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El gran mundo
El gran mundo narra la historia de dos amigos australianos que se conocen en un campo de concentración japonés durante la segunda guerra mundial. Digger Kean es un hombre tranquilo, que lleva una vida callada en el pueblo en el que ha vivido siempre su famila. Vic Curran es impulsivo e inteligente y a pesar de sus humildísimos orígenes logra convertirse en uno de los hombres más ricos e importantes de Australia. Pese a que la amistad que los une es extraña ninguno logra cortar una relación que termina siendo capital para cada uno de ellos. Malouf va moviéndose adelante y atrás en el tiempo, arrojando luz sobre sus personajes y logrando un espectacular fresco de la Australia del siglo XX. Una de las mejores novelas australianas de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, publicada originalmente en 1990 y galardonada con el Commonwealth Writer's Prize y el Prix Femina Étranger.
408 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 1989
19 people are currently reading
1169 people want to read
About the author
David Malouf
85 books302 followersDavid Malouf is a celebrated Australian poet, novelist, librettist, playwright, and essayist whose work has garnered international acclaim. Known for his lyrical prose and explorations of identity, memory, and place, Malouf began his literary career in poetry before gaining recognition for his fiction. His 1990 novel The Great World won the Miles Franklin Award and several other major prizes, while Remembering Babylon (1993) earned a Booker Prize nomination and multiple international honors.
Malouf has taught at universities in Australia and the UK, delivered the prestigious Boyer Lectures, and written libretti for acclaimed operas. Born in Brisbane to a Lebanese father and a mother of Sephardi Jewish heritage, he draws on both Australian and European influences in his work. He is widely regarded as one of Australia's most important literary voices and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
Malouf has taught at universities in Australia and the UK, delivered the prestigious Boyer Lectures, and written libretti for acclaimed operas. Born in Brisbane to a Lebanese father and a mother of Sephardi Jewish heritage, he draws on both Australian and European influences in his work. He is widely regarded as one of Australia's most important literary voices and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 10, 2011
Did not expect to like this but I did. First time I've read Malouf - he writes with an extraordinary lyrical tone and poetic introspection. His characters tend to follow a Joycean road with their intense and rich interior lives while inarticulate with the people around them.
The plot covers about 60 odd years, two wars and two families interconnectedness via the main characters of Digger and Vic. While WW2 is pivotal for Digger and Vic, the book begins a bit like Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury - don't let that put you off. it gets a bit like Henry James later on.... These two men who met as Japanese POW's survived Changi & the Malay railway - their friendship survives into the 80's boom. The title The Great World implies the world outside Digger's head (which he continually fills with facts to remember), outside his family and outside Keen's Crossing where he grew up along the Hawkesbury River: it's also hauntingly the name of a place where they were interred as POW's.
Both of the men are entirely different in temperment but forge a lifelong bond owing each other their lives but it is fraught with tension. Malouf writes about these men's inner lives in a way that for the times startled & surprised me. Australian men were/are not known for expressing hurts about friendships, fears or their sense of displacement (as women do more often), but prefer to joke about and get on with it, rather than admit those feelings. "Why is he acting that way, I bet he's going to dump me". So when Malouf voices their inner lives in this way, I felt a sense of relief and wonder, that men and women are not totally alien species. The women in the story are no less interesting with tangled and emotionally charged pasts.
Malouf had me to tears several times, he's a tender writer of great beauty that I hope to read more of.
loaned to pop
The plot covers about 60 odd years, two wars and two families interconnectedness via the main characters of Digger and Vic. While WW2 is pivotal for Digger and Vic, the book begins a bit like Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury - don't let that put you off. it gets a bit like Henry James later on.... These two men who met as Japanese POW's survived Changi & the Malay railway - their friendship survives into the 80's boom. The title The Great World implies the world outside Digger's head (which he continually fills with facts to remember), outside his family and outside Keen's Crossing where he grew up along the Hawkesbury River: it's also hauntingly the name of a place where they were interred as POW's.
Both of the men are entirely different in temperment but forge a lifelong bond owing each other their lives but it is fraught with tension. Malouf writes about these men's inner lives in a way that for the times startled & surprised me. Australian men were/are not known for expressing hurts about friendships, fears or their sense of displacement (as women do more often), but prefer to joke about and get on with it, rather than admit those feelings. "Why is he acting that way, I bet he's going to dump me". So when Malouf voices their inner lives in this way, I felt a sense of relief and wonder, that men and women are not totally alien species. The women in the story are no less interesting with tangled and emotionally charged pasts.
Malouf had me to tears several times, he's a tender writer of great beauty that I hope to read more of.
loaned to pop
May 6, 2019
The plot covers two generations of two men, Digger and Vic. Both come from working class stock but after Vic becomes orphaned he lives with a well-to-do family. In their late teens they enlist, go to Singapore and experience 3 1/2 years as POWs in Changi and the Thai-Burma railway.
