Last night, Louise Doughty came to The Haven at Fulham Broadway where some of this book club and a number of other book clubs heard her talk about the book and a little about her previous book Appletree Yard. There is something refreshing about hearing an author talk about the process - admit that writing is hard and hearing how considered the small stuff is. For instance, where the main character goes into town early on in the book, Louise had originally written he wanted to go in for 'some bits and pieces' but considered this too feminine, so opted for the line 'a bit of shopping'. I'd never really considered the gender status of some of our normal phrases. Or even how culture and country affect they way that we use phrases. It was also interesting to hear how a flash of inspiration, in this instance, the idea of a man, lying in a hut, listening to the sounds of the jungle wildlife, at night and expecting the worst to happen...the question is why, how did he get there and who is he......
To answer some of those questions: the protagonist is Harper an Indonesian/Dutch man, partly brought up in America and Holland, haunted by his past and the massacres of in Indonesia in 1965. Complex in its breath this book explores relationships, guilt, race and colonialism, along with that grey area of the security personnel who do the work government and their agencies don't want to be seen to be doing.
A fascinating book that I recommend reading. As this was an event we don't have our usual word to describe it or marks out of 10 from the group. But personally I would say slow to start, but riveting and give it 7.
Next Book
Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig
Date
12th April, Thursday at 126 Harbord St
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