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Land of the Living
'Vivid, illuminating and unbearably tense ... A masterly meditation on trauma, on beauty, on the idea of home and the limits of love' Guardian Charlie's experiences at the Battle of Kohima and the months he spent lost in the remote jungles of Nagaland during the Second World War are now history. Home and settled on a farm in Norfolk and newly married to Claire, he is one of the lucky survivors. Starting a family and working the land seem the best things a man can be doing. But a chasm exists between them. Memories flood Charlie's mind; at night, on rain-slicked roads and misty mornings in the fields, the past can feel more real than the present. Though hidden even to himself, the darkest secrets of Charlie's adventures in the strange and shadowy ridges of the Nagaland mountains, his dream-like encounters with the mysterious and ancient tribesmen, leak and bleed through his consciousness. What should be said and what left unsaid? Is it possible to forge a new life in the wake of unfathomable horror? A beautifully conceived, deftly controlled and delicately wrought meditation on the isolating impact of war, the troubling legacies of colonialism and the inescapable reach of the past, Georgina Harding's haunting, lyrical novel questions the very nature of survival, and what it is that the living owe the dead.
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2018
About the author
Georgina Harding
21 books48 followersGeorgina Harding is an English author of fiction. Published works include her novels Painter of Silence (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012), The Spy Game (shortlisted for The Encore Award 2011), and The Solitude of Thomas Cave.
She has also written two works of non-fiction: Tranquebar: A Season in South India and In Another Europe. She lives in London and the Stour Valley, Essex.
She has also written two works of non-fiction: Tranquebar: A Season in South India and In Another Europe. She lives in London and the Stour Valley, Essex.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 31, 2021
The novel is set predominantly in Nagaland, a mountainous state in the north east of India bordering Myanmar, or Burma as it would have been called at the time the novel is set. I confess it is an area of the world whose history I was unfamiliar with until reading this book. However, as the novel reveals, during the Second World War it became the site of fierce fighting between Japanese and British troops.
The book moves between three storylines. The first is Charlie’s rescue from the jungle by a Naga tribe and the time he spends living with them without the means to communicate in anything beyond basic fashion. Gradually the reader gets glimpses of what happened to Charlie’s comrades and how he came to be alone in the jungle.
The second storyline describes Charlie’s arduous journey through the jungle back to British administered territory alongside a guide and another Naga who joins them on the trek. “There was no way of telling where the border was and Burma began. No name to anywhere. There was only jungle and mountain, and bare slashed mountain and jungle again, and the rivers ran wild in gorges and you could see across but you could not cross them except where the people had swung their cat’s-cradle bridges of vines, which you walked like a dancer, one foot delicate and light before the other.”
Reaching his destination, Charlie is encouraged by Hussey, a local government official with an interest in anthropology, to talk about his time with the Naga people.
“What did they call themselves, your tribe?”
“I don’t know.”
“We should have a name for them. Tell me about them.”
With Hussey there would be names. Words, story, a route, flattened onto a map on a plain wooden table.
The naming of things, or the absence of names, is one of the themes of the book, as is the inability to talk about some events because they are too traumatic to be shared. Back in Norfolk with his wife, Claire, Charlie is tormented by flashbacks to the scenes he witnessed in the jungle but he keeps these to himself believing people simply won’t understand what the realities of combat can do to a person. ‘It was a bit of war one didn’t mention, the clearing up. One mentioned battlefields but one didn’t explain what was there. What was there already when they arrived, what had massed there all through the siege, that they had spent more time clearing up than fighting.’
Those back home want to hear about heroes, not the sordid details that are the reality of war. We get the sense Claire partly understands there are things Charlie just cannot bring himself to speak about. ‘Their eyes exchanged what they both knew: that he wouldn’t tell it all and that she would humour him by pretending there was no more to tell.‘
Haunting and lyrical.
The book moves between three storylines. The first is Charlie’s rescue from the jungle by a Naga tribe and the time he spends living with them without the means to communicate in anything beyond basic fashion. Gradually the reader gets glimpses of what happened to Charlie’s comrades and how he came to be alone in the jungle.
The second storyline describes Charlie’s arduous journey through the jungle back to British administered territory alongside a guide and another Naga who joins them on the trek. “There was no way of telling where the border was and Burma began. No name to anywhere. There was only jungle and mountain, and bare slashed mountain and jungle again, and the rivers ran wild in gorges and you could see across but you could not cross them except where the people had swung their cat’s-cradle bridges of vines, which you walked like a dancer, one foot delicate and light before the other.”
Reaching his destination, Charlie is encouraged by Hussey, a local government official with an interest in anthropology, to talk about his time with the Naga people.
“What did they call themselves, your tribe?”
“I don’t know.”
“We should have a name for them. Tell me about them.”
With Hussey there would be names. Words, story, a route, flattened onto a map on a plain wooden table.
