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The Sound of One Hand Clapping
September 2025: Around the World
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The Sound of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan - 4 stars
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Had to chuckle at the title... last night at my board meeting some good news was announced and we all wanted to clap, but with only one hand ... So the woman seated next to me (her first meeting) put out her hand and I clapped it. Teamwork!As for your review ... I haven't read this one, but completely agree with your assessment of Flanagan, in general.
That is great teamwork! I've read a number of Flanagan's books and am slowly working on his back catalogue. He seems to tackle some pretty tough subject matter but it's always well written.
This book tells the story of the Buloh family. It primarily focuses on daughter Sonja and her fraught relationship with her father Bojan. They have fled from Communist Slovenia and settled in Tasmania. The storyline eventually reveals family secrets and what happened to her mother, Maria. The dual timeline alternates between the 1950s of Sonja’s childhood, and 1990, when Sonja reunites with her father after a long absence.
It is written in Flanagan’s usual lyrical style. The novel looks at the psychological impact of cultural change as well as individual reactions to trauma. Be forewarned that this book contains a great deal of disturbing content: (view spoiler)[such as child abuse, alcoholism, and suicide, (hide spoiler)]. I have read a number Richard Flanagan’s books, and I find that he always does a good job of writing characters with psychological depth. It’s hard to say I enjoyed this book due to its traumatic content, but I appreciated it as one that depicts a moving story of reconciliation.