Vic and Digger are of different temperaments but have a lifelong bond built open their POW experiences. Much of the book relates to the men's feelings and how they express it. Digger remains a battler but it well read and expresses himself through a few words and deeds. The few women in his life are drawn to his kindness and wisdom. Vic becomes a successful businessman, is estranged with his son and barely connects with his wife.
WWII explains why the men connected. But the book seemed to me to be more about men expressing (or not expressing) their emotions.
Vic and Digger are of different temperaments but have a lifelong bond built open their POW experiences. Much of the book relates to the men's feelings and how they express it. Digger remains a battler but it well read and expresses himself through a few words and deeds. The few women in his life are drawn to his kindness and wisdom. Vic becomes a successful businessman, is estranged with his son and barely connects with his wife.
WWII explains why the men connected. But the book seemed to me to be more about men expressing (or not expressing) their emotions.
September 30, 2021
This tale of hard lives shared and enduring male friendship over decades is lifted into extraordinary territory through the quality of Malouf’s prose and his choice of characters.
He writes lives of Japanese prisoners of war on the Burma Railway in ways I’ve never read before.
And it brings up again the thought that how does anybody who went through experiences like that, or through any of the great miseries of war, ever return to something like a normal life. Or what we privileged people in peaceful, prosperous countries can think of as normal life.
He writes lives of Japanese prisoners of war on the Burma Railway in ways I’ve never read before.
And it brings up again the thought that how does anybody who went through experiences like that, or through any of the great miseries of war, ever return to something like a normal life. Or what we privileged people in peaceful, prosperous countries can think of as normal life.
March 22, 2022
An engaging, well written, eventful, interesting character based novel about two Australian men over a period of sixty years. Vic and Digger are very different characters who shared experiences as prisoners of war in Malaya and Thailand during the Second World War. Vic grows up in a wealthy family in Sydney and Digger grows up with his mother and sister at a river crossing just outside of suburban Sydney. Their experiences during the imprisonment is well described. After the war both men spend two or three years of randomly wandering around, eventually settling down to live very different lives. Vic and Digger are survivors who have lost their innocence and keep their thoughts to themselves.
A very worthwhile reading experience.
This book won the 1991 Miles Franklin Award.
A very worthwhile reading experience.
This book won the 1991 Miles Franklin Award.
July 12, 2025
um livro único que nos meandros do que está, ou não, escrito nos apresenta um retrato de uma "amizade" nascida da resistência num tempo de guerra. leitura única nos tempos que correm.
May 9, 2010
“El gran mundo” de David Malouf se desarrolla en Australia a lo largo de buena parte del siglo XX. Pero más que centrarse en la Historia en mayúscula, la que se recoge en enciclopedias y libros de texto, se centra en la historia de amistad entre Digger Keen y Vic Curran. De origen humilde, Digger y Vic, llevan existencias paralelas, su infancia coincide con la gran depresión y la viven en un hogar desestructurado en mayor o menor grado. Luego, sus caminos se cruzan durante la segunda guerra mundial en un campo de prisioneros. Por culpa de sus caracteres opuestos, al principio se rechazan, pero acaban desarrollando una relación incluso más íntima que la amistad, simplemente porque se necesitan para sobrevivir. Terminada la guerra, los dos seguirán con sus vidas totalmente distintas, pero se irán viendo periódicamente y ahondando en una amistad que les permite no sólo conocer al otro sino sobre todo conocerse a sí mismos.
La estancia en un campo de prisioneros es la parte central del libro, pero también es el hecho que divide la vida de los protagonistas en un antes y un después. Malouf relata los esfuerzos de los personajes para conservar la humanidad en unas condiciones tan deshumanizadoras y luego describe los intentos para olvidar esta experiencia pero también los intentos de no olvidarla. Es una novela épica, que relata nada más ni nada menos que la épica de la lucha por la supervivencia, pero antes que nada es una novela psicológica. Digger y Vic son dos personajes encerrados en sí mismos pero muy distintos. Vic puede parecer un extrovertido, pero esto no es nada más que una máscara, mientras que Digger puede parecer un introvertido, pero en realidad es capaz de abrirse a los otros una vez se han ganado su confianza. Vic se caracteriza por un orgullo extremo y Digger por una lealtad sin límites. Vic es un hombre de acción, Digger parece que se siente más cómodo en el papel de espectador. Vic es un personaje que nunca quiere darse a conocer tal y como auténticamente es, mientras que Digger parece ávido de encontrar a alguien que le pueda comprender y de comprender a los que le rodean. Se podría decir que son complementarios. En todo caso se trata de dos personajes complejos, con sus contradicciones, que evolucionan al largo de la obra, siempre perfectamente construidos.