The naming of things, or the absence of names, is one of the themes of the book, as is the inability to talk about some events because they are too traumatic to be shared. Back in Norfolk with his wife, Claire, Charlie is tormented by flashbacks to the scenes he witnessed in the jungle but he keeps these to himself believing people simply won’t understand what the realities of combat can do to a person. ‘It was a bit of war one didn’t mention, the clearing up. One mentioned battlefields but one didn’t explain what was there. What was there already when they arrived, what had massed there all through the siege, that they had spent more time clearing up than fighting.’
Those back home want to hear about heroes, not the sordid details that are the reality of war. We get the sense Claire partly understands there are things Charlie just cannot bring himself to speak about. ‘Their eyes exchanged what they both knew: that he wouldn’t tell it all and that she would humour him by pretending there was no more to tell.‘
Haunting and lyrical.
September 24, 2018
We're a bloodthirsty lot, we humans
At first sight this seems to be an aftermath-of-war story as Charlie returns from WW2 with what we'd now call PTSD: flashbacks, nightmares, hallucinatory episodes. With his experiences fighting the Japanese in the jungles of India and Burma, I wondered why Harding had decided to set her tale at a distance when we have our own more modern conflicts that would serve equally well for a story which isolates those who have been in combat from those who haven't.
But Harding is a thoughtful and intelligent novelist and we can trust her judgement: as the story develops it turns out that the time and place are important. Time because British women didn't serve in front-line combat during WW2 (however much they contributed in other ways, including as spies and resistance workers), and place because some of the transformative violence Charlie encounters is from a tribe of native head-hunters with whom he takes refuge.
There's definitely a gendered divide in this book that wouldn't work quite so neatly in today's world: here men go to war, women (generally) stay at home and nurture new life through childbirth. The book deals sensitively with how Charlie and his wife negotiate marriage when he has experienced and done things she can only inadequately imagine.
Harding's writing is precise and nuanced, emotive and raw. There are places where the pace languishes (the anthropologist sections) but this is a moving exploration of cultural violence as almost a marker of humanity.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley
November 26, 2018
Having survived the atrocities of the second world war, Charlie is settled in the countryside Norfolk with his wife Claire, and spending his time on his farmland. In the midst of his present life, he keeps on visiting his past and shares the enduring horrors he faced, the stories how he was rescued by local tribe in the jungles of Assam, deaths of other members of his patrol, the battlefield of Kohima, and the accounts that he could not share and that were buried deep within him.
Land of the Living explores the emotions and experiences of Charlie, who was posted in Kohima during the second world war. In the meantime, the author also portrays Charlie from the perspective of his wife, Claire and how she looks upon his husband’s encounter of war. Harding explicates though her book the damage a war does and its lasting effect on life and mind resulting in traumatic disorders and distress, the psyche of the person who keeps on revisiting those haunting memories.
Georgina Harding has a distinct voice where she accounts the fervours of war and suffering in an explicit and precise way. Her narrative is so evocative that it gives out the clear picture of the land, the scenery and the circumstances of the war. Every time I was turning to the next page, I felt like the book was moving in a poetic rhythm.
Land of the Living is a book which should be read for its prose: powerful and remarkable. Definitely recommended.
Land of the Living explores the emotions and experiences of Charlie, who was posted in Kohima during the second world war. In the meantime, the author also portrays Charlie from the perspective of his wife, Claire and how she looks upon his husband’s encounter of war. Harding explicates though her book the damage a war does and its lasting effect on life and mind resulting in traumatic disorders and distress, the psyche of the person who keeps on revisiting those haunting memories.
Georgina Harding has a distinct voice where she accounts the fervours of war and suffering in an explicit and precise way. Her narrative is so evocative that it gives out the clear picture of the land, the scenery and the circumstances of the war. Every time I was turning to the next page, I felt like the book was moving in a poetic rhythm.
Land of the Living is a book which should be read for its prose: powerful and remarkable. Definitely recommended.
October 23, 2018
How the haunting effects of war change those who return from it, is a theme that continues to have much resonance. Only a few days ago it was reported in the press that five British Army soldiers who were active on the front line in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide in just one week and as many as forty two former or serving servicemen and women are believed to have committed suicide this year alone. This poignant, lyrical and thought provoking tale concerns the experiences of Charlie who becomes lost in the remote jungles of Assam in North East India during the Second World War and eventually finds refuge with a tribe of native head hunters. The story alternates between the present set in 1947 where Charlie now lives as a farmer in Norfolk with his wife Claire and flashbacks to his time spent during the war.
The contrast between the flat landscape of Norfolk as Autumn turns to Winter and the hills and jungle of Assam with its heavy rainfall and misty mornings could not be more marked yet Charlie despite the geographical distance cannot forget the past and the horrors that he witnessed. Memories remain and during the night he returns to the past horrors in his dreams. He is not the same man who left these shores to fight and the relationship with his wife becomes ever more distant as his recounting of his wartime experiences are only partial and incomplete to her.
