 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
...........
........... ............ |
|
| 27 July 2002 |
Love,
Grief, and Wisdom: 'The God in the Ink'
by Kathryn Lomer
Rhianna Boyle
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
The
God in the Ink,
by Kathryn Lomer. UQP,
2001.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Love,
grief and finding wisdom are the themes of Kathryn Lomer's
The God in the Ink. This is Lomer's first published
novel, the author having won the Josephine Ulrick poetry
prize in 2000.
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Like
many first time novelists, it seems that she has modelled
the twists and turns of her central character's life on
those of her own. As well as the similarity in the names
of Lomer and her character, Claire Loone, both left childhoods
in Tasmania to travel the world and teach English in Japan.
In Claire's case, her geographical journey corresponds
with a journey of self discovery as she falls in love
with Toshiyuki, a Japanese man who grew up in Paris, and
studies the zen art of sumi-e ink painting.
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Perhaps
because it draws so much on autobiographical elements,
the rules governing the novel's structure are closer to
the random, chaotic ones of autobiography than the controlled,
and often artificial, plot turns of a novel. Events are
touched on and forgotten without resolution, there are
anecdotes retold for their own sake rather than advancing
the plot, and there seem to be strands of recurring themes
but no defined central meaning. This is particularly so
in the first part of the story, which depicts Claire as
a child; wistful, socially isolated and seeking solace
in the landscape.
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
The
Second World War forms a background to the story. Claire's
father is a former POW, and as a child she sees the bitterness
he and his fellow veterans feel towards Japan, as well
as the damage the war caused. She also sees guilt in the
form of the Loones' alcoholic, reclusive neighbour who
is reputed to have been involved in inventing the atomic
bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then, in Japan,
Claire visits Hiroshima and sees the other side of the
conflict. While reading the novel, I sometimes wished
Lomer would draw her many mentions of the war together
and use them as the basis for deeper reflection or meaning.
In retrospect, though, I think that in refusing to allow
Claire or Toshyuki offer any sort of moral judgement on
the conflict, Lomer is demonstrating their freedom from
the bitterness that plagued their parents' generation.
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
