The Narrow Road to the Deep North (novel)
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel by Richard Flanagan and 2014 winner of the Man Booker Prize.
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| Author | Richard Flanagan |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction novel |
| Published | 23 September 2013 |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Media type | Print, e-book |
| Pages | 352 pp. (hardcover edition) |
| Awards | 2014 Man Booker Prize |
| ISBN | 978-1741666700 |
| OCLC | 864700580 |
The novel tells the story of an Australian doctor haunted by memories of a love affair with his uncle's wife and of his subsequent experiences as a Far East prisoner of war during the construction of the Burma Railway. Decades later, he finds his growing celebrity at odds with his feelings of failure and guilt.
The title is taken from the 17th century epic Oku no Hosomichi,[1] the travel diary and magnum opus of Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō.
Plot summary
Dorrigo Evans has found fame and public recognition as a war veteran in old age, but inwardly he is plagued by his own shortcomings and considers his numerous accolades to be a “failure of perception on the part of others”. He knows that his colleagues consider him a reckless and dangerous surgeon, and he has habitually cheated on his faithful and adoring wife, though his public reputation has been undented by the air of scandal that trails him in his private life.
Flashbacks describe Dorrigo’s early life in rural Tasmania, and his love affair with Amy Mulvaney, the young wife of his uncle and the love of his life, after he joins the Australian Imperial Force. His regiment is captured during the Battle of Java and is sent to labour on the Burma Railway, where he is reluctantly bestowed the leadership over his fellow prisoners and fights a losing battle to protect his charges against disease, malnutrition and the violence of their jailers.
After the war, the fates of the prisoners are shown. The "Goanna", a Korean man renowned for his brutality in the prison camp who was himself forced into the Japanese army, is hanged for his crimes. His superior officer returns to Tokyo and avoids capture as a war criminal by hiding among the ruins of Shinjuku; after a conversation with a Japanese doctor reveals to him the country’s human experimentation program during the war, he gradually absolves himself of any sense of guilt for his actions. Other Australian soldiers imprisoned with Dorrigo live through the trauma of their experience as prisoners. Dorrigo’s own acts of heroism, and the reverence of his fellow soldiers, fail to assuage his sense of shame and self-loathing.
Background
Flanagan wrote that his father's experience as a Japanese prisoner of war influenced him to write the book.[2]
Reception
The novel was critically acclaimed both in Australia and internationally on its release, with Man Booker judge chair AC Grayling praising it as a "remarkable love story as well as a story about human suffering and comradeship".[3][4][5] It was shortlisted for the 2014 Miles Franklin Award.
References
- Williams, Michael (26 September 2013). "Dinner with Richard Flanagan, a child of the death railway". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- Flanagan, Richard (21 September 2013). "Freeing my father". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Williamson, Geordie (28 September 2013). "Poetry without a shred of pity". The Australian. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- Herborn, Daniel (15 December 2013). "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Masters, Tim (14 October 2014). "Man Booker Prize: Richard Flanagan wins for wartime love story". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2014.