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Burridge Unbound
Book by Cumyn, Alan
342 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 26, 2020
I was not aware when I picked up this book that it was a sequel to Cumyn’s “Man of Bone”. That novel told the story of Canadian diplomat Bill Burridge, assigned to the South Pacific island nation of Santa Irene who was taken hostage by the Kartouf, a rebel terrorist group, three weeks after he arrived in the country as a junior diplomat. Burridge was imprisoned and tortured for nine months until he was finally rescued and returned to Canada. But he arrived home a shell of his former self, shaken and wracked with visions and nightmares of the electroshock therapy, rape, humiliation and starvation he endured. Although it all happened over two years ago, he still cannot get through a day without the assistance of his nurse Joanne. At times he feels he has never escaped the Kartouf. His brain seems to have saved and stored every morsel of his torture.
In this follow-up novel Burridge still struggles to hold his life together, saddened and humiliated by his physical condition and a shadow of his former self. He wrote a book detailing the physical and psychological abuse he endured in the hands of his captors which has been widely read and gained him a reputation as a survivor. It served him well after he returned to Ottawa and established a human rights organization. Although small and entirely dependent on the flow of donations to survive, it has gained a strong international reputation.
Burridge’s marriage did not survive his horrific experience. The requirements of his care and his strange, unpredictable and bad tempered behavior proved too much for his wife and his son Paul. Bill has moved out of the couple’s home and lives in an apartment, his caregiver Joanne only a phone call away. She organizes his schedule and medications and deals with his panic attacks. His frequent, violent outbursts often occur unexpectedly, out of proportion to anything that sparked them, but Joanne knows how to calm him. Every day Burridge is interrupted by the ghosts of his tormentors and agonizing scenes of his past torture. He is frightened of dark enclosed spaces and even taste can set him off, bringing back memories of his long months of incarceration when all he wanted was to die.
When Burridge learns that General Linga Mintzh, the brutal dictator who held power for more than twenty years on the island has been assassinated and that Vice President Banos has disappeared, he becomes glued to the Internet looking for more details. Amid looting chaos and violence, the wealthy residents who supported the regime scramble to escape now that their friend and protector has been killed. They head to the airport in limousines, paying off those who facilitate their flights to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Manila as the opposing factions that have emerged from the general’s followers battle it out to gain control of the country. But a small woman appears to be capturing the attention of the nation. Suli Nylioko is a widow, the wife of the leader of the Democratic Coalition which had been outlawed by the regime. Promised safe passage out of the country her husband was brutally gunned down by security forces as he boarded the plane. As his body lay slumped on the tarmac, his wife and children were allowed to leave. Suli returned two years ago to manage her family’s estates and founded The Freedom Party which people hope can lead them to peace.
Suli insists she had no part in the assassination of General Minitzh, calls for the military to rein in their soldiers and demands proper elections. Martial law is declared as the armed forces split into two factions. Minitzh’s elite Third Battalion is backed by Chief Mende Kul while the Vice Presidents naval units favor Tinto. If either Tito or Kul seize power there will be a blood bath. At a massive rally, Suli tells her people the country has had enough dictatorship, killing, looting and government corruption. She is joined by thousands of supporters as she stands between the troops loyal to Minitzh’ s cousin Tinto and those following the command of armed forces chief Mende Kul. The citizens kneel with Suli, dressed in the traditional blue sari of her native people, as they gather in silent prayer. Soldiers abandon their uniforms, slip into the crowds and the country enjoys a period when tanks and grenades disappear and bloodshed comes to an end. The country appears to have fallen in love with her.
Burridge continues to watch events unfolding in Santa Irene, curious to see how this small statured woman has defused a political catastrophe and captured the support of her people. He thinks back to his experience and wonders how she will ever manage to lead them out of the violence and corruption that pervades the country. She has little experience to handle the challenges ahead and must keep the two warring factions from overthrowing her and going after each other. But she appears serene and confident as she visits the graves of the dead, holds hands with the wounded in hospital, reviews the troops and prays, moving effortlessly through the crowds without security. When she is elected President, half her cabinet are women. She opens the first safe house for prostitutes, cracks down on the sex trade and approaches the UN for funds for a new police force, and health care. Meanwhile the Kartouf remains quiet.
It is during these early days that Burridge is contacted by the country’s ambassador and asked to serve on the Truth Commission Suli has established to expose past atrocities and take the steps needed to heal the country. Initially he is outraged by their invitation. How could the country responsible for his kidnapping and torture even consider making such a request? But after a disastrous interview in a national newscast during which he had a meltdown, he is anxious to restore his reputation. After that disaster, grants and donations to his organizations dried up and their coffers are dangerously low. He wonders if returning to the scene of his personal darkness is what he needs but he is also fascinated by Suli and what she has been able to accomplish. He is taken in by her sense of spirit and her talk of rebuilding an entire country. When Suli calls him personally urging him to accept, he finally agrees.
