“Exquisitely crafted … the most interesting work of fiction published this year.” (Books of the Year, The Economist)
The year in question was 2003. What other books were in contention? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Da Vinci Code, The Kite Runner … 2003 cannot be declared a vintage year for literature with such an uneven vendage.
The book in question is a present from a friend; an admirer of both book and author. Shirley Hazzard – it’s her real name surprisingly – is an Australian-American novelist born in Sydney in 1931. She died in New York in 2016. Is her 2003 novel, The Great Fire, a spellbinding example of fiction at its best? Michael Cunningham thinks so: “Purely and simply, she is one of the greatest writers working in English today”. Her style has been compared to Henry James, Ivy Compton- Burnett, Elizabeth Bowen and Henry Green – not an entirely enticing prospect.
It’s a serious novel; if there was a joke I missed it. Her style is idiosyncratic – sometimes artfully illuminating sometimes verging on obscurity, always thought-provoking. Her theme is human relationships revolving around a central love story. She paints on a broad canvas with a large cast set in Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and England in the aftermath of the Second World War. The title may refer to Hiroshima, the Blitz, the love affair or all three. I’m glad to have read it but am not ready for another Shirley Hazzard for a while.