The Sound of One Hand Clapping – Richard Flanagan

I am always trepidatious when approaching a Flanagan, who can be brilliant or hectoring depending on his mood. Luckily this is one of his better ones.

The plot is typical OzLit stuff about displacement, the individual in the landscape et al. It works for two reasons; because Flanagan can write, and because the theme of significant acts echoing through the generations is developed with intelligence and force.