Review of Ashes and Sakura, David Gormley O’Brien
‘Ashes and Sakura’ by David Gormley O’Brien, is a historical novel about the consequences of war. It is set in the years following World War 2 and recounts the experiences of Tom and Misty, members of the Daley family, who we met in Gormley O’Brien’s first book, ‘An Attractive Naivety’. In spite of significant trauma resulting from encounters with the Japanese, they each volunteer to be part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force which shared garrison duties with the American forces in Japan. Gormley O’Brien takes the unusual position of looking not only at what’s left at the end of the fighting but also at the consequences for non-combatants- the civilians of the defeated as well as victorious countries. One of the first dramatic events the author brings to life is the War Crimes Trials carried out by Australian authorities on the island of Morotai, the last Pacific island to be cleared of Japanese forces at the end of hostilities in 1945. In a response to the brutal treatment meted out to captive Australian soldiers, the government was determined to ensure that justice was seen to be done and that it was seen to be fair. They therefore, pushed hard and succeeded in gaining independent of the American Force Command to exercise their own legal protocols. Tom and his mate Eric are witnesses to one of the trials that took place there and was recorded by the Australian legal team. Gormley O’Brien has an impressive ability to create dialogue that fits the time and circumstances of events.
Tom and Misty are assigned to Kube near Hiroshima and then Fukuyama. They are confronted by the people – destitute, desperate, starving – and despite feeling hatred they feel pity. Gormley O’Brien draws on details recorded in the dairies and memoirs of the soldiers to create the actions and words of the characters. In this way we experience a sense of what that event might have been like. The Australians, like Tom and his mates, were reluctant tourists in a dystopian world who see the shocking results of total war and total defeat. As they continue their tour of duty the author notes the conditions and dangers present to indigenous people and foreign troops alike. The outbreak of epidemic diseases, such as VD (venereal diseases) were a constant concern to authorities who had to discipline their own troops as well as assist in stabilising the lives of the Japanese. Tom and Misty are able to turn their own painful experiences into an understanding of the defeated civilian population and the reader by implication is asked to extend his, her or their humanity, in some measure, towards the ‘other’ – the Japanese and their sons and husbands who may have committed brutal actions against loved ones.
David Gormley O’Brien is able to place his characters deftly within the frame of these historical events; we share their thoughts and feelings in this complex and dangerous world. The book is highly recommended for adults.
Paul Burke