The Great Fire

A Novel

De: Shirley Hazzard

Narrado por: Virginia Leishman

National Book Award, Fiction, 2003

This mesmerizing, poetic novel has earned universal acclaim. Set against the beautiful but tragic landscape of post-World War II Asia, The Great Fire tells a sweeping tale of the search for new beginnings in a world ravaged by tragedy.

Thirty-two-year-old war hero Aldred Leith is in Japan to survey the Hiroshima devastation. His close friend and fellow veteran Peter Exley prosecutes Japanese war criminals in Hong Kong. Striving to rebuild lives shattered by war, both men reach critical turning points. Leith falls in love with a precocious and charming 17-year-old girl, while Exley faces a decision that will forever alter his path.

Author Shirley Hazzard's first novel in more than 20 years, The Great Fire is an elegant and beautifully crafted story that resonates long past the final word.

©2003 by Shirley Hazzard (P)2004 by Recorded Books, LLC

Reseñas de la Crítica

"What blows away all cobwebs is the extraordinary quality of the writing, gravely beautiful and utterly attentive...[a] marvelous book." (The Observer)
"Hazzard combines emotion on a scale we associate with 19th century novels with language that has the freedom and lucid precision of early 20th century modernism." (Salon.com)
"The purity of her sentences, each one resonant with implication, create an effortless flow. This is a quiet book, but one that carries portents well beyond its time and place, suggesting the disquieting state of our current world." (Publishers Weekly)

A great book

Very well written, good plot, great characterization, this is one I'll come back to read again in the future.

A Masterpiece

Quite simply, the loveliest most profound, most gorgeously written book I’ve read in quite some time. Shirley Hazzard’s prose is as good as it gets. Heartbreaking and marvelous.

lovely writing, evocative descriptions

though initially I thought this book would be slow going, I was ultimately moved by hazzard's richly detailed and thoughtful insights into human behaviors, both large and small. perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but for me it was a pleasure. note: I am surprised that there is no audio book for hazzard's best known work, the transit of Venus

what war does

How does one recover from the horrors of war and cope with the sense of loss and change both in oneself, in others and in the world in the aftermath is the difficult theme that this book tackles so well. It's a challenging book emotionally and an extraordinary chronicle of the social changes that the war had especially for England--the loss of the empire and the breakdown of the class system. But it's also a book about people and the various ways in which some suceeded and some failed in trying to get back to their lives. It's beautifully written--has the feeling of being from another era and yet it's not too hard to see that it speaks to the present as well. Patience is rewarded with this one.

A high-class romance novel

The "Great Fire" is a high-class romance novel that contains a mixture of historical fiction, psychological portraiture, political commentary on WWII and its aftermath (particularly in east Asia, but also with some focus on England & Australia & New Zealand). It should appeal to those who enjoy traditional romance novels, but also to readers who prefer historical fiction & literature, with some romance thrown in to drive the action
All of the principal characters might be considered as members of the walking wounded. Wounded by upbringing, wounded by war. All are seeking a way out of their wounds by helping others, in official capacities (bomb survey, postwar trials, nursing relatives) and in their personal lives. Out of this the central & surprisingly believable love story between decorated war veteran of 32, and an 18 year-old girl, much older than her years in some respects & an 18 year-old in others, emerges.
The author has a hypnotic writing style that brings the reader into the frame ... understanding the motivations of the characters & their environment without much third-party explication. This is what gives the book so much power. You are drawn into the frame & truly want to know the outcomes for each of the characters in turn. One of those books where you hope to have a sequel, to see how things turned out but, in reality, it is better to let your own imagination work those turns without an author's assistance.

Literary and lyrical

I agree that this book is better read on paper than listened to, because there is so much interior reflection on the part of the characters without much warning about the transitions. But what lovely and elegant writing! It captures an era that most of us never knew.

The Great Fire -- A Wonderful Listen

I certainly disagree with the other raters. I found the voice of this listen gentle and appropriate. The scenes were so well drawn, ala Proust, that I could picture both Japan and Hong Kong. I found the characters for the most part likeable. Remembering that Aldred was 32 and Helen 18, older than he thought at first, I never imagined him a pedophile. This is a lovely listen.

Pretentious, offensive and overwritten

This is the love story of a 32 year old British war hero, an upper class highly educated man of the world
, and a 16/17 year old girl he meets in Japan whom he refers to with friends as “the changeling.” One never really is given to understand the basis of the attraction on his part, except for lust. On her part she’s a young, inexperienced child wanting to get away from her cruel parents. There are reasons that sex with underage people is illegal, but this factor never seems to be acknowledged in the book. If you don’t find this offensive, you might like this book. That is, if you can get past the ridiculously pretentious, oh so literate writing style. The reader is average, and apparently unwilling or unable to approximate the Australian and American accents called for. Occasionally one doesn’t know who is talking. I did finish the book, but its overwrought style had me chuckling in various places that weren’t supposed to be funny.

Good

Good book. Would have enjoyed more history and cultural context. Mostly interesting love story balanced be men reconciling war and women waiting.

Brilliant

The author rewards the efforts of the reader with quiet memorable images and a surge of emotion in the powerful ending.

For me, both the exquisitely performed audible version and ultimately the text were required so that I could more easily mark and quickly reread favorite passages and emerging themes. Like an impressionist painting, The Great Fire needs inspection from a distance and from very close (to appreciate the loving brush strokes).

I had trouble reading Transit of Venus, but I might try that book again under different conditions where I could devote more attention.