Much research would have been undertaken by Georgina Harding for she not only conveys a real sense of the region but also looks at the Naga people who's belief that they would gain independence from India after the end of British colonial rule would not be realised. There are a number of themes here which include how violence can play a part in established cultural practice. An accomplished piece of work that I hope will achieve a wide readership.
The contrast between the flat landscape of Norfolk as Autumn turns to Winter and the hills and jungle of Assam with its heavy rainfall and misty mornings could not be more marked yet Charlie despite the geographical distance cannot forget the past and the horrors that he witnessed. Memories remain and during the night he returns to the past horrors in his dreams. He is not the same man who left these shores to fight and the relationship with his wife becomes ever more distant as his recounting of his wartime experiences are only partial and incomplete to her.
Much research would have been undertaken by Georgina Harding for she not only conveys a real sense of the region but also looks at the Naga people who's belief that they would gain independence from India after the end of British colonial rule would not be realised. There are a number of themes here which include how violence can play a part in established cultural practice. An accomplished piece of work that I hope will achieve a wide readership.
November 2, 2018
Charlie’s story is part of what happens with so many soldiers of wars: who must go to places they have not heard or even placed on a map, where men must lead or follow with no idea where and to what ends. His story comes to the readers soaked in mist: in the dense jungles of interior Assam and along Burma, the mist that covers and holds Charlie’s emotions over unspeakable things. The questions over morality in war: the notions of courage and fear made me connect to another book on war and men, For Whom The Bell Tolls and I was tickled to see that the film adaptation of the book referenced in this one.
Georgina Harding’s writing is lush with emotions and imagery: the reader in me was transported to the ambience and feel of the settings she has written about. The details of the Naga life and social dynamics are written beautifully and without judgment. Dialogues and conversations are kept at a minimum in the book but works well with more of observations and thought processes. The imagery, the ambience and mood, the pace of the narrative and the ending are almost meditative.
I must mention that seeing the Battle of Kohima in the book blurb made me very keen to read the book as I have followed the said battle and its counterpart, The Battle of Imphal (Imphal being my hometown) fought between the Allies on one side and the Japanese on the other. Both the battles are considered by modern day military experts and war historians as the most decisive battle of the world for the Japanese suffered their first defeats in the Second World War in Kohima and Imphal, which would lead to a blow on their psyche as a nation and then to further defeats. After reading the book, I can only say this: Land of the Living is a book that needs to be read and experienced.
Georgina Harding’s writing is lush with emotions and imagery: the reader in me was transported to the ambience and feel of the settings she has written about. The details of the Naga life and social dynamics are written beautifully and without judgment. Dialogues and conversations are kept at a minimum in the book but works well with more of observations and thought processes. The imagery, the ambience and mood, the pace of the narrative and the ending are almost meditative.
I must mention that seeing the Battle of Kohima in the book blurb made me very keen to read the book as I have followed the said battle and its counterpart, The Battle of Imphal (Imphal being my hometown) fought between the Allies on one side and the Japanese on the other. Both the battles are considered by modern day military experts and war historians as the most decisive battle of the world for the Japanese suffered their first defeats in the Second World War in Kohima and Imphal, which would lead to a blow on their psyche as a nation and then to further defeats. After reading the book, I can only say this: Land of the Living is a book that needs to be read and experienced.
April 18, 2019
This is a story of a soldier suffering from a post World War Two trauma who had fought in the Battle of Kohima and then lost in the forests of Northern India, leading a life among the natives there. However after he is rescued and brought back to England, he fails to re-attune himself to his homeland. Here is a story that questions the boundaries of home and deals with a man tormented by post war shock instead of describing war's horrific atrocities.
Coming back to the book, I want to talk about the language first. It is comprehensible and eloquent at the same time. Very beautifully, Harding captures the soldier's mind by using nature as an objective correlative. The mist and the colour grey, a pervading element throughout the entire book somehow reflects his mental state. The descriptions are extremely vivid. The author highlights the fact that the war is a pulsating element both on the war front and in the mind. The war is shown through memory in flashbacks and it is through the perspective of both Claire and Charlie that we get a poignant picture of war. Through Claire's narrative we understand that it is equally painful for those bound to their homes as their loved ones fight on the battleground.
However, the novel lacks momentum. It is at times extremely tedious and lacks purpose, as if it was not moving towards a resolution. It is as if the author elongated the novel just for the sake of it, and thus it is really hard to keep one's focus intact. Second, I would have liked to know more about his life back in India, perhaps a better description of the tribesmen and that tribal woman. Third, the ending of the novel did not quite agree with me. Suddenly introducing a different character and ending the novel with him leaves a lot hanging. I was not looking for a stated conclusion but a rational problematisation of the issues that Charlie faces throughout becomes necessary. The author fails to maintain a balance between her thought and it's execution.
