The Great Fire - Chapters 11-22 and whole book (Spoilers)

[Hugh]

This topic is for free discussion of the second half and the whole book.

[Hugh]

This discussion has gone very quiet!

[LindaJ^]

I'll jump in with a couple of comments. I had to read my review, written in Jan 2018, to see if I could contribute anything and saw a couple of things.

First, I described the general feel of the book: "What a profound but sleepy novel. The prose is exquisite." Does that strike a chord with anyone?

Second, I thought the main theme of the book was an "exploration of how one moves on after having survived the horrors of war." That seems like an apt subject, at least for those who may have done a tour in the Middle East in the past 20 years. Or for anyone who lived with someone who has experienced the horrors of war. Did anyone else thing that was a theme?

[Hugh]

Thanks Linda - I agree with both of your observations - Aldred is certainly representing your second point. I must admit that it took 50 to 100 pages before I felt seriously invested in the story, but I think all of the introductory parts of the story were necessary, and the second half was more compulsive.

[Jenna]

I read Transit of Venus this year too, and the arch of Hazzard's thinking is very interesting. The first is very showy, so many quotes that I actually was reading with a pencil for the first time since school, lol. This is much more gentle, but still full of cultural references and pithy summarizations if not aphorisms. One of my favorites was the Aldred being told that he had expected everyone to be the same - like so many Penelopes.

I agree Linda, that Hazzard explores quite a few ways to respond in the aftermath of war, some of which are more or less successful: the nostalgic, the quest for justice, the emotional response to individual suffering, the love of place and mission or the commitment to others for whom love (platonic and romatic) moves you beyond yourself.

I found this book ultimately hopeful, a romantic triumph of love over all obstacles, and the way out of the despair that follows trauma, but without the maudlin pathos of so many love stories, including presumably his father's novel that he is reading in the first scene.

[Suzy]

I just finished this and am popping into the spoiler conversation. Just gathering my thoughts about what to say in my review.

To Linda's point about sleepy and exquisite prose, I found my reading experience at times exhilarating and at others my attention would wander. I did love the writing once I could "see" it. This book did not work as well for me in audio, although I had to finish the last part of the book by listening - my hardcopy had to be returned to the library. (Interesting there was a waiting list!)

I also believe this is about the aftermath of war. We learn so much about WWII on a global scale through Aldred's experience and reminiscences and some about WWI. I thought this very much about the disruption and dislocation caused by war and how a person's experiences and disorientation are amplified by it. I think the main questions this book asks are, post-war 1) who am I now, 2) where do I belong in the world, and 3) who do I belong with?

So much packed into this book! Lots of toing and froing both literally and in the minds of the characters. And an ending that satisfied, although much of the time I doubted it would happen.

[Suzy]

Looping back after listening to one of my favorite bookish podcasts Backlisted's episode on The Great Fire. One thing I thought after listening is that Hazzard creates in the reader a feeling of dislocation by the way she has written this novel. We just get comfortable in situation to be jerked out of it, etc., etc., etc. Worth a listen! (the discussion starts around 17:00)
https://www.backlisted.fm/episodes/7-...