This is a wonderful novel and deserving of more literary praise and wider readership. Commencing with the death of a WW 2 Coastwatcher in Bougainville, the narrative takes a long and unflinching examination of, among other things, war, history culture, good and evil, and relationships. It is an erudite work laced with intricate detailed knowledge of culture and landscape as played out in various places including Pacific Islands, PNG, Australia, Japan. The reader is very soon immersed in each country where the action unfolds.
It would be tempting to treat the topic as an adventure but English resists this and crafts a literary treatise, no less dramatic, erotic or well-paced. Often when he describes how one of four cultures might deal with something – for example social politeness – it will slowly dawn, that the story is portraying it. His view of history in a post-truth era is to explore it as a prism from various character and cultural perspectives to bring an approximation of what may have occurred. The Coastwatchers, a life-long fascination of mine, were certainly heroes in Australian folklore, but their behaviour from the perspective of various actors, indigenous and colonial locals, the enemy, family, for example, may appear otherwise.
To my mind the principal character is a woman – vulnerable, strong, conflicted, a bystander – a type of flesh upon which the pigments of the initial drama, war and the death of a Coastwatcher, are transferred, and transformed like a type of illuminated screen – wonderfully drawn by English in an erudite, exciting and creative way. The story is a read for both men and women, and I wish my critical capabilities were refined enough to entice you to read it.