Coming back to the book, I want to talk about the language first. It is comprehensible and eloquent at the same time. Very beautifully, Harding captures the soldier's mind by using nature as an objective correlative. The mist and the colour grey, a pervading element throughout the entire book somehow reflects his mental state. The descriptions are extremely vivid. The author highlights the fact that the war is a pulsating element both on the war front and in the mind. The war is shown through memory in flashbacks and it is through the perspective of both Claire and Charlie that we get a poignant picture of war. Through Claire's narrative we understand that it is equally painful for those bound to their homes as their loved ones fight on the battleground.
However, the novel lacks momentum. It is at times extremely tedious and lacks purpose, as if it was not moving towards a resolution. It is as if the author elongated the novel just for the sake of it, and thus it is really hard to keep one's focus intact. Second, I would have liked to know more about his life back in India, perhaps a better description of the tribesmen and that tribal woman. Third, the ending of the novel did not quite agree with me. Suddenly introducing a different character and ending the novel with him leaves a lot hanging. I was not looking for a stated conclusion but a rational problematisation of the issues that Charlie faces throughout becomes necessary. The author fails to maintain a balance between her thought and it's execution.
April 11, 2021
Charlie has survived the war in the jungles of Burma, and is back home in Norfolk. He has severe PTSD, but at the time one either survived the war or didn't. He had survived. His patrol hadn't. He marries Claire, who has been waiting for his return, and then decides to settle on the farm inherited from his uncle, far away from the city, and from other people.
Georgina Harding, in subtle, sparse and very effective prose tell us the story of Charlie's trauma and of his homecoming in interspersed sections, gradually opening both worlds to us. But, it is not only a story of the casualties of war, it is a story of the inherent violence of humans as a species, and the source of his trauma, gradually revealed to us, is much deeper than that of a soldier forever scarred by the battlefield.
This is also Claire's story. Living on the farm, with only Charlie and their dog, she internalizes her role in Charlie's world. He will never tell her the whole story, nor will he ever be rid of his demons, but she is there, beside him, although never able to fathom his suffering. She is Charlie's link to "Home" although the "Home" imagined on the battlefield, that place to which the soldier strives to return, can never be the one he left behind. Claire understands this and without drama, she accepts him as he is and her role in their marriage. She is a quiet and resilient presence in the turmoil of his thoughts; she is his lifeline and his future.
The atmosphere of the farm in winter is in such contrast to the jungles of Burma, that it too becomes a player in these two worlds, forever conjoined in Charlie.
This is my first Georgina Harding novel, and I really don't know why I hadn't heard of her until now. She writes beautifully.
Georgina Harding, in subtle, sparse and very effective prose tell us the story of Charlie's trauma and of his homecoming in interspersed sections, gradually opening both worlds to us. But, it is not only a story of the casualties of war, it is a story of the inherent violence of humans as a species, and the source of his trauma, gradually revealed to us, is much deeper than that of a soldier forever scarred by the battlefield.
This is also Claire's story. Living on the farm, with only Charlie and their dog, she internalizes her role in Charlie's world. He will never tell her the whole story, nor will he ever be rid of his demons, but she is there, beside him, although never able to fathom his suffering. She is Charlie's link to "Home" although the "Home" imagined on the battlefield, that place to which the soldier strives to return, can never be the one he left behind. Claire understands this and without drama, she accepts him as he is and her role in their marriage. She is a quiet and resilient presence in the turmoil of his thoughts; she is his lifeline and his future.
The atmosphere of the farm in winter is in such contrast to the jungles of Burma, that it too becomes a player in these two worlds, forever conjoined in Charlie.
This is my first Georgina Harding novel, and I really don't know why I hadn't heard of her until now. She writes beautifully.
November 6, 2018
I just love this novelist and she does not disappoint with this latest book. Beautiful spare prose that is evocative and lyrical without trying too hard or even trying at all. The subject matter is again deeply affecting as it is in all her other books.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
April 20, 2019
With a very low-key tone and methodical pace this tells the story of Charlie and his experiences during WWII in the jungles of Nagaland and how he tries to tell his wife Claire about it when he returns. There's so much he can't tell her and what he does tell her is hard for her to understand. The consequences of war and colonialism are sharply portrayed in a few detail incidents. A thoughtful intelligent novel.
October 13, 2018
Harding deserves credit for crafting an rather original story set after the second world war in a market that nearly groans under the weight of historical fiction set in and around that period. The characters were sympathetic, grounded, believable, and the author avoided falling into cliched territory which was a nice bonus.
The prose was very readable and the couple's plight to reconnect again after living very different lives for so long was moving. I liked this novel and would certainly pick up another novel by Harding on the back of it.
With Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.'
The prose was very readable and the couple's plight to reconnect again after living very different lives for so long was moving. I liked this novel and would certainly pick up another novel by Harding on the back of it.
With Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.'
November 29, 2018
This is a stunning book. A simple story: Charlie has returned from fighting in WW2 in northern India to his wife Claire and they have moved to the Norfolk farm of his late uncle. Neither of them are used to country life - or even to each other. Charlie is haunted by his memories and the impossibility of communicating them to anyone who has not shared his experiences. These are shared with the reader in fragments, interspersed with scenes of his married life.
The writing is outstanding. The jungle, the mountains, the remote village of the headhunter tribesmen who take Charlie in are all vividly depicted, as is the bleak winter landscape of Norfolk. The structure builds tension as the reader slowly learns what Charlie has survived. The horrors of jungle warfare are conveyed obliquely but are no less shocking for that. And the tension continues in the post-war story as Charlie struggles to adapt. The insight into the challenge for those who survive is poignant. The novel also touches on the challenge of colonial rule which is thought provoking.
I look forward to reading other work by Georgina Harding.
The writing is outstanding. The jungle, the mountains, the remote village of the headhunter tribesmen who take Charlie in are all vividly depicted, as is the bleak winter landscape of Norfolk. The structure builds tension as the reader slowly learns what Charlie has survived. The horrors of jungle warfare are conveyed obliquely but are no less shocking for that. And the tension continues in the post-war story as Charlie struggles to adapt. The insight into the challenge for those who survive is poignant. The novel also touches on the challenge of colonial rule which is thought provoking.
I look forward to reading other work by Georgina Harding.
November 20, 2018
"Should these things be said, or not be said? If they were said in this dead time of the night, would the night take them away? As if the blackness might absorb the black and then in the morning it would be gone, but he also perhaps gone, sucked away in it."
How do we live authentically in a world that is both beautiful and intensely cruel? How do we return to the ordinary when we’ve been taken closer to the edge than most?
Full review
https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post...
How do we live authentically in a world that is both beautiful and intensely cruel? How do we return to the ordinary when we’ve been taken closer to the edge than most?
Full review
https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post...
October 25, 2025
Hmm. I really liked Georgina Harding's
Painter of Silence
(2012) and
The Gun Room
, (2016) but Land of the Living is a bit of a misery of a book, and worse than that, it has a confused moral core.
As in the two other novels that I've read, silence is a strand that runs through the novel. Charlie can't communicate with his hapless wife Claire when he returns from harrowing war time experiences in Nagaland, a state in northeast India, (a place that I've read about before in Ben Doherty's 2018 novel Nagaland.) He doesn't tell her about his trauma because he doesn't think she will understand and his sometimes contemptuous thoughts about her indicate that while she (like the widow of a soldier from his patrol) may be curious, she only wants a sanitised truth. We're meant to feel compassion for him, and we do, but he's consistently awful to her. Cold, distant, uncommunicative, and indifferent both to her efforts and to her sad discovery that this marriage is awfully hard work when he disappears for hours on end to plough his fields and then comes inside to sit in silence until it's time for bed. And then #hmm he's quite willing between the sheets...
Since the novel is set in the post-war rural Cotswolds made more bleak by the worst winter on record in 1962-3, Claire's role is domestic. She's a city girl transplanted to the farm that Charlie has inherited from Uncle Ralph and she has no idea what being a countrywoman entails. There's no welcoming community of women to support her, and oh dear... she thinks that having a baby is going to solve their problems.
Ok, this is a human tragedy well traversed by now: there have been many, many stories of war trauma and the impact that has on families. There is no question that Georgina Harding writes beautiful, lyrical prose. Whether writing about the brutal cold of an English winter or the soaking monsoons of the Nagaland mountains, she makes her settings so vivid that a reader can feel her own fingers numbed by snow and ice or sense rain dripping down her neck in the rainforest.
Mind you, the middle section is overlong. Of course it took days and days for Charlie to make his arduous journey away from the Naga who have sheltered him back to the nearest colonial administrator, an anthropologist called Hussey. And yes, this is where Charlie can't shake off his memories of what happened on that fateful patrol. But did it need to take so many pages about the trek itself to convey that? Maybe she did the trek herself and was getting its travails off her chest.
*pause, hunt around online*, yes she has. Ah, the perils of wanting to use all your research!
Anyway...
What makes me think that the book has a confused moral core is Harding's prosecution of the idea that war is an absurdity...
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/10/26/l...
