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Midway along the iourneyof our life
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
for I had wandered off from the straight path ..
Dante, Inferno, Canto I, as quoted in Night Letters
Each night over twenty nights, an Australian man recently diagnosed with an incurable illness sits in his Venetian hotel room writing letters home to a friend. Describing his journey through Switzerland, Italy and Venice, he reflects deeply on a number of confronting themes including mortality, seduction and other human foibles.
Vivid in its ruminations and rich in flavour, Night Letters combines the eccentric with the prosaic in its intermingling of exotic travels with portraits of everyday life. Thus, an admixture of suburban events, including the death of Basil the dog, visits to the hospital gym and window shopping in Lygon Street, is interspersed with eclectic, almost surrealist tales of the Golden Amulet and Antionetta Baroness De St Leger, Casanova's erotic exploits and excursions into Dante's Divine Comedy.
In exploring the themes of mortality, life, love and death, Dessaix has woven
a complex and highly literary novel that incorporates numerous clever literary devices including the fictitious editor, Igor Miazmov, various historical segues and explanatory end notes.
While the novel is unusual and alluring in nature, its style and approach will not necessarily have universal appeal. Dessaix's scholarly crafting of historical narrative with literary interpretation adds a certain "heaviness" to the work which clearly thrusts it beyond the realms of Iight¬hearted reflection or whimsy.
Night Letters is undoubtedly a rich, elaborate and intriguing work which commands and deserves a reader's attention. Beautiful1v packaged by
publishers Pan Macmillan, it is well worth further exploration and contemplation.
MARCUS Nisr;
Robert Dessaix, Night Letters, 1996, Pan Macmillan, hardback $29.95.
Vladimir Nabokov is widely regarded as one of the greatest prose stylists in English. His Iiterary achievement is all the more remarkable given that his native tongue was Russian. Like Joseph Conrad (who was Polish), Nabokov not only learned English as a second language but became one of its masters. Twenty years after his death, Nabokov's short stories have been made available for the first time in a single volume.
Nabokov's best known book is the novel Lolita, the darkly comic tale of a middle-aged professor's hopeless love for a pubescent girl. Lolita was the book that brought worldwide fame to its author, who had laboured in relative obscurity for nearly 30 years prior to its publication.
Many of these stories date back to Nabokov's early career as a refugee in Paris after the Russian Revolution. They frequently express a yearning for the homeland Nabokov's family was forced to flee after his father, a liberal politician, was assassinated. The prose often has a poetic density and sense of magic.
Later, when Nabokov went to live in America, his style became more detached and he cultivated the persona of a European aesthete bemused by the New World. The pretension and absurdity of American middle-class life is dissected with formidable precision.
Nabokovs characters are often charl¬atan geniuses of a bygone world, reduced to squalid deceits in dirty side-streets of Paris or Berlin or isolation and shameless hypocrisy among vulgar and gullible Americans. Adultery and murder are familiar themes, but they are always presented from unusual and arresting angles.
Nabokov's ShOIT stories display all his wit and finesse but also serve as a re-minder of the length of his career and the changes he underwent as a expatriate writer who, like Conrad, did not achieve major success until middle age.
To read Nabokov is to understand why highly regarded current writers like John Updike and Martin Amis envy his talent. According to Am is, Nabokov's work is the nearest thing to pure sensual pleasure that prose can offer". This collection, which has been assembled by Nabokov's son Dimitri, is that rare thing: a genuinely major publishing event.
SIMON CAIERSON
Vladimir Nabokov, The Collected Stories, 1996, Weidenfeld & Nichol-son, hardback $49.95.
Leaning Towards infinity is a novel about an inter-generational odyssey: the search for a new number by a mother and daughter, as well as an account of their lives and loves.
High school teacher Frances Montrose wins an international competition and travels to Athens to present a paper on
the discovery of a new number by herself and her mother - a mathematical genius whose talents were nipped in the bud.