Once in Santa Irene, Burridge sits at the table with two others on the Commission, Chairman Sin Vello a retired Supreme Court justice and Mrs. Grakala, the widow of a former ambassador of Argentina who has been active with UNICEF. They have luxurious accommodations, food and drink. Burridge is determined to make the time he is spending on this work worthwhile but the only thing planned are the banquets where food and alcohol flow freely. There are large numbers of invited guests, none of whom are connected with the commission and plenty of pretty women who hover among the powerful men as photos are taken and toasts are made.
It soon becomes evident that nothing has been organized for the work to be dome. There are no schedules, agendas or timetables, no guidelines to choose witnesses or documents detailing the scope of the inquiry. It is not clear if the investigators have any power or if their decisions will be enforced. There are never any afternoon sessions but always another well attended, alcohol fueled reception following a half day of work. Burridge begins to feel complicit, compliant to their need to have him there to validate their opulence among the suffering and poverty of the people who wait patiently outside.
In the first days, simultaneous translation is not available and the entire time is spent with the Chairman’s long droning speeches no one can understand. When Burridge threatens to leave, the work finally begins to move forward. They listen to testimony from those who have suffered under the last regime and then move on to question the military and the security forces, who testify to carrying out despicable acts commanded by others, risking their lives if they refused. Those responsible of course have all disappeared or merged silently with the general population.
As the Commission collects reams of information, it is not clear what they should do next, unable to answer the questions they have raised. As threats of violence simmers around them, there are clandestine meetings, shifting alliances and secret betrayals. Suli is never safe and the forces against her gather quietly in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to change the direction of the country.
This is a powerful, troubling book which is not easy to read. It has a powerful message, examining what happens in countries that throw off a powerful dictator while a popular leader sits waiting in the wings, only to fall back into the world they once knew. Apart from one scene towards the end which proved puzzling, Cumyn has told his story with a realism that is frightening. He poses difficult questions, fully engaging his readers and keeping them turning the pages, wondering what will happen next.
The novel was a finalist for the 2000 Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award, a nod that is well deserved.
In this follow-up novel Burridge still struggles to hold his life together, saddened and humiliated by his physical condition and a shadow of his former self. He wrote a book detailing the physical and psychological abuse he endured in the hands of his captors which has been widely read and gained him a reputation as a survivor. It served him well after he returned to Ottawa and established a human rights organization. Although small and entirely dependent on the flow of donations to survive, it has gained a strong international reputation.
Burridge’s marriage did not survive his horrific experience. The requirements of his care and his strange, unpredictable and bad tempered behavior proved too much for his wife and his son Paul. Bill has moved out of the couple’s home and lives in an apartment, his caregiver Joanne only a phone call away. She organizes his schedule and medications and deals with his panic attacks. His frequent, violent outbursts often occur unexpectedly, out of proportion to anything that sparked them, but Joanne knows how to calm him. Every day Burridge is interrupted by the ghosts of his tormentors and agonizing scenes of his past torture. He is frightened of dark enclosed spaces and even taste can set him off, bringing back memories of his long months of incarceration when all he wanted was to die.
When Burridge learns that General Linga Mintzh, the brutal dictator who held power for more than twenty years on the island has been assassinated and that Vice President Banos has disappeared, he becomes glued to the Internet looking for more details. Amid looting chaos and violence, the wealthy residents who supported the regime scramble to escape now that their friend and protector has been killed. They head to the airport in limousines, paying off those who facilitate their flights to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Manila as the opposing factions that have emerged from the general’s followers battle it out to gain control of the country. But a small woman appears to be capturing the attention of the nation. Suli Nylioko is a widow, the wife of the leader of the Democratic Coalition which had been outlawed by the regime. Promised safe passage out of the country her husband was brutally gunned down by security forces as he boarded the plane. As his body lay slumped on the tarmac, his wife and children were allowed to leave. Suli returned two years ago to manage her family’s estates and founded The Freedom Party which people hope can lead them to peace.
Suli insists she had no part in the assassination of General Minitzh, calls for the military to rein in their soldiers and demands proper elections. Martial law is declared as the armed forces split into two factions. Minitzh’s elite Third Battalion is backed by Chief Mende Kul while the Vice Presidents naval units favor Tinto. If either Tito or Kul seize power there will be a blood bath. At a massive rally, Suli tells her people the country has had enough dictatorship, killing, looting and government corruption. She is joined by thousands of supporters as she stands between the troops loyal to Minitzh’ s cousin Tinto and those following the command of armed forces chief Mende Kul. The citizens kneel with Suli, dressed in the traditional blue sari of her native people, as they gather in silent prayer. Soldiers abandon their uniforms, slip into the crowds and the country enjoys a period when tanks and grenades disappear and bloodshed comes to an end. The country appears to have fallen in love with her.
