Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
We read the story of fourteen-year-old Nathaniel and his elder sister, Rachel, in a narrative that is as alluring and enigmatic as memory itself—shadowed and bright at the same time. They remain in London after their parents go to Singapore in 1945, immediately following World War II, and are cared for by an enigmatic person known only as The Moth. They suspect he might be a criminal, and as they get to know his oddball group of friends—men and women united by a history of unspecified service during the war—they become both more and less concerned as well as more convinced that he is. They all seem, in some way, determined now to protect and educate Rachel and Nathaniel. But do they actually represent what and who they say they do?
And what does it imply when the siblings’ mother shows up again after several months of being silent without their father, offering no justification or excuse? Twelve years later, Nathaniel starts to learn what he didn’t know and understand at the time. In this masterpiece by one of the greatest writers of our time, he describes this journey using facts, memories, and imagination.
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
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The first timeline, which takes place when the main character is in his teens and has little control over his circumstances, is one in which the story takes place. He accepts things as they are and, although being intrigued about some of the people and events in his life, he feels unable to alter the situation. As a reader, I also wanted to understand the logic behind some events or the history of some of the supporting characters, but the details are not clear. The second timeline takes place when he is in his late 20s and on his own. The protagonist is thinking back on his past while looking for explanations for those incidents and people.
A tale of intrigue and espionage, Warlight is set in London in two different eras: the 1940s and 1959. In the 1940s story, Nathaniel, Rachel, and their parents all made it through the war. The tranquillity will not be easy to endure. Nathaniel’s mother vanishes after his father departs to work in Asia. A rotating cast of weird guys who appear to float on the periphery of the criminal underworld raise him and Rachel at the family home. There are murky dealings involving greyhounds and covert nighttime trips on a mussel barge up and down the Thames.
Nathaniel, who is in the process of growing up, works in kitchens, sows wild oats, and charms the many oddballs who hang out with his parents. Up until one evening when this bizarre universe implodes. Nathaniel is older and employed by one of the government security services in the 1959 section. He now has the chance to look into some of the enigmatic incidents that occurred in the 1940s. We learn specifically what happened to Nathaniel’s mother and her relationship with the oddly called Marsh Felon, a thatcher’s son who had long ago laboured on her roof.