Narrada con continuos saltos en el tiempo, magistralmente hilvanados, “El gran mundo” es una novela dura, pero muy honesta, sin trampas ni maniqueísmos. No es dura solamente porque los dos protagonistas tengan la mala fortuna de caer en un campo de prisioneros sino porque la vida ya de por sí puede ser muy dura y al final siempre hay la muerte que se lo lleva todo. E incluso en los momentos de felicidad no deja de haber una nota discordante. Por otra parte, además de Digger y Vic también hay una galería de secundarios remarcables, descritos de forma eficaz con unos pocos trazos. No puedo dejar de mencionar a los personajes femeninos, fuertes e independientes a pesar de sus limitaciones, como Jenny, la hermana “simple” de Digger cuyo retraso se puede entender como la desventaja de todas las mujeres de una época respeto a los hombres; o la señora Warrender, que se lamenta de que su padre la conservara entre algodones y le diera una educación tan poco práctica que en un principio le impide desenvolverse en un mundo de hombres; o Iris, que es viuda y saca adelante sola a sus hijos y que a pesar de los palos que le ha dado la vida no ha perdido las ganas de vivir ni la capacidad de ilusionarse o enamorarse. Sin duda, “El gran mundo” es una novela que cuando uno la termina tiene la sensación que ha presenciado algo grande.
La estancia en un campo de prisioneros es la parte central del libro, pero también es el hecho que divide la vida de los protagonistas en un antes y un después. Malouf relata los esfuerzos de los personajes para conservar la humanidad en unas condiciones tan deshumanizadoras y luego describe los intentos para olvidar esta experiencia pero también los intentos de no olvidarla. Es una novela épica, que relata nada más ni nada menos que la épica de la lucha por la supervivencia, pero antes que nada es una novela psicológica. Digger y Vic son dos personajes encerrados en sí mismos pero muy distintos. Vic puede parecer un extrovertido, pero esto no es nada más que una máscara, mientras que Digger puede parecer un introvertido, pero en realidad es capaz de abrirse a los otros una vez se han ganado su confianza. Vic se caracteriza por un orgullo extremo y Digger por una lealtad sin límites. Vic es un hombre de acción, Digger parece que se siente más cómodo en el papel de espectador. Vic es un personaje que nunca quiere darse a conocer tal y como auténticamente es, mientras que Digger parece ávido de encontrar a alguien que le pueda comprender y de comprender a los que le rodean. Se podría decir que son complementarios. En todo caso se trata de dos personajes complejos, con sus contradicciones, que evolucionan al largo de la obra, siempre perfectamente construidos.
Narrada con continuos saltos en el tiempo, magistralmente hilvanados, “El gran mundo” es una novela dura, pero muy honesta, sin trampas ni maniqueísmos. No es dura solamente porque los dos protagonistas tengan la mala fortuna de caer en un campo de prisioneros sino porque la vida ya de por sí puede ser muy dura y al final siempre hay la muerte que se lo lleva todo. E incluso en los momentos de felicidad no deja de haber una nota discordante. Por otra parte, además de Digger y Vic también hay una galería de secundarios remarcables, descritos de forma eficaz con unos pocos trazos. No puedo dejar de mencionar a los personajes femeninos, fuertes e independientes a pesar de sus limitaciones, como Jenny, la hermana “simple” de Digger cuyo retraso se puede entender como la desventaja de todas las mujeres de una época respeto a los hombres; o la señora Warrender, que se lamenta de que su padre la conservara entre algodones y le diera una educación tan poco práctica que en un principio le impide desenvolverse en un mundo de hombres; o Iris, que es viuda y saca adelante sola a sus hijos y que a pesar de los palos que le ha dado la vida no ha perdido las ganas de vivir ni la capacidad de ilusionarse o enamorarse. Sin duda, “El gran mundo” es una novela que cuando uno la termina tiene la sensación que ha presenciado algo grande.
February 26, 2021
I am glad to have turned to David Malouf at this stage in life. Others I know recoil at his name, having suffered through dreary forced reading in high school. While I love how he vividly writes of physical spaces and their relationship with a character's inner journey, there is little more tiresome than being forced to decode and recite back the tricks of the authorial trade just before lunchtime in a broiling schoolroom.
The Great World is a fantastic read. As ever, Malouf writes in a lyrical and mesmerising tone. He beautifully ties together several markedly different stories across decades and continents. Moreover, he humanised the inhuman, and while there is a great deal of pain and trauma here, it's conveyed with such a lightness of touch and loving tone that you suspect some alchemy at play.
Can you guess that I loved this book?
