Warlight

The first third was good, then there was a sudden jarring time shift and I should have listened to my gut instinct and abandoned the book right there. The last two thirds wandered around in circles, attempting to tie everything up, but it was so rambly and so full of convenient coincidences that I found the last two thirds of the book to be distinctly tedious. I ended up skimming the last 30 pages, just to get it over with.

Almost passed this one up, because I remember being a little underwhelmed by The English Patient. But [b: Warlight 35657511 Warlight Michael Ondaatje https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534085289s/35657511.jpg 57112070] is excellent for many reasons, one of them being its perfect title.

Nathaniel, 14, and Rachel, 16, are left in the care of their boarder by their parents for more than a year in post World War II England. That's how this novel starts out. The boarder, dubbed The Moth by the children, has a motley group of friends and acquaintances who fill the house and take on quasi parental roles in the children's lives. The first part of the novel deals with the confusion of being left by their parents and the unconventional experience of being raised and shaped by this group of likable but shady people, told from Nathaniel's point of view.

The second part of the novel deals with Nathaniel at various stages of adulthood, attempting to get to know his mother after she returns and after she has died. In the process he comes to understand more of what happened when he was a teenager and gains some insight into himself.

This is a gorgeous and mysterious book about incomplete vision, being hidden from others and from oneself.

More and more I find that the most important books to me are the ones that show the nuance of emotion within the hidden narrative. Ondaatje is so damn good at this. This is a worthy successor to The English Patient, with perhaps The Cat's Table being part of the series as well.

I really enjoyed this book, and the conclusion that it came to. The coming of age story in a time of war, when things are not quite what they seem but as a teenager you don't have a view of the entire picture just quite yet. It takes time and perspective and work to put all the pieces together. At the time, it's seen through a dim light, and you can't make out all the details.

This book was beautiful.