As she heads for the conference she reflects on her family's past through a series of flashbacks. Frances' mother, Wanita, was "abandoned" in a convent where she stayed for ten years after her father, an immigrant Spanish Jew, was killed. Even then, her mathematical gifts were held in awe by the nuns.
Eventually Wanita went mad and was institutionalised. Frances completed her mother's work, largely through the annotations Wanita had made on her lover's calculations and expositions.
The spirited narration by Peta Toppano adds life and lustre to the story of two women's journeys of pain, betrayal, love and finally (at least partly) fulfilment.
If one has to comment on the story line, it is at times a bit, well, violent. The narrator's grandfather was stabbed to death; her brother, to whom Wanita hoped to bequeath her mathematician's mantle, supposedly drowned in a "five¬hundred-and-fifty-feet-deep lake"; the narrator herself was raped at the age of thirteen by her mother's lover; and her mother- a genius unvalued and relegated to wither away - eventually lost her mind.
But, as a Burmese saying goes, only when there is cruelty there is tragedy. Perhaps these events made Frances' journey of discovery more poignant, searing and significant. Perhaps, after all, the violence and the tragedy make the novel a better read.
On audio-tape, Leaning Towards Infinity is an engrossing tale to listen to and ponder on. At the end of the narration, one feels a sense of fulfilment parallel to Itwo parallel lines are supposed to meet in infinity, are they not?) the sense of satisfaction one feels when, after some considerable effort, one successfully solves a "finite" mathematical problem.
MSINT ZAN
Sue Woolfe, Leaning Towards In¬finity, 1996, ABC audio, 300 minutes (4 tapes) read by Peta Toppano, $29.95.
Some days we hustle, some days we bustle, some days we move so fast we're a blur on the horizon. Then there are the other days, when we plod along like automatons. Altered States, however, doesn't even plod. It turns off [he alarm, rolls over and goes back to sleep.
Alan Sherwood is a boring man. Soooo boring. To emphasis how boring he is. Anita Brookner makes him a property lawyer. Cliche number one. He lusts for Sarah, a bold and rampant woman. Somehow, in a paragraph, he gets engaged to Angela, whom he doesn't even like Then he "embarks on a futile act of betrayal". Cliches two to one hundred. And from this dreary high point the plot sort of spirals away into a bottomless abss, into which the reader, so gently anaesthetised by the listless prose, follows without so much as a murmur.
Nits Her crNti
Anita Brookner, Altered States, 1996, Jonathan Cape, hardback $32.95.
Louis MacNiece (1907-n51 was an Irish poet out of time and place. Born in the Protestant North, though of part-Catholic ancestry, and educated in England, he experienced the acute problems of identity common to writers of a similar background. Neither completely Irish nor English, he was also of a poetic temperament whose conventionality was not fashionable in its day MacNiece's critical reputation has not matched contemporaries such as Auden, Spender and Eliot This may well change as a result of this impressive new release of books by and about him.
The influence of Yeats is strong in MacNiece's work, as it could hardly fail to be, but it is a literary father-son relali)aiship merely hinted at in
Stall, )rthy's biography, Louis MacNiece. Stallworthy tells one apocryphal story concerning MacNiece's appearance at Yeats' funeral in Sligo_ Standing before the mourners, MacNiece solemnly
declared that the wrong body had been buried, that the corpse interred in Drumcliffe churchyard was a Frenchman with a club-foot. According to Stallworthy, this instance of poetic scen( -re Iie ; h r- -ern() ' identiary support a%): the countless thousands of literary pilgrims who have since then made the journey there feeling a little short-changed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, MacNiece himself gives no account of the incident in The Strirr js are False, but does recall on one occasion meeting Yeats, whose interest in the occult had become the stuff of legend. When asked if he had seen spirits, Yeats, apparently somewhat piqued, replied in the negative, but insisted that he had smelt then.
The sceptical MacNiece had no time for such preoccupations, preferring to ground his ideas in aspects of the everyday world, such as the experience of travel. It is a theme touched on in Edna Longley's elegant monograph, Louis Ma( niece A critical study which like all good critical studies is saturated in the subject's own words.
