The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Suffering. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a novel about pain and suffering as much as I did Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Set mostly during the building of the Thai-Burma death railway in 1943, the novel explores the range of human behavior from good to evil, often in the same characters. Prisoners of war were used as slaves to build the railway, and the scenes Flanagan describes can be difficult to read. Amid the suffering, there is kindness, courage and support. Flanagan reflects on memory, trauma and the ephemeral nature of life, especially through the life of protagonist Dorrigo Evans. Readers who enjoy finely written intelligent fiction are those most likely to enjoy reading this novel. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Narrow Road to the Deep North from amazon.com.