Although utterly different in approach, tone and subject matter, I couldn't help but think of Sally Rooney's Normal People, which I felt a worthy but flawed novel. What made me think of this was the relationship between Digger and Vic, two traumatised characters with whom we share their rich and nuanced inner lives, yet remain burdened by the lack of a capacity to articulate their thoughts, pain and dreams with those around them. Where I was never quite convinced by Rooney's book, this one had me utterly compelled.
A beautiful novel.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Great World is a fantastic read. As ever, Malouf writes in a lyrical and mesmerising tone. He beautifully ties together several markedly different stories across decades and continents. Moreover, he humanised the inhuman, and while there is a great deal of pain and trauma here, it's conveyed with such a lightness of touch and loving tone that you suspect some alchemy at play.
Can you guess that I loved this book?
Although utterly different in approach, tone and subject matter, I couldn't help but think of Sally Rooney's Normal People, which I felt a worthy but flawed novel. What made me think of this was the relationship between Digger and Vic, two traumatised characters with whom we share their rich and nuanced inner lives, yet remain burdened by the lack of a capacity to articulate their thoughts, pain and dreams with those around them. Where I was never quite convinced by Rooney's book, this one had me utterly compelled.
A beautiful novel.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
November 20, 2011
I found this book a little disappointing. Perhaps this was because I was so impressed by Remembering Babylon, the first book I read by Malouf. Like Remembering Babylon, The Great World stands out due to Malouf's distinct and impressive writing style. With relatively few words Malouf can deftly sketch everyday observations or events and suggest their profundity. So I can't figure out, when the author builds up his two main characters by layering minutiae after minutiae about their lives, from birth to (near) death, why I never felt that I really understood the characters. I don't think it is because I don't understand that generation of men. My grandparents are from that generation, but that didn't give me any more familiarity with Malouf's protaganists. Perhaps it's a question of perspective. Malouf develops them with microscopic precision, and I never really was able to step back from the details and see them as a whole - as living, breathing, believeable characters. Neither did I truely comprehend their relationship of interdependence. It bothers me that this was so elusive to me. And yet there are some very memorable moments in the novel, and interesting observations, which I will take away from this book and ponder for some time.
July 7, 2024
Malouf deserves the Nobel.
March 20, 2019
A brilliant novel by one of Australia's greatest authors
August 16, 2020
Malouf has to be one of my favorite finds...his writing is lovely...even grim subjects are treated with a quiet dignity, grace. I didn't dog-ear much, I thought I had, but there are several gems that I want to share so you can have a taste...just a taste of what I love about his work:
People are not always kind, but the kind thing to say of Jenny was that she was simple. first line, page 3
The figures doubled and trebled, you could grasp that. It was worth boasting about. It pointed to a personal agency you could identify, to foresight, boldness, imagination. But when the momentum increased, as if subject to some law of its own that was purely mathematical, the personal side of it disappeared. There was a scale to it now that was beyond the capacity of the mind to grasp. Keep adding noughts, and although the thing is still there, and in fact occupies more and more space, there develops in it a kind of vacuum, as if the noughts, the nothings, had predominance. The mind loses all trace of it. from page 270
He had spent so many hours in the consideration of it because the law she had lived by was so like his own. What he was left wonder was how, when the time came, he might let go of things without believing, as she had, that he was not only losing them but had never in any real sense had them. from page 282
'What does it mean to be,' he thought, 'except to be known?' from page 287
People are not always kind, but the kind thing to say of Jenny was that she was simple. first line, page 3
The figures doubled and trebled, you could grasp that. It was worth boasting about. It pointed to a personal agency you could identify, to foresight, boldness, imagination. But when the momentum increased, as if subject to some law of its own that was purely mathematical, the personal side of it disappeared. There was a scale to it now that was beyond the capacity of the mind to grasp. Keep adding noughts, and although the thing is still there, and in fact occupies more and more space, there develops in it a kind of vacuum, as if the noughts, the nothings, had predominance. The mind loses all trace of it. from page 270
He had spent so many hours in the consideration of it because the law she had lived by was so like his own. What he was left wonder was how, when the time came, he might let go of things without believing, as she had, that he was not only losing them but had never in any real sense had them. from page 282
'What does it mean to be,' he thought, 'except to be known?' from page 287
July 22, 2013
As with my love of Patrick White: so to Malouf. This novel is much more 'novel like' and less prose heavy like 'Ransom', 'An Ordinary Life' and even 'Remembering Babylon.' He taps into the profane, the beautiful, masculinities, war, Mateship, love – all the great themes — in such a beautiful manner. The characters all
possess such an innate charm and haunting ability to read and understand one another. It's a ripping yarn, full of wonder at the world and infused with his beautiful spiritualism.
possess such an innate charm and haunting ability to read and understand one another. It's a ripping yarn, full of wonder at the world and infused with his beautiful spiritualism.
September 1, 2025
A must read book by a great, wonderful author, I wish I could write a proper review praising this novel's strengths but I need to read it again to do that and no doubt I will. In the meantime I have no problem recommending this novel without any reservations.