MacNiece's stocks are, it seems, on the rise. These books each compel the reader to explore the poems, which is, of course, where he or she should begin.
SIMON CATErSON
Jon Stallworthy, Louis MacNiece, 1996, Faber, paperback $24.95; Louis MacNiece, The Strings are False: An unfinished autobiography, 1996, Faber, paperback $16.95; and Edna Longley, Louis MacNiece: A critical study, 1996, Faber, paperback $16.95.
Another airport, another airport bookshop, and another display of novels by lawyers turned writers. I picked up Martini's fourth novel (the first I've read) on the strength of three things: his CV on the inside jacket-a former barrister for trial attorney, as the Americans prefer) in civil and criminal matters; the blurb praise by John Grisham, one of the most successful of all lawyers turned writers; and a line that resonated a little too true when it caught my eye as I glanced at the Prologue a description of his law practice as that eternal jealous mistress".
Martini's novel starts off slowly, with his pseudo-namesake hero lawyer, Paul Madriani, observing a custody case in the family court between his sister-in law and his former brother-in-law. The antagonism between the sister-in-law and her former husband's second wife plays a central role in the custody battle and when the new spouse is murdered, Madriani's sister-in-law is charged with the crime.
The remaining three-quarters of the novel is divided between out-of-court investigations and courtroom action, the latter comprising both pre-trtal motions and trial litigation I he courtroom action has some inevitable Americanisms in terms of procedure, but the law is not greatly different_ and Australian lawyers with trial experh'H', will find themselves as ei tossed in the legal dispute, the objections, arguments and rulings, as in the plot- itself.
The presentation oscillates between dialogue and Madriani's narration and thoughts. Martini was probably a Mickey Spillane fan at some point and often the dialogue has the crispness of a Spillane monologue, injecting an air of unreality into the story since Madriani is a smart, but not infallible, lawyer, not a tough gumshoe punching and shooting his way to the solution. Still, the plot keeps the reader guessing, two unexpected twists add plenty of drama, and the legal characters are engrossing for practitioners. It's not a book to order if not in stock, but if it's on the display rack and you're looking for an
interesting read on the plane, Undue Influence is worth picking up.
RICK KREVER
Steve Martini, Undue Influence, Headline, paperback $14.95.
Dead bit Sansei is a true story Books based on fact but written in the style of a work of fiction are known in literary circles as "new journalism"; colloquially, they inc called "faction" This type of story can be more disturbing than fiction, because the safety vale of knowing that it is all made up is not there. Dead by Sunset is a perfect case in point; I found this story so alarming and at the same time so gripping that it disturbed my sleep.
Dead by Srurset is the talc of a murder investigation A successful lawyer and mother of three sons, Cheryl Keeton, is found biutally murdered and the main suspect is her estranged husband, Bradiy Cunningham. Cunningham is so manipulative and cunning that the police cannot prosecute him, although he is the only Iikely perpetrator. Despite a succession of marriages marked by violence and abuse, and many threats towards the victim, the police cannot initially prove that he is linked to the crime.
Technological advances such as DNA testing were not available in the mid-1980s, consequently, a case based at best on mainly inadmissable evidence would have been doomed to fail and therefore could not take place at the time. The ensuing account of Cunningham's run from justice is so enthralling that you cannot put the book down until you have discovered what he could possibly do next and whether he will eventually be caught and punished.
The book also analyses what makes a man such as Cunningham tick. From birth, his destiny seemed predetermined: he was taught by his father to despise women and his enormous ego drove him on from there. Rule shows that men capable of such domestic violence display similar traits and can almost be picked by the expert as a time bomb waiting to go off.
I suspect this story has been written as a warning to women to be careful. As a true-crime writer, lecturer and former police officer, Ann Rule would have seen a number of wife-murdering psychopaths in her time. While it is not necessary to start checking all the personality traits of the men in your life, the book is a reminder that such people do exist!
