Is it a love story? Is it a story of redemption? Guilt? Or is it a story of war and man? I suppose you could build a case for any of these or even something else.
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller is a kind of puzzle. Miller builds up the story in sections through varied characters. You only see the whole picture towards the end. That is when it becomes a story. I made the journey as I liked the language. Otherwise I might not have made it to the end.
I also enjoyd Miller reading to me. It is always special when you have the author reading the story. I actually wonder why most authors don’t read their own stories. I also got to thinking that it seems to be popular to change the voice or even the reader for different characters. This can become, however, a little confusing with a single reader. Yet having several readers is not necessary. It becomes then more like a show. The trust in the word to carry itself is not there.
I bought this book some months back. It took me a while to get to it. It also took me a while to get through it. There is tension, but not enough to keep you from other entertainment forms. I would, however, recommend it to all readers who like good and pertinent descriptions. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free will also be of interest to all those readers who are interested in war trauma. It is set about 200 years back, so if that is your favorite period, this book is for you too. This is historical fiction, but the topics are still relevant today.
STARS:4/5
graphicgrub 