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Abaza Author: Publisher: Pan Macmillan Price: Available Now
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Louis' A to Z How many times have you pulled an encyclopedia from a shelf and started reading at the first random page you open to? And not only is the entry engrossing, you question its truth, for the history unfolding is more shocking and unbelievable than you care to remember or believe. Most
Australians feel quite removed from the In Louis Nowra's newest novel, Abaza, such ideas are turned upside down, inside out and shoved back in your face as we go on a journey to uncover the modern history of a small (fictional) Pacific island nation. The book is written as "a modern encyclopedia" from A to Z, comprising of personal stories, privileged information, insights and random commentary which reveal the events of a troubled, corrupt, drugged, and perverted systemic government and nation. Asked about the technical difficulties of writing in the style of an encylopedia, Louis Nowra laughs, "I never want to do it again! It takes incredible concentration and was a difficult tightrope to walk." This is also true for the reader. It takes a good chunk of the book to work out who is writing which entry, and what one person and event has to do with another. The reader has to be alert of the time and context of each entry, for it is not chronological but alphabetical which makes it hard when it is above all a novel with a plot. Spanning two presidencies and one dictatorship (the difference often questionable), the central character is the tiny Aba, small in stature but overwhelming in presence. Described as many things - evil, vermin, a dwarf, a pervert, and the most powerful man in Abaza - he also surprisingly makes some of the most rational comments of all. Aba acts as right hand man to both presidents, manipulating and doing the dirty work for his own benefit. Aba says, "History is merely the conflation of rumour, gossip, who copulated with whom, and who got a bullet in the head. And of course, in reality all history is personal." Louis Nowra adds that, "A lot of these things are why a tyrant wants to build a city. He wants to show off his power and love for his wife, or he is getting revenge for something his brother did when they were young. It has nothing to do with the rest of the country." This is the essence of Abaza. It makes you question why history has heroes and villains, when in reality, people are just doing what is best for them. History's heroes and villains are a creation of the storytellers of the time - the media, educational institutions, artists, the military and the government. Abaza's five storytellers are representatives from these sectors - a journalist, a university professor, a poet, a young soldier and a civil servant, all of who write their entries from the capital's prison. >>> |
Abaza achieves all of these qualities and more, though lacks in the humour department making it sometimes depressing and stagnate. If you can persist past the graphic decapitations and through the seedy underworlds, you come out the back cover with more than having read a book. You just might shift your scepticism and start questioning why we so easily believe those in power with all the cards in their hands. Louis says that many of the incidents and characters in the book were real or based on actual events and people. He spent a lot of time researching Asian and African history, including the Congo, Liberia, Melanesia and Polynesia. But living in Kings Cross in Sydney, Louis already has a view out of his window of some of the effects a drug culture can induce. In Abaza, citizens are ruled more by drugs and desperation than direct government control, preferring to worship comic book characters, rap music and B Grade movie stars than study or work. "I suppose drugs have seeped into my view of the world," says Louis, "I have seen that it can destroy the social fabric…and there are countries where the whole nation does shut down for a few hours a day such as Yemen." This is not the first, and definitely not the last time Louis Nowra has confronted the controversial through his work as a novelist, playwright and scriptwriter. Louis has written about Aboriginal rights and mental health patients in 'Radiance' and 'Cosi', bringing a polemic voice to the mainstream Australian arts. But Louis insists that this is just a part of his work saying, "All I want to do is tell a story. I am fascinated by the world around me, and if you are, those issues begin to inform your story naturally. I suppose as a playwright, you become more attuned than other types of writers as to what the public want to hear, because you have to get an audience to stay alive." Louis Nowra's place as a writer in Australia and internationally continues to grow, especially as he keeps churning out books with as much impact, originality and intensity as Abaza. Colette McGrath Send us your feedback on this article or anything else in The Blurb |
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international
politics and struggles of small, far away nations, even from our nearest
neighbours in the South East Pacific. Who knew or even cared how much
aid we gave to East Timor or Nauru until the news splattered them across
the front page when Australians somehow became involved and affected by
their history in the making.