Altogether, Dead by Sunset is a gripping story that is barely believable, but all the more scary because you have to believe it. Any reader who enjoys a good murder mystery should get a copy right away - you'll read it in a day or two because you will not be able to put it down!
J Mi~ti;,a Wring_
Mn Rule, Dead by Sunset, 1996, Little, Brown, hardback $35.
Lewis Fox, in his late fifties, is managing partner of a prosperous northern California legal firm. He is planning to decamp with a number of professional staff and some substantial clients. There is some suggestion that he may have been involved in financial improprieties to finance this venture.
Having long since divorced the gin-soaked mother of his two adult children, Fox has been married for five years to the young, wealthy and exquisitely beautiful Julia. He had formerly been her trustee; Julia's late father wisely did not believe her capable of managing his considerable fortune. Unfortunately, he could not have foreseen that Fox would be replaced by a trustee whose feminist principles would prevent her from querying in any way the rabbit-brained Julia's requests for money, however large the sum.
Readers will not be entirely surprised to find that this unappealing character has been shot at close range, along with his dowdy college student daughter Gail. This being a whodunit they will also be prepared to accept that, over six months after the murders, the police have finally charged Julia, just as she is starting to develop a relationship with the astronomer and very amateur detective Lomax.
They will, however, be taken aback to find that the defence is being
conducted by Fox's firm Sachs Smith - "it would look bad if we didn't defend her". The ethical problems are disposed of by having the client sign a waiver and erecting a Chinese picket fence around the defence team while the auditors check the books.
Fans of PD James will appreciate the attempt at psychological depth; fans of John Grisham will enjoy the courtroom antics. and fans of Dorothy Dunnett will identify the murderer quite early but will ea d on anyway because the red herrings are of such high quality.This is a good read. Take it on your holidays, as I did, and keep an eye out for the author's next effort, as I will.
CHRISTINE ASHBY
Liz Rigbey, Total Eclipse, 1996, Orion, paperback $14.95.
ChristiaanBarnard niat be the world's first human heart transplant surgeon and an inspiring intellectual, but he is not a skilled novel writer. This, his fourth novel, described as a "medical thriller", depicts a world famous, playboy heart surgeon who attempts to resurrect his brain-dead lover while his ex-Nazi assistant plays with genetic manipulation. It is spattered with convenient coincidences, cliched phrases and unresolved threads. If Barnard is a Nobel Prize candidate, then it is not for literature.
If, however, you can forgive his attempts to depict sadomasochism, the female psyche and the powers of African witch doctors, then there are features which make The Donor worth the effort. It is in the areas of complicated medical procedures, the life of the surgeon and the intricacies of the genetics debate that Barnard's intellect shines through.
His descriptions of the human heart, surgical procedures for transplants ("piggy-back" operations, in which two hearts beat in the one body) and methods to stop and restart the heart are fascinating. This vast knowledge, spliced with imagination, results in some compelling concepts, such as the "ward of the living dead", in which the bodies of brain dead corpses are maintained in a healthy state until compatible patients require their healthy organs.
Genetic manipulation, in which baboons are bred to "carry" a human heart without rejecting the once foreign tissue, adds another dimension to the complexities described. Place these issues in apartheid South Africa and you are faced with an understated, yet interesting exploration of racial and genetic boundaries - not simply between white and black humans, but also between humans and all primates.
If you are like this reader, however, you will feel slightly dissatisfied with the development of fascinating issues of genetic manipulation, which become clouded behind unbelievable characters and a contrived plot. If Christiaan Barnard insists on writing novels, then this reader would suggest that he stick with what he knows.
THALIA KcLileccr<Is
Christiaan Barnard, The Donor, 1996, Michael Joseph, hardback $24.95.
With names like Mace McLain, Slade Connor and Leeny Hunt, you might think you had mistakenly picked up a script for the latest soap opera. Why must authors persist in using such ridiculous names for their characters? After all, what parent in their right mind is going to name their child after a defensive weapon spray?
With that frustration out of the way, I can now say that this was a gripping, adrenalin-pumping read. I did not want to put it down. The storyline - a combination of politics, blackmail, international terrorism, high finance and of course sex was ... well, what more could you want?
Mace McLain is a hotshot investment banker, a rising star in one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms. He is offered what appears to be the opportunity of a lifetime by the senior partner at the firm. Mace is to be a key player in raising one billion dollars that will be used to purchase Manhattan commercial real estate and stocks when the market crashes - the vulture fund. He is promised partnership and an obscene amount of money if he is successful on the project. How does the senior partner know about an impending crash? Good question!
Slowly, tidbits of information are revealed, leading Mace to feel increasingly uncomfortable about his role in the project. Friendships are not what they seem to be and a straightforward project of raising funds is unravelling as something far more wide-reaching and dangerous.
This novel will be on the big screen in no time. Picture Tom Cruise as Mace and Sharon Stone as Leeny. There are parts for the head of the CIA and the President of the USA. so Hollywood get in line! For lazing in the sun, or after a long day's work, this is wonderful escapism.
Lois MILLER
Stephen Frey, The Vulture Fund, 1996, Michael Joseph, paperback $19.95.
The front of the dust jacket describes this book as a chronicle of Wall Street myths, legends and outright lies. It is certainly that.
The back of the dust jacketcontains testimonials which led me to expect the book to be full of very funny stories and jokes about Wall Street Unfortunately the testimonials built up my expectations; I found the book mildly amusing rather than hilariously funny. Maybe it is simply a case of "you had to be there at the time".
There is a chapter on women on Wall Street and another on tales about the trading desk. For those readers who are not conversant with the workings of the stock exchange and various types of stocks and securities, Insana provides a brief explanation when it is needed.
These brief explanations were one of the most interesting aspects of the book and they helped me understand some of the jargon I hear sharebrokers speak. This aspect of the book is just as interesting as the tales.
Don't get me wrong, there are some funny stories. For example, there is one about the time when Ted Kennedy visited the trading floor shortly after the Chappaquiddick affair. As Senator Kennedy was leaving the trading floor, one of the brokers asked the group, "Hey girls, the Senator's leaving. Anyone need a ride home?".
There are tales of practical jokes, greed and prejudice. As the author states in the introduction, many of the stories have obviously been embellished over the years and other stories are just outright lies. If half of them are true, being a sharebroker sounds like a lot of fun! Whether they be true or not they are enjoyable to read, but do not read the back dust jacket in case they do not live up to your expectations.
A good gift for a friend who is a sharebroker.
ROBERT WARNOCK
Ron Insana, Traders' Tales, 1996, Jacaranda Wiley, hardback $42.95
This book is highly critical of the "religious right" for attempting to rewrite history by claiming back the United States as a covenanted nation of God In fact there is no mention of God in the US Constitution. Yet some political candidates are said to ignore their constitutional heritage and claim divine mandates for their policies for the sole purpose of getting elected. "Politicians who run for office claiming God's backing and who urge voters to make their decisions on the basis of a candidate's religious beliefs are treading on ground that the Constitution did not want entered " In a useful analysis of the history of the separation between church and state, we learn that the framers of the so-called "Godless Constitution" feared the sorts of divisions between religious groups which had led to the many religious wars in Europe since the Middle Ages. At the time of the constitutional ratification debates of 1787-88, America's founding fathers, although believing in the social importance of religion, saw politics as a corrupting activity which should neither discourage nor encourage the exercise of religion Thomas Jefferson's attempts to keep governance on a secular footing attracted for himself a personal lampooning as a rebellious infidel from pulpits far and wide In support of Jefferson's ideas, however, were the American Baptists who had inherited a tradition of mistrust of the establishment Churches lost their tax support and the wall between church and state became a solid fixture. The promotion of religious remedies to modern society's ills is said to drive debate away from the hard policy issues towards meaningIess initiatives that constitute symbolic politics and nothing more.