Burridge continues to watch events unfolding in Santa Irene, curious to see how this small statured woman has defused a political catastrophe and captured the support of her people. He thinks back to his experience and wonders how she will ever manage to lead them out of the violence and corruption that pervades the country. She has little experience to handle the challenges ahead and must keep the two warring factions from overthrowing her and going after each other. But she appears serene and confident as she visits the graves of the dead, holds hands with the wounded in hospital, reviews the troops and prays, moving effortlessly through the crowds without security. When she is elected President, half her cabinet are women. She opens the first safe house for prostitutes, cracks down on the sex trade and approaches the UN for funds for a new police force, and health care. Meanwhile the Kartouf remains quiet.
It is during these early days that Burridge is contacted by the country’s ambassador and asked to serve on the Truth Commission Suli has established to expose past atrocities and take the steps needed to heal the country. Initially he is outraged by their invitation. How could the country responsible for his kidnapping and torture even consider making such a request? But after a disastrous interview in a national newscast during which he had a meltdown, he is anxious to restore his reputation. After that disaster, grants and donations to his organizations dried up and their coffers are dangerously low. He wonders if returning to the scene of his personal darkness is what he needs but he is also fascinated by Suli and what she has been able to accomplish. He is taken in by her sense of spirit and her talk of rebuilding an entire country. When Suli calls him personally urging him to accept, he finally agrees.
Once in Santa Irene, Burridge sits at the table with two others on the Commission, Chairman Sin Vello a retired Supreme Court justice and Mrs. Grakala, the widow of a former ambassador of Argentina who has been active with UNICEF. They have luxurious accommodations, food and drink. Burridge is determined to make the time he is spending on this work worthwhile but the only thing planned are the banquets where food and alcohol flow freely. There are large numbers of invited guests, none of whom are connected with the commission and plenty of pretty women who hover among the powerful men as photos are taken and toasts are made.
It soon becomes evident that nothing has been organized for the work to be dome. There are no schedules, agendas or timetables, no guidelines to choose witnesses or documents detailing the scope of the inquiry. It is not clear if the investigators have any power or if their decisions will be enforced. There are never any afternoon sessions but always another well attended, alcohol fueled reception following a half day of work. Burridge begins to feel complicit, compliant to their need to have him there to validate their opulence among the suffering and poverty of the people who wait patiently outside.
In the first days, simultaneous translation is not available and the entire time is spent with the Chairman’s long droning speeches no one can understand. When Burridge threatens to leave, the work finally begins to move forward. They listen to testimony from those who have suffered under the last regime and then move on to question the military and the security forces, who testify to carrying out despicable acts commanded by others, risking their lives if they refused. Those responsible of course have all disappeared or merged silently with the general population.
As the Commission collects reams of information, it is not clear what they should do next, unable to answer the questions they have raised. As threats of violence simmers around them, there are clandestine meetings, shifting alliances and secret betrayals. Suli is never safe and the forces against her gather quietly in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to change the direction of the country.
This is a powerful, troubling book which is not easy to read. It has a powerful message, examining what happens in countries that throw off a powerful dictator while a popular leader sits waiting in the wings, only to fall back into the world they once knew. Apart from one scene towards the end which proved puzzling, Cumyn has told his story with a realism that is frightening. He poses difficult questions, fully engaging his readers and keeping them turning the pages, wondering what will happen next.
The novel was a finalist for the 2000 Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award, a nod that is well deserved.
September 30, 2012
I enjoyed this book. Bill is a strong character and you connect with him, want him to get better to move past what he has experienced. I felt though as if I was kept waiting for any kind of resolve...anything. At the end of the book you are left with emptiness. Perhaps that was the point, I mean that's where Bill is all he has left. In that the book proves a point, that in life things happen and the reasons will never be understood, that it's part of the journey, its just experience after experience, some good, some bad , some horrifying. As a reader though I want things to be resolved, I want to know things and so when I finished this book I wasn't happy with all of the not knowing. I'm content but not satisfied.
February 9, 2021
Interesting and entertaining.
February 15, 2024
Takes the effects of torture & mental illness to new levels of understanding.
Want to read
March 29, 2012Marion's recommendation post-Finding Lorca
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2013
HATE this book. Had to read it in high school. Awful. Just awful. What a vulgar, depressing book to force upon youth who are already struggling against so many other bad influences.
Read
December 1, 2017Read this as it took place in Ottawa. All about starting over - but reads like a tacky man's fantasy
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews