Michael Ondaatje: Warlight (2019, Penguin Random House)
304 pages
English language
Published April 5, 2019 by Penguin Random House.
A confused narrative that seems to be a requirement for any novel aspiring to being literary these days. Whilst this has some moments of description and atmosphere the whole tale is not credible whatsoever.
A strange, wonderful story, full of surprises, enjoyment and pleasure that develops into sorrow, loss and loneliness. It's a novel that has a lot to offer. I think I will read it again.
Read the full review here Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
The star of this novel is Ondaatje's writing. There is a beautiful, dream like quality to this story, which seems to have two parts. The protagonist is a boy named Nathaniel with mysterious parents who abruptly leave him and his sister in the care of a strangers. It's a memorable opening line:
"In 1945, our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals."
The first part of the novel shows us Nathaniel and his sister Rachel learning to cope without their parents, and their relationships with men they know as The Moth and The Darter. These two teenagers navigate coming of age, while getting a glimpse of a hidden layer of post war society. The second part portrays Nathaniel as an adult, struggling to have a relationship with the woman who left him for so long and trying to crack the …
The star of this novel is Ondaatje's writing. There is a beautiful, dream like quality to this story, which seems to have two parts. The protagonist is a boy named Nathaniel with mysterious parents who abruptly leave him and his sister in the care of a strangers. It's a memorable opening line:
"In 1945, our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals."
The first part of the novel shows us Nathaniel and his sister Rachel learning to cope without their parents, and their relationships with men they know as The Moth and The Darter. These two teenagers navigate coming of age, while getting a glimpse of a hidden layer of post war society. The second part portrays Nathaniel as an adult, struggling to have a relationship with the woman who left him for so long and trying to crack the mystery of what it all meant.
Warlight is fascinating, and I recommend it.
Most of the great battles are fought in the creases of topographical maps.
Barack Obama's 2018 summer reading list brought this to my attention, otherwise I would have missed it entirely.
I am somewhere between "it was okay" and "liked it" on this book. I liked how the story unfolded and gaps were filled in as Nathaniel matured and began to learn more about his past and himself. The story describes how the innocence of youth can mask what is going on around us and the efforts we take to fill in the pieces or go back to that time.
The story felt like a relaxing ride on a river with someone who is sharing a tale, bringing forward memories as they come and at the end of the trip you're not sure what happened but enjoyed the journey all the same.