May 15, 2015
The Great World is a Great Book.
Great Story, Great Characters, Great Writing.
I Greatly recommend it.
Great Story, Great Characters, Great Writing.
I Greatly recommend it.
December 4, 2021
Malouf tells the tale of two men, living separate lives, from childhood to old age in his usual magnificent prose. The two men are Digger and Vic who were both born into poverty but Vic is raised from an early age by a well to do family. Their stories converge when both men become prisoners of war of the Japanese and struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of the building of the Burma railroad. Both men survived because of the bond they formed, owing their lives to each other, and even though they both went their separate ways after the war the book revolves around this bond. Much of the story is told through mostly the psychological effect events had on each of them and didn't dwell on the events themself and told about their actions that were often counter to their actual feelings and thoughts. David Malouf always seems to tell his stories in very unique ways that make his books fascinating reads.
April 25, 2021
This is a great book. At once telling a story of horror, pain & degradation whilst also of love. The characters are wonderfully developed & exude the essence of the common man. Their back-stories are crafted to intersect and dart away again without diminishing from the believability of the story. I’ve finished it on ANZAC Day, and reflect on the ever widening ripples of loss in war time, and on the sacrifice of the few for many. Lest we forget.
March 21, 2019
David Malouf, on his birthday March 20
A poetry of language and identity, exile and dislocation, and of the effects of colonial imperialism and war; David Malouf wrestles with the origins of violence, nationalism, and racism as great themes throughout his novels.
A reimagination of Tolstoy's War and Peace set in WWII, The Great World can be numbered with On Remembering Babylon as universally acclaimed works; David Malouf together with Patrick White and Peter Carey forming the triumvirate of Australian literature.
Ransom retells the story of the Iliad from books 22 to 24, focusing on the wrath of Achilles and his refusal to ransom the corpse of Hector, in Malouf's hands becoming an antiwar and anticolonial narrative.
Fly Away Peter, a beautifully written story taking place in WWI, handles similar themes with originality and charm.
An Imaginary Life describes the exile of the Roman poet Ovid as a universal type of the immigrant experience, and explores the relationship between person and place, and the idea of the Outsider as a double minority of both colonial exiles and natives.
On Dream Stuff: Stories and Every Move You Make collect his lyrical short fiction. Of his poetry collections Earth Hour is my favorite, and the essays in On A First Place are also worth reading.
In The Conversations at Curlow Creek he has given us a portrait of Australia as a nation in the campfire tales of a soldier and the outlaw he must hang.
A poetry of language and identity, exile and dislocation, and of the effects of colonial imperialism and war; David Malouf wrestles with the origins of violence, nationalism, and racism as great themes throughout his novels.
A reimagination of Tolstoy's War and Peace set in WWII, The Great World can be numbered with On Remembering Babylon as universally acclaimed works; David Malouf together with Patrick White and Peter Carey forming the triumvirate of Australian literature.
Ransom retells the story of the Iliad from books 22 to 24, focusing on the wrath of Achilles and his refusal to ransom the corpse of Hector, in Malouf's hands becoming an antiwar and anticolonial narrative.
Fly Away Peter, a beautifully written story taking place in WWI, handles similar themes with originality and charm.
An Imaginary Life describes the exile of the Roman poet Ovid as a universal type of the immigrant experience, and explores the relationship between person and place, and the idea of the Outsider as a double minority of both colonial exiles and natives.
On Dream Stuff: Stories and Every Move You Make collect his lyrical short fiction. Of his poetry collections Earth Hour is my favorite, and the essays in On A First Place are also worth reading.
In The Conversations at Curlow Creek he has given us a portrait of Australia as a nation in the campfire tales of a soldier and the outlaw he must hang.
July 21, 2013
Why oh why has it taken me this long to discover David Malouf?! He's quickly become one of my favorite Aussie authors. I've not come across many other writers that are able to get inside every single character's heads as well as Malouf. He really gets in there, I felt like I understood every character, from their every motivation and weakness to their sins and ultimate downfalls. His writing is crisp and to the point, Malouf does not waste words. I could just describe the story here, give a summary, but the thing is, I'm not exactly sure what happened. On the surface The Great World is the tale of two men, thrown together in a war prison camp which ultimately leads to their confusing friendship, but really the book is about much more, the families they come from, the places they grew up, but more so the people they are inside. And maybe they alone know the other, but I'm not even sure the story is about all that. All I know is that I loved living in Malouf's words for a brief bit, and I cannot wait to go back into the worlds he creates.
