THE GREAT FIRE by SHIRLEY HAZZARD (2003)

Second reading

I hardly know what to make of this rather melancholy novel about the aftermath of World War II. The central character, Andrew Leith, an acclaimed war hero, is engaged in a project to map the world-transforming changes in China. One of his wartime companions, Peter Exley, is busy in Japan prosecuting war crimes. Both are searching to discover a way to return to normal humanity. Both feel a paralyzing loneliness. This set-up led me to expect a more explicit examination of the effects of combat on the participants, yet, as it turns out, the background and the resulting personality of each of these men seem to be the cause of their sense of isolation.

Andrew Leith seeks for deliverance with an improbable love affair, while Peter Exley flounders in his search. This is the story of their quest.

I was put off by Shirley Hazzard's writing style, which seems extremely choppy to me, and by her tone, which is gloomy, even while depicting a budding love. Her habit of switching of point of view from one paragraph to the next without any indicator or division was often confusing and disconcerting, at least to me. Peter Exley's story is only sketched, so that I wonder why he is even included. I really did not enjoy reading The Great Fire, even though it is highly regarded. It received the National Book Award in 2003.