The complexities of his characters with such expertise that the reader canĮasily forgive him.

These literary devices are a bit obvious at times, but Flanagan shows The dam represents Bojan's life precisely, and the reader sees this father's carefully constructed shields and the calculated release of emotion on every page. Flanagan uses powerful imagery and metaphors to tell a larger story.īojan is building a dam which takes years to construct its final purpose is to trap millions of gallons of water behind a wall, only letting out what is needed on a daily basis. It is no surprise that this Australian novel was made into a movie. It is not until Sonja is well into adulthood that she can no longer ignore her emotions. The reader follows Bojan and Sonja's struggle to make sense of her actions.īojan turns to alcohol and young Sonja is passed around from one family to the next until she eventually comes back to live with her father, whose drunken nights have turned abusive.Īt the age of 16, Sonja leaves her father behind and tries to forget her pain - something she has been striving to do from the moment her mother closed the front door on the family. This lyrically written novel begins with Maria Buloh walking into a blizzard, leaving her husband Bojan and 3-year-old daughter Sonja, never to return. 'The Sound of One Hand Clapping' is set primarily in a post-World War II construction camp for a hydro-electric dam in Tasmania, Australia periodically it flashes back to war-time Slovenia, and forward to modern-day Australia.

From the first page to the last, Richard Flanagan draws his readers into a story of a father and daughter first torn by war, then further ripped apart by its consequences.įlanagan uses this family's story to tell the tale that countless European emigrants lived: the attempt to rebuild their lives in a strange and unforgiving land while sorting through the scars of war and their toll on the human spirit. Redemption, 'The Sound of One Hand Clapping' evokes joy and anguish in the same breath. (CNN) - A story of war and betrayal, unstoppable love and Review: 'Sound of One Hand Clapping' tells story that should be heard

Sound of one hand clapping