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November 21, 2024Gran libro de un escritor australiano. El centro de la novela son los años de esclavitud que pasaron dos australianos, Vic y Digger, capturados por los japoneses en la II Guerra Mundial. Desde esa experiencia extrema de supervivencia, Malouf construye una compleja trama a base de anticipaciones y regresos al pasado en las que se va narrando la vida de ambos antes y después de ser prisioneros y la forma en que construyen una peculair amistad que perdura en los años a pesar de que llevan vidas totalmente diferentes
May 14, 2010
I love the way David Malouf writes. After reading his Remembering Babylon I would welcome a chance to read all his books. This one was perhaps a bit to ethereal for me but it was unforgettable and totally original. Set in Australia it concerns two men who form an unlikely bond during WWII when they were held for three years as Japanese prisoners of war. Starved and sick, they rely on each other to survive. After the war they return to their previous lives, meeting occasionally, and always feeling oddly alienated from each other yet intimately acquainted. Malouf is a master at capturing nuance and the private inner workings that makes each of us a solitary being in this world.
December 6, 2020
I’ve been fortunate to read some really great books this year, and this is certainly one of them. My best of the year picks this year are closer to all-decade type books. Any other year this book, The Great World, would probably be the best book of the year. Whether it will be among the best I read this year I don’t know, but I do know this is a special book. There is so much life in this novel, and it’s intricacies such a pleasure to read. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I’m so grateful because otherwise I would have never found my way to it.
January 17, 2021
A very thoughtful and moving story about Australians before,during and after WWII.I found it a bit hard to get into but it was worth persevering.The writing is precise and poetical with deep analyses of the individuals involved.It covers the Depression years, WW II,Changi and the Burma railway and post war prosperity through the lives of two men and their families.A great novel but not an easy read.
May 19, 2008
The story of two Australian men, Digger and Vic, and how their lives are effected by being prisoners-of-war together in a WWII Japanese camp. The author is especially skilled at description and there are several very moving scenes with beautiful imagery. This writing falls into the New Yorker category of fiction.
January 10, 2021
A beautifully written novel of disparate characters Vic and Digger growing up separately around Sydney, meeting as Japanese POWs and staying in touch through some tough times in their post-war lives. This is so human and moving with superbly real protagonists and wonderful period detail. A great Australian story, totally convincing
July 2, 2021
Quite an epic. I loved the development of Digger & Vic through a story that is beautifully told & structured. Challenging in parts - vividly told anecdotes of a POW in Thailand. Wonderful book.
October 10, 2022
This is a very fine novel. To my shame I had never heard of famous Australian author David Malouf before I picked this up in a charity shop, but I will now look out for more of his work.
The Great World is a sweeping historical epic describing the fortunes of two Australian families between two great economic crises, the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1987.
Vic and Digger (Albert), the two central figures, are both born into poverty in the 1920s in smalltown Australia. Like all the male characters in this novel they have a yearning for "the great world" outside the narrow confines of their (literally and metaphorically) insular nation and the limited opportunities they are born into. They are thrown together (of course) by WW2, and are part of that tragic contingent of reinforcements for the 8th Australian Infantry Division which arrived in Singapore just in time to be captured by the Japanese - in a nice ironic touch, "The Great World" is the name of a derelict amusement park where they are interned and begin their ordeal as slave labourers, ultimately ending up on the Thai-Burma "Death Railway". Very different personalities and initially inimical to one another, they become comrades (though possibly never friends) and help one another to survive their captivity. After their return home they never fully recover from their experiences but also, you sense, never live as fully again.
It's a very rich novel, about, amongst other things, male friendship, male inarticulacy, trust and trustworthiness, "character", and much more, but one theme in particular struck a chord with me: how accidents and chance, rather than anything we will or is innate to us, shape our lives. The author evokes this with some very sharp use of pathos:
Vic, as a new POW: "He had spent his youth studying to be noble. But the world he was in now was a mystery to him. You do not prepare yourself for shame."
"Nobody deserves what they get........Oh, it's unfair all right, but who ever said it would be fair ? And who can you complain to, anyhow ?"
".......like how little a man can live on and still drag himself from one day to the next. The history of empires, that lesson was, and what it costs to build them."
{Vic carries a loop of thread through his time as a POW. Newly-liberated, he is poleaxed by the sight of a street pedlar with a pyramid of whole reels of cotton on a tray.} "He had a vision suddenly of how small it was, all that had happened to him."
Back in Australia, Digger sees bewildered newly-demobbed soldiers "with a half-expectant, half-lost look of men who were waiting for life to declare a direction to them, now that they were free to go wherever they pleased."
Later he muses on the death of his mother, who had treasured and held on tenaciously to the family's few possessions: "He wondered how, when the time came, he might let go of things without believing, as she had, that he was not only losing them but had never in any real sense had them."
There are many more, but those particularly left an impression on me.
Highly-recommended. My one slight cavil is the author tries to fit too much into a relatively short book (330 pages), leaving a lot tantalisingly unexplored. But maybe you're supposed to imagine the rest for yourself.