Claims of religious certainty should never be used to preclude the proper workings of a pluralist democratic process. Religious figures, according to the authors, have no greater right to be heard in political lobbying than anyone else. The authors see a role, however, for the "proper" use of religion in informing political outlook There is said to be an important difference between the "Social Gospel of Christians who have used the ethical teachings of Jesus to warn against class and racial injustice and [the religious right's] own version which seems too often to be merely an apology for wealth". Religious figures are welcome to speak out if the truly prophetic version of applied Christianity is being broadcast But, ask, what is the truly prophetic version of applied Christianity? Is it really so narrow that it precludes absolutely all elements supported by the religious right?
Perhaps a slightly more objective analysis would have raised some interesting issues Although confined to an American context, the book's historical examination of the issue of church state separation provides a helpful context for seeing the importance of both freedom of expression and toleration. We see that the opportunity to have open public debate on both political and religious issues should never be taken for granted. History clearly demonstrates that when people fear to speak out openly because of political correctness, religious correctness or any other fashionable sentiment, authority is likely to be misused.
LAURENCE DALTON
Isaac Kramnick and R Laurence Moore, The Godless Constitution: The case against religious correctness,
1996, Norton, hardback $37.95.
For those of us who grew up with reference books which followed the strict chronological order of events and stayed within defined geographical boundaries, this text represents a refreshing and enlightening approach Margaret Aston conducts a thematic exploration of the Renaissance, guiding the reader around the important European institutions, the tour characterised by a contemporary sensibility to cultural, political and social complexities Although the visual components far exceed the text by volume, this is not an art book The "power of art" is discussed, along with science and discovery, religion, government and more. Within the broad categories, each prefaced by an informative introduction, there are double page spreads on specific topics with cross-references to related subjects.
Of course the style of the book, which primarily consists of illustrations and extended captions, favours the choice of the more vivid and colourful aspects of life. While acknowledging that most lawyers would have been employed in civil law ("private litigation based on precedent and custom"), the entry on law and punishment stresses the arbitrary and harsh nature of criminal law enforcement and the acceptance of torture as "a legitimate means of discovering the truth". Depictions of hangings and sundry forms of torture are provided.
The book also contains an impressive reference section, comprising biographical information, timelines, maps and an extremely useful - if you have a travel budget - guide to Renaissance collections around the world This is a superb introduction to a truly fascinating period of history, and it's good value too.
HELENM EADOWS
Margaret Aston, The Panorama of
the Renaissance, 1996, Thames G
Hudson, hardback $59.95.
Lincoln
Unlike other studies of Abraham Lincoln, this does not profess to be a history of mid-19th century American politics. Not that the political dimension is ignored: we see Lincoln through the eyes of political friends and foes, the former revering him as "Honest Abe" while one of the latter dismissed him as "a well-meaning baboon".
In addition, Donald deftly delineates his subject's ambivalent, evolving policy on slavery, shedding useful light on the potent mixture of pressure groups and personalities that hedged him in and enlarging our understanding of his priorities and of the combination of principle and expediency that impelled him in government While unequivocally favouring emancipation, Lincoln denounced slave uprisings and actually helped one Southern planter recover a runaway slave. Moreover, he gave precedence to preserving national unity and if that meant retaining slavery in some states, then he was prepared to compromise accordingly. His position hardened when, during the Civil War, the shortage of recruits for the Northern army was ascribed partly to his failure to take a sufficiently strong stand for abolition. Then, when the North won a significant military victory, he took it as a sign of divine condemnation of slavery. Donald also offers intriguing insights into Lincoln's social milieu - from his backwoods Indiana childhood to the frontier circuit court in which as a lawyer he jolted over excruciatingly awful roads, and slept in flea-infested taverns, often with twenty men to a room and two or three to a bed, sharing a single water pitcher and towel for a1 fresco ablutions in the morning.
