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The Great Fire
The Great Fire
Author: Shirley Hazzard
The year is 1947. The great fire of the Second World War has convulsed Europe and Asia. In its wake, Aldred Leith, an acclaimed hero of the conflict, has spent two years in China at work on an account of world-transforming change there. — Son of a famed and sexually ruthless novelist, Leith begins to resist his own self-sufficiency nurtured by wa...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780374278212
ISBN-10: 0374278210
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 288
Edition: Today Show Book Club
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 4

3 stars, based on 4 ratings
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Great Fire on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book has won many awards, including the National Book Award, and Shirley Hazzard's prose can be wonderful. For me, it was a little bit of a struggle to read through the entire book. Much of the story centers on an unlikely love story in the East, immediately after WW II.
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reviewed The Great Fire on + 10 more book reviews
Praised as one of the 1001 books to read before you die, so I had to try it. Came away unsure of why it is proclaimed as so great. I tend to really like personal stories based in an unsettled or uncertain setting, such as post-war. Usually characters living in urgency are characters with depth and emotion; however, I found the characters in this book to be flat and static. The strand of emotional and physical desire between the adult male main character and the immature and vulnerable child/woman to verge on abusive. With no parents present to protect her (or uninterested in protecting her, which I found unbelievable), the pursuit of her lacked positive elements.
jazzysmom avatar reviewed The Great Fire on + 907 more book reviews
This is a British love story, so if you are interested in this place and era, you will like this. I very much enjoyed it. It is very well written and takes place after the war. It had me in tears in places but it is such a beautiful story, I just keep reading and turning the pages. I'm thinking this is possibly one of my most favorite love stories that i have read in the past few years.
bluebells2 avatar reviewed The Great Fire on + 5 more book reviews
A true love story during a unique period of time. Very engrossing and really enjoyed the international issues, the history, the way it was written and the love of the parties involved. A possitive, enjoyable read.
jareylee avatar reviewed The Great Fire on + 25 more book reviews
1947, Occupied Japan, story of love and separation. I needed a dictionary for some of the vocabulary in this book. Should be read twice; first to get the plot and characters (and vocabulary) and then to appreciate the author's excellent writing.
reviewed The Great Fire on + 25 more book reviews
The writing is very choppy. I had to read many sentences over again which greatly interrupted the flow. I thought some of the sentences were beautiful, but the book just was too ponderous.
reviewed The Great Fire on + 10 more book reviews
Hazzard is a master crafts(wo)man when it comes to writing. Every sentence is gorgeous!


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