The Great World is a sweeping historical epic describing the fortunes of two Australian families between two great economic crises, the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1987.
Vic and Digger (Albert), the two central figures, are both born into poverty in the 1920s in smalltown Australia. Like all the male characters in this novel they have a yearning for "the great world" outside the narrow confines of their (literally and metaphorically) insular nation and the limited opportunities they are born into. They are thrown together (of course) by WW2, and are part of that tragic contingent of reinforcements for the 8th Australian Infantry Division which arrived in Singapore just in time to be captured by the Japanese - in a nice ironic touch, "The Great World" is the name of a derelict amusement park where they are interned and begin their ordeal as slave labourers, ultimately ending up on the Thai-Burma "Death Railway". Very different personalities and initially inimical to one another, they become comrades (though possibly never friends) and help one another to survive their captivity. After their return home they never fully recover from their experiences but also, you sense, never live as fully again.
It's a very rich novel, about, amongst other things, male friendship, male inarticulacy, trust and trustworthiness, "character", and much more, but one theme in particular struck a chord with me: how accidents and chance, rather than anything we will or is innate to us, shape our lives. The author evokes this with some very sharp use of pathos:
Vic, as a new POW: "He had spent his youth studying to be noble. But the world he was in now was a mystery to him. You do not prepare yourself for shame."
"Nobody deserves what they get........Oh, it's unfair all right, but who ever said it would be fair ? And who can you complain to, anyhow ?"
".......like how little a man can live on and still drag himself from one day to the next. The history of empires, that lesson was, and what it costs to build them."
{Vic carries a loop of thread through his time as a POW. Newly-liberated, he is poleaxed by the sight of a street pedlar with a pyramid of whole reels of cotton on a tray.} "He had a vision suddenly of how small it was, all that had happened to him."
Back in Australia, Digger sees bewildered newly-demobbed soldiers "with a half-expectant, half-lost look of men who were waiting for life to declare a direction to them, now that they were free to go wherever they pleased."
Later he muses on the death of his mother, who had treasured and held on tenaciously to the family's few possessions: "He wondered how, when the time came, he might let go of things without believing, as she had, that he was not only losing them but had never in any real sense had them."
There are many more, but those particularly left an impression on me.
Highly-recommended. My one slight cavil is the author tries to fit too much into a relatively short book (330 pages), leaving a lot tantalisingly unexplored. But maybe you're supposed to imagine the rest for yourself.
May 20, 2021
Quattro giovani soldati australiani (Vic, Doug, Mac e Albert, detto Digger) si incontrano sull’isola di Singapore, prigionieri dell’esecito giapponese dopo l’armistizio del Generale McArthur nel 42. Trascorrono 4 anni fra la Thailandia e la Malesia, impegnati nella costruzione di quella che verra’ poi chiamata “la ferrovia della morte”. Quelli fra loro che torneranno a casa, non saranno piu' gli stessi, ma avranno un bagaglio di esperienze, privazioni, dolore inimmaginabili, per i quattro ragazzotti partiti per il fronte come se si trattasse di un'avventura con campeggio.
Questo e’ il fulcro del libro. L’autore focalizza poi la narrazione sul rapporto di amicizia fra Digger e Vic, dei quali ci viene narrata anche l’infanzia, e la maturita’.
Onestamente, il libro mi e’ piaciuto piu’ per l’ambientazione, perche’ dell’Australia del secolo scorso proprio non so nulla, che per la storia in se’ e per se’. Interessanti le descrizioni di Sydney, e dello sviluppo demografico e urbanistico degli anni 60; del movimento hippy in Australia; dei soldati americani impegnati nel conflitto in Vietnam che trascorrevano i periodi di permesso in Australia.
I personaggi principali …li ho sentiti molto distanti…e devo dire che ho preferito i personaggi femminili, nessuno dei quali e’ protagonista, ai due principali maschili.
Questo e’ il fulcro del libro. L’autore focalizza poi la narrazione sul rapporto di amicizia fra Digger e Vic, dei quali ci viene narrata anche l’infanzia, e la maturita’.
Onestamente, il libro mi e’ piaciuto piu’ per l’ambientazione, perche’ dell’Australia del secolo scorso proprio non so nulla, che per la storia in se’ e per se’. Interessanti le descrizioni di Sydney, e dello sviluppo demografico e urbanistico degli anni 60; del movimento hippy in Australia; dei soldati americani impegnati nel conflitto in Vietnam che trascorrevano i periodi di permesso in Australia.
I personaggi principali …li ho sentiti molto distanti…e devo dire che ho preferito i personaggi femminili, nessuno dei quali e’ protagonista, ai due principali maschili.
