
I have to say Katie, I do disagree with you I couldn’t find any reason to like Nakamura.
His drug addled handling of the camp and his claims of “All for the Emperor” fell very short when he was faced with the choice after the war to help the young people he came across and he chose to murder the boy and leave the young girl naked and freezing surely ensuring her death. He could have chosen then to be honourable but he selfishly chose himself proving to me he was an evil character and I really didn’t like him very much
I am very glad I have read this book, and perhaps because it was written by an Australian about predominately Australians I felt an affinity with it, for me Flanagan has captured a time and generation of Australian characters that feels very authentic.
Sue, please be safe, I hope by now you are having a ball in London.
Katie, much love to you and your family.
I have asked Yvette if she would like to join us in the book club, I am hopeful she will be able to. Even though we met in Norway, she is another Aussie !!! No I am not trying to load the deck haha.
love and hugs, Nancy
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteThank you for your concern. I'm happy to report that we arrived in London last night - where the tube drivers were on strike and we had to pay a fortune for a taxi. In the parts of Turkey we visited, there was no trouble at all - if you discount a surplus of tourists and very hot weather. The military situation was talked of, but mostly as a problem of the government's making. People were more concerned about the difficulties of making ends meet.
We absolutely loved it as a country - wonderfully helpful people. Old men gave up their seats outside cafes. (Shocking confirmation of how old we look.) Ephesus's remains are so substantial that it was easy to reconstruct the lives of those who had occupied the city. This was a good thing as lacking Rowly we weren't good at seeing a city in a few humps of grass.
Will be ordering this month's book just as soon as we reach home - next Monday.
Lots of love to you and your families
Sue