Author: Louis de Bernieres
Publication Information: Pantheon. 2018. 288 pages.
ISBN: 1524747882 / 978-1524747886
Book Source: I received this book through the Penguin First to Read program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "The crackle of gunshots bounced between the mountainsides, the percussion fading with each return of echo."
Favorite Quote: "No one is every only one thing. Inside one person there are so many different people, and quite often they're at war with each other, and sometimes one of them is winning, and sometimes another. We're all so hard to understand, aren't we? I don't even understand myself."
It takes a while to settle into this story because it takes a while for me to figure out what the story is actually about and what it is not.
The book description speaks about lives upended by World War I. The book is set in the 1920s and comes forward to World War II. "If you have been embroiled in a war in which you confidently expected to die, what were you supposed to do with so much life unexpectedly left over? There were so many ways of passing the peace, and you would never know what they would have been like, those roads not taken." Yet, the war is not really present in the book. Yes, there are deaths and impacts. However, that does not seem to be the heart of this story. I expected reflections on the trauma of war. The undercurrent of that trauma is there, but this book is more about relationships than the war.
The cover image and the description talk about Ceylon and India. The book opens in Ceylon. It delves into a little bit of the culture and the role of the settlers in the regions. I expect that cultural interchange to be a big part of the book. Again, I am disappointed because that portion of the book ends fairly early on as the story reverts back to Britain never to really return to other parts of the world.
Finally, the book description references this group of childhood friends. That is really what this book is about. It is about the ebbs and flows of the relationships in this group. In particular, it centers around Daniel, whose live seems directed by his interactions with members of this group. Friendship, marriage, moves, fatherhood, love, and despair all come to him through this group.
Once I realize that, I settle into Daniel's story. Daniel is a sad character. So much of his life and actions seem in reaction to others. "He had grown tired of being virtuous when there was not reward for it, and tired of having virtue thrust upon him by force of circumstance. He had, in a fit of pique coloured by a kind of loneliness, finally dropped his principles, and understood that sometimes a married person needs to take a lover if they are going to have any kind of romance or intimacy." I both feel sorry for him and want to shake him into action. I want to tell him that he can decide and make a different choice.
For all that or maybe because of all that, I keep reading and want to know where his story goes. It does not go where I expect it to. All kinds of philosophical and ethical conversations can be had based on his actions. I could see that being a great book club discussion. The ending, however, does not bring a conclusion to his story. It brings a defining moment, but not a conclusion. In fact, the book ends, poised to ask again the question that the story initially poses. It doesn't feel like a prediction of a sequel but rather an indication that the search for an answer is an individual one.
It takes a while to settle into this story because it takes a while for me to figure out what the story is actually about and what it is not.
The book description speaks about lives upended by World War I. The book is set in the 1920s and comes forward to World War II. "If you have been embroiled in a war in which you confidently expected to die, what were you supposed to do with so much life unexpectedly left over? There were so many ways of passing the peace, and you would never know what they would have been like, those roads not taken." Yet, the war is not really present in the book. Yes, there are deaths and impacts. However, that does not seem to be the heart of this story. I expected reflections on the trauma of war. The undercurrent of that trauma is there, but this book is more about relationships than the war.
The cover image and the description talk about Ceylon and India. The book opens in Ceylon. It delves into a little bit of the culture and the role of the settlers in the regions. I expect that cultural interchange to be a big part of the book. Again, I am disappointed because that portion of the book ends fairly early on as the story reverts back to Britain never to really return to other parts of the world.
Finally, the book description references this group of childhood friends. That is really what this book is about. It is about the ebbs and flows of the relationships in this group. In particular, it centers around Daniel, whose live seems directed by his interactions with members of this group. Friendship, marriage, moves, fatherhood, love, and despair all come to him through this group.
Once I realize that, I settle into Daniel's story. Daniel is a sad character. So much of his life and actions seem in reaction to others. "He had grown tired of being virtuous when there was not reward for it, and tired of having virtue thrust upon him by force of circumstance. He had, in a fit of pique coloured by a kind of loneliness, finally dropped his principles, and understood that sometimes a married person needs to take a lover if they are going to have any kind of romance or intimacy." I both feel sorry for him and want to shake him into action. I want to tell him that he can decide and make a different choice.
For all that or maybe because of all that, I keep reading and want to know where his story goes. It does not go where I expect it to. All kinds of philosophical and ethical conversations can be had based on his actions. I could see that being a great book club discussion. The ending, however, does not bring a conclusion to his story. It brings a defining moment, but not a conclusion. In fact, the book ends, poised to ask again the question that the story initially poses. It doesn't feel like a prediction of a sequel but rather an indication that the search for an answer is an individual one.
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