Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller: A review

I enjoy reading historical fiction and Andrew Miller's book, Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, came highly recommended. The book began with great promise. Set in the early 19th century during the wars between England and France, it tells the story of a British Army officer and veteran named John Lacroix.

We meet Lacroix when he is returned wounded in body and spirit to his estate in Somerset after a harrowing retreat across Spain. At this point, one is reminded of Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series (which I loved!), but that is not what Andrew Miller is about. Instead, he brings us a kind of psychological thriller featuring a cat and mouse game with Lacroix playing the part of the mouse. At first, however, the mouse does not know that the cat is pursuing him.

Lacroix is nursed back to health by his faithful housekeeper, but he proves to be half-deaf from his injuries. Moreover, he is suffering from what we would term PTSD. Instead of returning to his regiment, Lacroix decides to head north to the Scottish islands, places he has never been and has no ties. Why does he choose this destination? There is no explanation other than that he wants to get away from war.

What Lacroix does not realize at first is that he is being pursued. While he was in Spain, we learn that he was present at the massacre of a village called Morales. The massacre was carried out by starving British troops under the command of Captain Lacroix. He was not involved in the outrage and in fact, was not aware that it was happening until it was well underway, but a vicious corporal named Calley testifies differently and the British commanders, needing a scapegoat, choose the absent Lacroix. They send Calley along with a Spanish witness named Medina to eliminate Lacroix. (Note: If you are of a certain age as I am, you will remember the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and the role played by a Lt. Calley. This incident and the naming of this character cannot be a coincidence.)

From this point, the narrative of the book alternates between the implacable hunters and the, at first, clueless hunted. The suspense builds as we get to know more about the character of Calley, a particularly nasty piece of work. Meanwhile, Lacroix works his way through the islands until he reaches one occupied by a clan of vegetarian early hippies who believe in free love, non-violence, and no organized religion and who smoke something called "bang", apparently a 19th-century iteration of weed. Lacroix falls in love with one of their number, a woman named Emily, whose eyesight is failing and who may soon be blind. So we have a man with diminished hearing and a woman with diminished eyesight, who, in a way, complete each other.

There is a surgeon in Glasgow who may be able to help Emily, and Lacroix accompanies her on the trip to the city to have him examine and possibly operate on her eyes. While there, Lacroix unknowingly shares a bed in his rented room with Medina, one of his pursuers, but the two are like ships that pass in the night without hailing each other and Medina leaves the bed early in the morning, never realizing that he could have literally reached out and touched his quarry.

As the story continued, it lost some of its steam for me. I can't really identify why. It just seemed to meander along without focus and I began to lose interest. So what had during its first half been perhaps a 4-star read got downgraded.

This was my first experience reading Andrew Miller. His reputation as a writer of historical fiction is stellar, and I think this one is probably not the best example of his craft. It's not a bad book and there were passages that were enjoyable but I didn't find it to be the exciting psychological thriller that it apparently aspired to be.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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