December 25, 2019
This book was a setwork for my final year at school. Why on earth would you set this as a text for teenagers? I shake my head. Maybe I should have just taken the regular course for 16 year olds instead of the advanced one.
I loved this book, especially as I obviously didn't have the capacity for it the first time around and all its intricacies. The epic/ human scale of the narrative, the emotional nuances, the dreamlike qualities, the narrative shape.
I do get tired of the phrase 'the centre/ core/ ground/ heart/ bones of things.' What is being talked about is endless and ineffable, that which 'can not be held on to' but is still ' not lost'. However I love reading Malouf, and this book was just my cup of tea.
At the same time that I read this book, I watched a comedy special on TV a couple of times - Carl Barron's Drinking with a Fork. Carl's outlook on Australia and Australians - self-deprecating, affectionate - leavened my reading of this essentially serious book with a bit of Australian warmth and humour.
I loved this book, especially as I obviously didn't have the capacity for it the first time around and all its intricacies. The epic/ human scale of the narrative, the emotional nuances, the dreamlike qualities, the narrative shape.
I do get tired of the phrase 'the centre/ core/ ground/ heart/ bones of things.' What is being talked about is endless and ineffable, that which 'can not be held on to' but is still ' not lost'. However I love reading Malouf, and this book was just my cup of tea.
At the same time that I read this book, I watched a comedy special on TV a couple of times - Carl Barron's Drinking with a Fork. Carl's outlook on Australia and Australians - self-deprecating, affectionate - leavened my reading of this essentially serious book with a bit of Australian warmth and humour.
April 25, 2025
David Malouf es un escritor australiano que ha cultivado principalmente la novela, aunque también tiene cuentos, poemarios, ensayos, libretos y obras de teatro. Su obra trata de temas de la historia, la sociedad y los paisajes de Australia.
- Sinopsis: El gran mundo narra la historia de dos amigos australianos que se conocen en un campo de concentración japonés durante la segunda guerra mundial. Digger Kean es un hombre tranquilo, que lleva una vida callada en el pueblo en el que ha vivido siempre su famila. Vic Curran es impulsivo e inteligente y a pesar de sus humildísimos orígenes logra convertirse en uno de los hombres más ricos e importantes de Australia. Pese a que la amistad que los une es extraña ninguno logra cortar una relación que termina siendo capital para cada uno de ellos.
- Opinión: Aunque la novela no ha resultado ser lo que yo esperaba, me ha parecido bastante entretenida. Yo creía que la historia se iba a centrar en el tiempo de los dos protagonistas en el campo de concentración pero esto solo ocupa una pequeña parte de ella. En realidad vamos a conocer las vidas de ambos antes, durante y después de la guerra. Me ha gustado mucho la manera del autor de profundizar en el carácter de los personajes, en resaltar las diferencias entre sus vidas y de mostrar la dependencia según las distintas ocasiones. También ha sido una buena manera de conocer la implicación de los australianos en este conflicto.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Instagram: miplacer_esleer
- Sinopsis: El gran mundo narra la historia de dos amigos australianos que se conocen en un campo de concentración japonés durante la segunda guerra mundial. Digger Kean es un hombre tranquilo, que lleva una vida callada en el pueblo en el que ha vivido siempre su famila. Vic Curran es impulsivo e inteligente y a pesar de sus humildísimos orígenes logra convertirse en uno de los hombres más ricos e importantes de Australia. Pese a que la amistad que los une es extraña ninguno logra cortar una relación que termina siendo capital para cada uno de ellos.
- Opinión: Aunque la novela no ha resultado ser lo que yo esperaba, me ha parecido bastante entretenida. Yo creía que la historia se iba a centrar en el tiempo de los dos protagonistas en el campo de concentración pero esto solo ocupa una pequeña parte de ella. En realidad vamos a conocer las vidas de ambos antes, durante y después de la guerra. Me ha gustado mucho la manera del autor de profundizar en el carácter de los personajes, en resaltar las diferencias entre sus vidas y de mostrar la dependencia según las distintas ocasiones. También ha sido una buena manera de conocer la implicación de los australianos en este conflicto.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Instagram: miplacer_esleer
May 22, 2017
There is so much I liked about this book; sections I would have given a five star rating, but they were dragged down by many sections that I didn't feel contributed to the story at all, and other sections where I couldn't quite grasp what profundity Malouf was trying to get across (I find this a lot with Malouf's writing it seems). Digger is a great character, and sections with him were beautifully elegiac, from his childhood through Changi prison and Burma Railway, and to his life-in-recovery after the war. Vic's character, though endearing as a child, grows to become too unlikeable, and Digger and Vic's mate-ship evolves from shared suffering of POW experiences, to be an enduring obligation-bound relationship. Maybe this underlines a possible point to the novel: that though a friend is a mate, a mate-ship is not always a friendship.
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