October 31, 2018
This served as my introduction to Harding's work and a good one it was. It's a novel about a farmer called Charlie, back in England and married after the end of the Second World War. He was posted in Kohima, and his experiences there haunt him: not just the murder of a lost (or deserting) Japanese, or the deaths of the other members of his platoon, but also the strange period of time during which he gets lost in the mountainous jungle and is rescued by a remote tribe that seems never to have had contact with white people. Harding's descriptions of the north Indian jungle landscape are the stylistic standout of the book: so lush and evocative, you'd swear you can feel the steam rising from the vegetation. The narration jumps back and forth between Charlie's time in India and his life now, farming, with his wife Claire. He tells her stories about the war and about foreign places, which she accepts with the incredulous equanimity of an Englishwoman in the late 1940s who, while not a fool, has never been abroad and can't quite believe in the reality of the people her husband describes to her. Meanwhile, Harding also shows us Charlie through Claire's eyes: a lovable man but one permanently distanced from his wife, as much by the fact that he's a man as by his vaster life experience. That narrative even-handedness is what invests the reader; it's not as though there's a dearth of WWII novels, but the standouts are the ones that articulate an idiosyncratic kind of war, an individual's war. Land of the Living is a standout.
August 27, 2026
The legacy of war is a subject I return to again and again . Probably because of my family's experience . So many writers have given us novels that force us to ask questions of ourselves had we experienced such horror and chaos and Georgina Harding's novel , the second in a loose trilogy , certainly does this .
Charles , an army officer , has returned to farming in Norfolk after serving in Nagaland in WW2 . This area , bordering India and the then named Burma was under colonial occupation but such is the landscape with it's thick rainforest , dizzying gorges, razor liked ridges and perpetual wet , that it is virtually impenetrable. Here live the Naga people who know little of modernity , less still the reasons why the Japanese , British and Americans are waging war here . They are headhunters , a ritual form of murder , that infuses each village with meaning and vigor . War is at the stories heart but we also have a minor portrait of the unseen consequences of Pax Britannica with a quite wonderfully drawn Colonial District Administrator .
The story is told in third person, in two interlocking narratives , so that we are as close to experiencing Charlie's preoccupations as is possible . This format also allows us to be close to Claire , his wife . Married during the war and spending it in London Claire has to adjust to the isolation of rural life and to the new Charlie , silent and preoccupied, who is unable and unwilling to articulate his experiences .
The prose is poised , spacious and disciplined . Like a poet Harding evokes emotions by employing the doctrine less is more . The pacing and craft are as good as anything I've read . On to the two other novels in the trilogy that neighbour this .
Charles , an army officer , has returned to farming in Norfolk after serving in Nagaland in WW2 . This area , bordering India and the then named Burma was under colonial occupation but such is the landscape with it's thick rainforest , dizzying gorges, razor liked ridges and perpetual wet , that it is virtually impenetrable. Here live the Naga people who know little of modernity , less still the reasons why the Japanese , British and Americans are waging war here . They are headhunters , a ritual form of murder , that infuses each village with meaning and vigor . War is at the stories heart but we also have a minor portrait of the unseen consequences of Pax Britannica with a quite wonderfully drawn Colonial District Administrator .
The story is told in third person, in two interlocking narratives , so that we are as close to experiencing Charlie's preoccupations as is possible . This format also allows us to be close to Claire , his wife . Married during the war and spending it in London Claire has to adjust to the isolation of rural life and to the new Charlie , silent and preoccupied, who is unable and unwilling to articulate his experiences .
The prose is poised , spacious and disciplined . Like a poet Harding evokes emotions by employing the doctrine less is more . The pacing and craft are as good as anything I've read . On to the two other novels in the trilogy that neighbour this .
December 5, 2018
Georgina Harding’s war narrative seeks to remind us of the debilitating nature of such crimes against humanity. By positing a husband-wife duo at the centre of her novel, Land of the Living, the author allows us a glimpse of how intricately the trauma following war permeates a relationship. Charlie’s experiences in the Battle of Kohima haunt him till date and Claire’s attempts to get through to him, comfort him remain futile. This unforgettable story takes on more meaning with the recurring themes of memory and grief.
My foray into WW2 fiction has been very limited and as with any book containing sensitive topics, I didn’t know what to expect. But from the very beginning we get familiarised to Georgina Harding’s feathery writing style. It focuses quite a lot on elements of nature in a way that is meant to add to the ambience of the novel. And that was one reason I wasn’t hooked to the book. This kind of ambient writing is not for me. The chapters aren’t very long and are split into separate sections, each of which are different observations or happenings. So there isn’t a linearity to the narration.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the Naga tribes. The parts where those instances were being recounted added some flavour to the book. It is interesting to observe how these people take on roles of healers and nurtures immediately without a care for treating him as an enemy or being hostile towards him.
It is also heartrending to read about Claire, because she is shown to be a supportive wife, who doesn’t demand a great deal from him and is always trying to be understanding. But her affection is not really reciprocated, since Charlie is still battling with his own emotions and thoughts.
