Navigating Post-WWII in Warlight

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I'll admit, I only read this book because I saw that Michael Ondaatje was coming to Pittsburgh as part of the Pittsburgh Arts & Lecture Series. Historical fiction and espionage is not what I usually gravitate towards, but I thought, Why not?

So here I am now, after reading Warlight by Ondaatje in just two days. The pages seemed stuck together. I had no choice but to keep turning them.

It's London in 1945, right after WWII, and Nathaniel and Rachel's parents suddenly announce that they're leaving for Singapore. The children are left in the care of The Moth, a man who may or may not be a criminal. Nathaniel and Rachel find themselves navigating a new life with this quiet, observant man, orbiting him and the friends he always has over at their house: an unlikely group consisting of an old boxer named The Darter, an opera singer, an ethnographer, and others.

The group seems united in some strange way, and while Nathaniel puzzles over it, life goes on. He gets a part-time job, meets a girl, continues going to school. He becomes increasingly embedded in the lives of the adults around him, learning from them and finding his own way.

But when his mother reappears suddenly in his life after a violent encounter, Nathaniel's way of living is disrupted. He must suddenly parse his mother's real identity with who he thought she was, along with the secrets of The Moth, the Darter, and everyone in that circle. He once thought of them as strangers, then regarded them as friends and guides, only for them to return to shadows he can't pin to the walls.

While Rachel, angry at the secrets, turns her back on the family, Nathaniel searches for truth and tries to weave a story from the scraps he can uncover.

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By examining a family that is literally and figuratively separated by secrets, Ondaatje illustrates the fragmentation of Europe post-WWII and the ensuing search for answers and meaning in a world torn asunder.

With an older Nathaniel recounting the events of the book, the emphasis is placed on searching for truth in the past to give the present meaning. Now, in hindsight, he is able to see the connections, the secrets, the real identities and how all of these fit together and shape the life he has lived.

But the book is also about family, and the people we choose and grow to love. Everyone has secrets. Maybe that secret is a double-life and secret identity, like Nathaniel's mother. But maybe that secret is quieter, but no less profound, like a gentle soul hiding under layers of wildness and freewheeling.

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A historical novel set in 1945 London, I was hesitant to pick Warlight up. I've never quite got on with historical fiction, as the ones I'd read in the past were too focused on recreating the time period and recounting facts, rather than crafting the complex characters and interesting stories that are the true meat of novels. However, I didn't feel that same danger in Warlight. Nathaniel himself isn't that interesting (to me), but the characters he interacts with are. The way he recounts their mannerisms, their nuances, their habits and presences, is unique and lively for each one.

This novel is unlike other espionage novels, with their quick, action-packed, straight-flying plots. This novel is more contemplative and full of remembrances. It meanders, and shifts from one character to another. In most novels, these shifts often feel abrupt, or disrupt the rhythm of the read. This is the first novel I've read where the shift in character focus feels natural, smooth, like a river changing direction, rather than a drop of water bouncing from one rock to the next.

The cast of characters is large, but I found that each character arc was revisited by story end, and concluded, if not resolved. Some of these ties seemed almost two neat, but it was nice to have everything packaged with bows by the final page, when Nathaniel closes the door.

7/10 📕