The Hired Man

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By Aminatta Forna
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A powerful novel about the indelible effects of war and the memories which stir beneath the silence of a quiet Croatian town, from Orange Prize-shortlisted and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna
‘Supremely masterful’ INDEPENDENT
‘The Hired Man seals her reputation as arguably the best writer of fiction in this field’ EVENING STANDARD
‘Terrific skill and insight’ DAILY MAIL
Gost is surrounded by mountains and fields of wild flowers. The summer sun burns. The Croatian winter brings freezing winds. Beyond the boundaries of the town an old house which has lain empty for years is showing signs of life. One of the windows, glass darkened with dirt, today stands open, and the lively chatter of English voices carries across the fallow fields. Laura and her teenage children have arrived.
A short distance away lies the hut of Duro Kolak, who lives alone with his two hunting dogs. As he helps Laura with repairs to the old house, they uncover a mosaic beneath the ruined plaster and, in the rising heat of summer, painstakingly restore it. But Gost is not all it seems; conflicts long past still suppurate beneath the scars.
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Forma's writing is deceptively simple but the effect is both subtle and lyrical. There are clues along the way that hint at the tragedies that may have happened in the area, our own knowledge of recent events in E. Europe being a big pointer.
The air of uncertainty permeates the novel. The author's skill is evident in her subtle dissection of character, family, community. On the surface a story of an English family spending the summer in an old house they had bought cheaply in e. Europe. The tragedies hinted at are not referred to in conversations. The underlying theme is man's nature with selfishness and savagery to the fore when this benefits the individual or the community.