I felt that the strong imageries of the environment sort of overshadowed the important parts – Charlie’s memory, his connection with other characters. Another note you should keep in mind is that the dialogue in this book, although very minimal, is not put in quotation marks. So that was a unique reading experience. It is left to you to realize at what moments a dialogue would pop up in between observational passages. On the whole, it is definitely worth a read because of the subject matter that is dealt with and the way it has been written. The writing style may or may not suit your tastes, but give it a try!
My foray into WW2 fiction has been very limited and as with any book containing sensitive topics, I didn’t know what to expect. But from the very beginning we get familiarised to Georgina Harding’s feathery writing style. It focuses quite a lot on elements of nature in a way that is meant to add to the ambience of the novel. And that was one reason I wasn’t hooked to the book. This kind of ambient writing is not for me. The chapters aren’t very long and are split into separate sections, each of which are different observations or happenings. So there isn’t a linearity to the narration.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the Naga tribes. The parts where those instances were being recounted added some flavour to the book. It is interesting to observe how these people take on roles of healers and nurtures immediately without a care for treating him as an enemy or being hostile towards him.
It is also heartrending to read about Claire, because she is shown to be a supportive wife, who doesn’t demand a great deal from him and is always trying to be understanding. But her affection is not really reciprocated, since Charlie is still battling with his own emotions and thoughts.
I felt that the strong imageries of the environment sort of overshadowed the important parts – Charlie’s memory, his connection with other characters. Another note you should keep in mind is that the dialogue in this book, although very minimal, is not put in quotation marks. So that was a unique reading experience. It is left to you to realize at what moments a dialogue would pop up in between observational passages. On the whole, it is definitely worth a read because of the subject matter that is dealt with and the way it has been written. The writing style may or may not suit your tastes, but give it a try!
January 28, 2019
An aspect of WW2 that has not been much explored is the reason for the silence of the men who fought in it. It is easy to claim that it was just because it was traumatic, but I feel that the explanation is more complex and conflicted than that. This book is a riveting exploration of the mind of someone who fought in the blood and sweat stained jungle of Burma and who was rescued by the Naga people. His post-war silence with his wife is beautifully and movingly described: the cultural and experiential gulfs between them, his need to protect her and himself, beauty and brutality equally hard for him to express. This is the first Georgina Harding novel I have read and I am impressed - I will be reaching for another when this one has settled in my mind.
September 6, 2019
As the Japanese retreat into Burma, a soldier finds himself lost in the jungle but then rescued and cared for by an isolated tribe.
This is a beautiful and affecting story of the ravages of war and its emotional impact. Some things can be shared with those who stayed at home but other, darker secrets are kept well hidden. Charlie can share some of his experiences with his wife and much is left unsaid. She struggles to relate to and communicate with a man so different from the one who went to war.
The story also calls into question our ideas of who is civilised and who is savage and there is reference also to the lasting and damaging effects of Empire.
The writing is delightful and the story, whilst appearing simple, has many nuances. A book and an author to cherish.
This is a beautiful and affecting story of the ravages of war and its emotional impact. Some things can be shared with those who stayed at home but other, darker secrets are kept well hidden. Charlie can share some of his experiences with his wife and much is left unsaid. She struggles to relate to and communicate with a man so different from the one who went to war.
The story also calls into question our ideas of who is civilised and who is savage and there is reference also to the lasting and damaging effects of Empire.
The writing is delightful and the story, whilst appearing simple, has many nuances. A book and an author to cherish.
May 13, 2024
Interesting but weird. Definitely a mood piece with an A plus for atmosphere. Don't be looking for a plot per se or any deep revelatory characterization. There is a lot of mist, rain, hills, non-communication and silence, and going back and forth between time present and past as well as changes of voice. Beautifully written, yes. Riveting, no. Yet the book has a certain charm and lots of poetic description. Don't know what to make of the ending. Is it supposed to be an emotional opening or more of the same.
December 8, 2018
Very atmospheric moving from the brutality of the war in the Burmese Jungle to the description of the farm in Norfolk and its peace.Soldier who fought in the Jungle in WW2 comes back home to his new wife but carries the past with him,now he would be diagnosed with PTSD but back in the 40s this was not even considered and those who came back from the war were left to get on with it.
Well wriiten and researched,had never heard of the Naga need to look them up.
Well wriiten and researched,had never heard of the Naga need to look them up.
June 14, 2024
A different type of novel to one's I've read in the past. This was an interesting tale of a man and wife struggling to adapt to life following WW2. The man was based in Burma, and the author provides some nice passages of what that entailed for the soldier Charlie with some descriptive writing of the jungle setting. The author does a good job of moving between the present and past, I enjoyed this book.
December 24, 2019
This is a slow dreamlike book about a soldier returning to England after WW2 with a troubled conscience about the war. He marries & inherits a farm but his heart is still in the highlands of Burma where he felt like he truly belonged. The novel points out the carnage & displacement of war & that soldiers can never tell the truth of what really happened therefore they suffer in silence.
