The Great Fire

war, peace, love,selfishness, beautiful souls, sad souls, far east, china, japan, hong kong, a sprinkle of colonialism, army life, living in the countries that have been won, the disappointing look of peace, life at the edges of the world, ... gripping fascinating

A beautifully told story about those people who manage to survive and those who fail to recover from the devastation of war. The author's prose is stunning and her ability to keep multiple narratives equally engaging is exceptional. Hazzard's ironic gaze at the emotional drain of war upon both losers and winners is unflinching. Even lesser or minor characters in The Great Fire are fully developed beings. Viewed through the lens of Brits and Aussies in Hong Kong, Japan, and England after 1945 it is an eye-opening account and a viewpoint not appreciated by many Americans.An affecting and original look at the emotional wreckage of war.

Hazzard's multi-character romance in 1947 and 1948, is set in the Far East and in England, a world recovering from the deep ravages of WWII. The main plot centers around a romance between a decorated English war veteran named Aldred Leith (age 32) and a young girl, Helen Driscoll (age 16), with an important subsidiary character, an Australian friend of the Brit, Peter Exley, who is pursuing war crimes prosecution in Hong Kong.This is just an amazing novel. It's one of those books that has some flaws but is so terrific that I just have to disregard them and strongly recommend it to you. Hey, "Jane Eyre" and "Crime and Punishment" have serious flaws, too. I'll briefly summarize the problems: I think Hazzard's generally beautiful and understated prose can tend towards the purposefully obscure -- a little more information is sometimes needed (this novel is not for the dim) -- although the story is very clear, even in its details. I also didn't like that the British protagonist's main act of heroism in war was never described (only the events behind his less important decoration were, as I understood it). Most importantly, the Australian's story was never resolved, which I think is a serious error.Finally, I also want to point out that there is some serious suspense about the final resolution of the plot. Which makes a few of the negative reviews below kind of funny.Go read this novel. I loved it. I mean loved it.

I would suggest Virginia Leishman's excellent audio narration of The Great Fire to anyone who may have trouble appreciating Shirley Hazzard's intricate and exquisite prose. I read the book years ago and loved it, but listening to Leishman's stellar reading was a revelation. This is a wonderful book and deserves notice. Highly recommended.

No, this is not the Da Vinci Code. Or John Grisham's The Firm. But here's the good news: I enjoyed both the Da Vinci Code and The Firm, and I loved The Great Fire. You don't need to be a snob to enjoy this book. It's a great story with great characters. But you're more likely to enjoy it if you really love writing (not just a good story, but also how language is used to get the story across). It is true that you will be challenged at times. When I started reading the book, I had the feeling that I didn't really know what was going on or who was who--Hazzard's style is not very linear. But in time everything starts making perfect sense, and you can't help being fascinated by the extraordinary command of the English prose that Hazzard has. With one sentence she can convey a place, a time, a feeling, an emotion in a way that you'll think you're there and it's happening to you. I believe she's one of the most talented writers I have ever encountered, and I've read a lot. I recommend this book to anyone who truly loves both great fiction and the English language.

Beautifully written and would be nice to listen to in an audio version. I was confused by the entrance and exit of a number of characters, but still found it immensely engrossing.

I found this to be a very moving, beautifully written story. The characters were compelling, The emotions expressed in a subtle, beautiful way. It would bear rereading.

Ms. Hazzard has created an incomparable masterpiece in this book. Her prose is truly poetic. It is sensitive, philosophical, and deeply incisive. The winner of the National Book Award for 2003, it is one of the finest books of the decade. There are really few authors who are able to put this level of expression in so few pages. And each page is like a window upon somebody's soul, whoever she is talking about, as well as the reader.Set against the backdrop of post WW II occupation, Hazzard expresses so many emotions and feelings in one book, that it is truly exceptional. With a basic anti-war theme throughout, she creates a love story, a very unlikely love story, that is the central theme of the book. But within, she shows us, despair, sadness, mutilation, ennui, elation and imbecility, side by side with love, tenderness, sensitivity, human kindness and purity of heart, especially, as that purity meets the cruel, real world. The book takes a very long trip through an existential reality, yet shows how such reality can be controlled, at least partly, by our decisions and actions.With stylistic brilliance, Hazzard creates metaphors that are truly magical, and even uses some hugely effective and informative epistilary style with mail, that is not instant, but takes weeks sometimes to travel halfway around the world. Yet in the face of all this turbulence, this destruction, this horror, what may prevail as the strongest thing, is true and pure love. While the concept is surely not new, the manner in which Ms. Hazzard expresses it surely is.This book is suggested for any reader interested in some of the most profound and exquisite writing to be found. It has appeal to virtually every group of thinking readers. It is a book that speaks to the reader on many levels, but to all of the readers, it has a way of speaking to them personally.

This is the first book I have read by Shirley Hazzard, and was the choice of the local book group, and seeing how it got some very good reviews on publication from a number of papers I was admittedly expecting something better than this. There may be some lovely prose here, but it takes more than that to make a good book, as we all know. This is an okay book as such, but really, I cannot see anything great about it, and indeed it feels mundane, lacklustre, and lacking soul.Semi-autobiographical in part and the first novel that had been published by the author in twenty-three years this is told in the third person narrative style and takes in the viewpoints of three characters, although Major Aldred Leith is the main character of the book. Arriving in Japan in 1947 so he is there more from a sociological angle rather than an occupation force soldier. As he meets the family who he will be staying with as such, the Driscolls, so he forms an attachment with the children of the family, falling for the seventeen-year-old Helen, although he is himself in his early thirties. These are two of the characters that we read from in this tale, along with Aldred’s friend Peter Exley.The story itself is rather subtle and although bringing up a number of themes, never really pursues them making this a story of ideas more than anything else. The romance between Aldred and Helen seems to read as somewhat false and more of an infatuation than the real thing although Helen who can be seen as the author did herself marry a much older man in Francis Steegmuller. Never really grasping matters by the horns so this does raise the atrocities of the preceding war as well as colonialism and the damage that had done. We can also see that although Britain may be the Mother Country for those who come from Commonwealth nations, it is fast losing its power and influence in the world as America and Russia become the two major forces, with worries about what will happen with China as Mao starts to make inroads.This thus becomes style over substance, which if you are interested in Asia and this period of history does not manage to give us a better understanding through the author’s eyes, and will annoy a number of people at times with subtle allusions to literature and history, that if it does not go over the heads of many, will with others cause annoyance as they are unaware of what the allusions are pointing to, creating alienation when other readers are aware of these ‘in-jokes’ as such. It will be interesting to see how the discussion we have about this book will go at our next meeting, and I am sure there will be a number of varied opinions.

Every word, every phrase and every sentence in this extraordinary work of art is chosen with great care. Her love of words shines through, just like the greatest of poets. The characters are unusual, but they grow on the page as she gradually presents them to us. The locations are unusual to most of us too, taking us to exotic places in Asia which she knows well from her own upbringing - and offset by the awful provincialism (at that time) of New Zealand. And at the heart of the book is a great love affair, that grew out of the horrors of war.A book to read, and then re-read.

My favourite book! Beautifully written, maybe a bit slow but I loved it!

Awful book. No sense from beginning to end. Surprise at having received The National Book Award: wonder what the other books must have been!

rather disappointing book. Title gave very little clue about what book was about and characters not very well drawn and did not engage with them. Sorry..I read it with my book group and very few people liked it but we all finished it!