Violence is never far beneath the surface, it’s always just over the horizon, it rarely leaves us alone. Surely one of the best means we have of examining our innate capacity for violence, to survey its insidious possibilities, is the novel. And surely one of the most astute English-language novelists whose primary focus is violence, particularly the lingering impacts of civil war, is Aminatta Forna.
Born in Glasgow and raised in Sierra Leone and Britain as well as in Iran, Thailand and Zambia, Forna’s previous novel was The Memory of Love, an awful though not inappropriate title for an astonishing work. This was a complex and multi-dimensional examination of the consequences of war in Sierra Leone, a country with which Forna clearly has a profound affinity. The novel was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2011 and won that year’s Commonwealth Writers Prize. The Hired Man, despite again delving into war, is a lighter, simpler work, and, due to a miracle of literary achievement, is an even more potent piece of story-telling.
Set in Croatia, and spanning the shaky decades leading up to 2007, The Hired Man has as its central protagonist a forty-six-year-old man called Duro Kolak. Duro lives alone, enjoys the company of his two dogs, and gets by doing odd jobs around his small hometown of Gost. A sometimes reticent soul, he is an adept observer of human relationships, but his real passion is hunting. Indeed, it is telling that on the first page of the novel there is Duro seeing a new arrival in town:
I trailed the bird lazily through my rifle sights and that was when I noticed the car. A large, newish four-wheel drive, being driven very slowly down an entirely empty road as though the driver was searching for a concealed entrance. I lowered the gun so that I had the vehicle fully in my sights but the angle and reflection of the sun made it impossible to see who was driving.
The woman who is driving is Laura…
Keep reading over at the Sydney Morning Herald. Originally commissioned by the Canberra Times and published on 3 August 2013; thanks to Rod Quinn.
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August 10, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
whisperinggums
A “Delicate and restrained work” appeals to me immensely. Would you believe, I received two email notifications today, one after the other, for reviews of her books – yours followed by American Marilyn’s for Memory of love. (In case you are interested, here’s a link to her review: http://mdbrady.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/memory-of-love-by-aminatta-forma/) I gave her a link to yours, but I now realise, that I stupidly gave it for the SMH site and not for your blog. Sorry!
August 10, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Sue, do seek out ‘The Hired Man’. It really is excellent, as is ‘The Memory of Love’. Both quite different, but very powerful writing. Forna is certainly someone to follow. I hope all is well with you.
August 10, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
whisperinggums
Thanks Nigel … I’ll certainly add her to my list! All is well here, but my, what a cold winter it’s been. Hope you’ve been warm.
August 11, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
Nigel Featherstone
Funny, I’ve been thinking that it’s been milder than usual. Perhaps Canberra’s had it worse this year? (Says he about to light the fire…)
August 11, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
whisperinggums
Ah ha! According to records the mean August maximum to date this year is 1.1°C less than the average. But I’m not sure about July. Maybe it’s just my aging bones! I’ve felt colder more often this year … I’ve just checked and they say July was warmer. Oh well, appearance and reality eh?
August 11, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
Nigel Featherstone
According to today’s Canberra Times: ‘After a warmer-than-average June, and a record-breaking July, Canberra is likely to record one of its warmest winters ever’. But I know what you mean – more and more I’m finding myself cold on even semi-mild days!
August 11, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
whisperinggums
And you’re not old! I could tell we had way fewer frosts as I’m the one who usually goes out to get the paper … You know, I think it’s because we had more grey days so it felt bleaker. Or, am I wrong about the grey days too!
August 12, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Aug
Nigel Featherstone
You know, I think you’re RIGHT about the grey days – perhaps we’ve had more of them than usual, so maybe that’s why we feel that it’s been colder? (PS Just an observation: our part of the world is near-perfect when the blue sky is out, but pretty bloody miserable when it’s cloudy.)
December 27, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Dec
GOOD READING OF 2013: from air ship to hired man and a fair bit in-between | Under the counter or a flutter in the dovecot
[…] Thailand and Zambia, expertly explores the forever lingering impact of the Croatian conflict. In my review for the Canberra Times (republished in the Sydney Morning Herald and elsewhere), I wrote: ‘Forna […]