'When Brigadier James Phelan returns from Afghanistan with the body of a young soldier killed under his command, he is traumatised by the tragedy. An encounter with young Sydney tattoo artist Kira leaves him with a permanent tribute to the soldier, but it is a meeting that will change the course of his life. What he isn’t expecting is a campaign of retribution from the soldiers who blame him for the ambush and threaten his career.
'With his marriage also on the brink, his life spirals out of control. Years later, Phelan is surprised when Kira re-enters his life seeking refuge from her own troubles and with a young son in tow. She finds a way to help him make peace with his past, but she is still on the run from her own.
'The War Artist is a timely and compelling novel about the legacy of war, the power of art and the possibility of redemption.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Dedication: For Dominic and for Liam
And of course, Alisa.
Epigraph:
Odysseus, clutching his flaring sea-blue cape
In both powerful hands, drew it over his head
And buried his handsome face,
Ashamed his hosts might see him shedding tears.
-The Odyssey
'World War I produced an astonishing collection of diaries, poems and novels written by soldiers. One of the reasons for this was that most of the them were not professional servicemen. They disobeyed their superiors by keeping diaries, and if they hadn’t written what they did we would have only the official accounts.' (Introduction)
'It’s virtually axiomatic: ‘war can fuck you up’. This pithy observation, made by a veteran in The War Artist, Simon Cleary’s new novel about the travails of an Australian soldier during and after a tour of Afghanistan, goes to the heart of what we now understand about the impact of battle and its psychological aftershocks.' (Introduction)
'World War I produced an astonishing collection of diaries, poems and novels written by soldiers. One of the reasons for this was that most of the them were not professional servicemen. They disobeyed their superiors by keeping diaries, and if they hadn’t written what they did we would have only the official accounts.' (Introduction)
'It’s virtually axiomatic: ‘war can fuck you up’. This pithy observation, made by a veteran in The War Artist, Simon Cleary’s new novel about the travails of an Australian soldier during and after a tour of Afghanistan, goes to the heart of what we now understand about the impact of battle and its psychological aftershocks.' (Introduction)