Much is learned about him from his physical appearance - so tall, thin and ungainly in his coarse, ill-fitting clothes that when he tried to bow, one contemporary said he "looked like a jackknife folding up". And the picture is rounded out with beguiling glimpses of his daily life - his awkwardness with women, his indulgence of his often unruly children, the homespun anecdotes embellishing his conversation and his highly entertaining habit of recording his experiences in doggerel verse What emerges is a generally coherent, finely balanced, adroitly fashioned model of biographical craftsmanship, although the characterisation of Lincoln as passive and fatalistic is surely belied by his driving ambition, dislike of uncontrolled emotion and subscription to what Donald himself calls "the unusual notion that a public servant's first duty is to help people, rather than to follow bureaucratic regulations".
JOE RICH
David Herbert Donald, Lincoln, 1996, Pimlico, paperback $25
Up until World War II, the British ruled over a vast empire. THe blurb on teh dust cover of this work states that this book's position is neither nostalgia for the empire, nor revulsion at what seemed to be abuses of its power. True to this, the book does take a fairly balanced view, being neither too awe inspired nor too critical.
The editor is Emeritus Professor of History at King's College, London. THe text is written by eleven eminent writers from around the wrold. THe chapter on Australia was the work of Professor KS Inglis from the Australian National University I liked the way the book is divided into themes, for example "Art and Empire" and "British Emigration and New Identities", rather than a straight chronology, country by country.
Further, it keeps to its title of being an illustrated history there is a map or photo on almost every page which makes the work user friendly, even for youngsters Some photos pull no punches see for instance the photo of the effect the famine in India at the end of the 19th century had on people (page 133). However, I thought the book would have benefited from more colour photos to enhance its across-the-board appeal.
In short, I found this book balanced, easy to read and well illustrated. Importantly, it did not sweep any issues under the carpet but dealt openly with the positive and negative aspects of the Empire. I strongly commend this book.
ROBERTL OMBARDI
P] Marshal1 ( e d ) , The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, 1996, Cambridge University
Press, hardback $64.95.
Getra y ed
1 Despite the passing of over twenty 1 years, the Indonesian occupation of East Timor continues to generate controversy and inflame passions Opponents claim it represents the exercise of aggressive I military power over a weak, defenceless ~ people. Supporters believe Indonesia had legitimate territorial claims and was justified in approving military intervention in a growing civil insurrection. As Dunn's book reveals, however, political and military manoeuvrings are never quite so black and white Dunn's interest in East Timor commenced when he was posted there as Australian Consul in 1962. Following the expiry of his term in 1964 he continued to visit the country on a regular basis and was included on various missions during the 1970s. As the title of the book suggests, Dunn is appalled at the events of the last two decades, describing modern East Timorese history as a "shameful story of a cruel conspiracy against a small and vulnerable people, an episode marked by deceit, hypocrisy, mendacity and plain irresponsibility".
The complex events leading to occupation are meticulously detailed. A military coup in Portugal in 1974 formed an unlikely trigger for subsequent events. Portuguese attention was focused on its unstable African empire and the quality and quantity of resources devoted to East Timor began to diminish. As the self determination parties in East Timor grew in size and voice, Dunn argues that the Indonesians commenced a propaganda campaign of destabilisation. When civil war broke out between rival indigenous political factions, and the Portuguese administration withdrew in helplessness and frustration, the way was clear for the entry of a stabilising force. The involvement of the Australian government in the events since 1975 remains a source of dismav to Dunn. As far back as November 1974, the Whitlam government had made it clear that it was not prepared to risk provoking Indonesian suspicions that Australia , might have designs on the Portuguese colony. The perception in diplomatic circles was that Australia considered the integration of the territory into Indonesia as a desirable end. This attitude was reflected in Prime Minister Whitlam's refusal to re-open the Australian consulate in Dili in late 1974 and early 1975. Had the Prime Minister accepted the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Department and reopened the consulate, events in East Timor may have been radically different. This thorough account of the history of East Timor is at times intimidating in its detail It is, however, a fascinating account of the international territorial negotiations and political intrigues that occur when a colonial empire begins to unravel. From an Australian perspective, it is a damning indictment of those who favoured political expediency above human rights and freedoms.
CHRIS HURLEY
James Dunn, Timov: A people
betrayed, 1996, ABC Books,
paperback $34.95.
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