the narrow road to the deep north book review

What is the significance of the name of the novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North? Why might Flanagan have chosen to name his book after Basho’s well-known travelogue by the same name?Ģ. *Other Books by Same Author: Wanting (2009), The Unknown Terrorist (2007), Gould’s Book of Fish (2002), Death of a River Guide (2001), The Sound of One Hand Clapping (2000).ġ. The hardships of the war shine a light on the strength of the human spirit, the good versus evil, and the will to survive. They are complex and worthy of close examination. Book Club Talking Points: Talking Points:Many of the characters in this book provide an excellent vehicle for discussion. It stays with you for quite a while, and I couldn't stop thinking about it after it ended. There is much to talk about and examine in this book. The torment these men were forced to endure was unbearable. At times, it was hard to listen to because of the vivid descriptions of the brutality put upon the soldiers by their twisted captors. As a surgeon, Evans, has the insurmountable task of protecting and caring for the POW’s in deplorable conditions. He's a flawed man with many demons, which the author skillfully reveals throughout the story. Dorrigo Evans is the complicated protagonist. The author’s father was one of the POW’s in the camp.

It's a compelling story based on the building of the Burma Death Railway in 1943 by a group of Australian soldiers who were Japanese POW's. With that said, the beginning of the book is slow and challenging to get through, but once I was a few chapters in, I had to finish it. I would have preferred reading it rather than listening to it because it's descriptive and you need to pay close attention to get the full impact of the story.

PBR Book Review:As the winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize, I'd heard good things about this book and decided to listen to it on Audio.

The narrow road to the deep north book review