June 2, 2024
I was interested in the book because the protagonist is a survivor of the battle of Kohima. However, the novel spends a lot of time describing the scenery and the lifestyle of the Naga tribe rather than dealing with the battle's consequences and trauma.
It's a novel where each sentence is well-written but the parts fail to add up to something great.
It's a novel where each sentence is well-written but the parts fail to add up to something great.
March 8, 2019
Trekking through the jungle alongside farming in Norfolk. A study of how one manages the rest of life having experienced trauma and the effect on those around us. The jungle scenes were so vivid I felt transported. The portrayal of the indigenous Naga was sympathetic and balanced.
November 25, 2018
Very well written but a disturbing reminder of the effects of war on individuals.
June 16, 2020
Not at all what I expected which was a sort of Railway Man. Very touching and a bit ethereal. Beautifully written
July 11, 2021
Unsurprisingly quite sad… Charlie is carrying his wartime trauma and it pervades the book with a sort of wistful melancholy.
March 11, 2024
this book was quite confusing to read
May 21, 2019
Land of the Living by Georgina Harding
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 240
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: English
About the Book
Charlie's experiences at the Battle of Kohima and the months he spent lost in the remote jungles of Assam during the Second World War are now history. Home and settled on a farm in Norfolk and newly married to Claire, he is one of the lucky survivors. Starting a family and working the land seem the best things a man can be doing.
But a chasm exists between them. Memories flood Charlie's mind; at night, on rain-slicked roads and misty mornings in the fields, the past can feel more real than the present. What should be said and what left unsaid? Is it possible to find a connection and forge a new life in the wake of unfathomable horror?
Review
The book is based on experiences that a person named Charlie brings back with him from the Second World War. These experiences change him. His relationship with his wife is affected by the things he keeps a secret from her.
Memories from the time come back to Charlie in the form of dreams or at night during rains. The dilemma of what needs to be told and what is to be kept is handled really well by the author.
The subtle and effortless writing captures the essence of the plot really well.
The imagery of the experiences Charlie has during the war in the jungles can be pictured really well due to the supportive writing.
Harding's novel seems to be moving at just the perfect pace. The various aspects of a human and a human life are put together like a piece of art and put forward into words for the reader to read.
The multiple phases of the story like the war, the time, the relationship between husband and wife and between the fellow accompanists of Charlie from the World War II is worth witnessing.
The psychological impact that the war and time spent with Naga in the jungles has had on Charlie has been carefully curated.
The restlessness of Claire, as a wife and her fear of loss, can be felt through the writing even when not explicitly stated.
Land of the Living is written so well! I loved the way of writing. The writing was powerful, the plot was well justified by the way of writing.
Overall the book is a pleasantly beautiful read. The only thing that bugged me at times during the course of the book was I thought I wanted to know more about certain plot points and some of them were more detailed to my liking.
Keeping this little thing apart, the book is a must-read
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 240
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: English
About the Book
Charlie's experiences at the Battle of Kohima and the months he spent lost in the remote jungles of Assam during the Second World War are now history. Home and settled on a farm in Norfolk and newly married to Claire, he is one of the lucky survivors. Starting a family and working the land seem the best things a man can be doing.
But a chasm exists between them. Memories flood Charlie's mind; at night, on rain-slicked roads and misty mornings in the fields, the past can feel more real than the present. What should be said and what left unsaid? Is it possible to find a connection and forge a new life in the wake of unfathomable horror?
Review
The book is based on experiences that a person named Charlie brings back with him from the Second World War. These experiences change him. His relationship with his wife is affected by the things he keeps a secret from her.
Memories from the time come back to Charlie in the form of dreams or at night during rains. The dilemma of what needs to be told and what is to be kept is handled really well by the author.
The subtle and effortless writing captures the essence of the plot really well.
The imagery of the experiences Charlie has during the war in the jungles can be pictured really well due to the supportive writing.
Harding's novel seems to be moving at just the perfect pace. The various aspects of a human and a human life are put together like a piece of art and put forward into words for the reader to read.
The multiple phases of the story like the war, the time, the relationship between husband and wife and between the fellow accompanists of Charlie from the World War II is worth witnessing.
The psychological impact that the war and time spent with Naga in the jungles has had on Charlie has been carefully curated.
The restlessness of Claire, as a wife and her fear of loss, can be felt through the writing even when not explicitly stated.
Land of the Living is written so well! I loved the way of writing. The writing was powerful, the plot was well justified by the way of writing.
Overall the book is a pleasantly beautiful read. The only thing that bugged me at times during the course of the book was I thought I wanted to know more about certain plot points and some of them were more detailed to my liking.
Keeping this little thing apart, the book is a must-read
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews