Well read but falls between two stools

I haven't read any Richard Flanagan before so cannot compare his writing style in The Unknown Terrorist to other works. I suspect others would be more my cup of tea though.
The Unknown Terrorist is a fairly standard thriller which employs the mass media and an unscrupulous journalist as its evil. Our supposed heroine, Gina, also named throughout as The Doll, is hounded to madness over the period of just a few days by drummed up hysteria and the cynical machinations of anonymous powerful men in suits.
I was interested in the descriptions of Sydney, having never been to Australia. However, Flanagan's vision of the city is hardly tourist friendly! I liked his frequent mentions of the various immigrant populations, showing a country made up of many layers of cultures, much like Britain, and the way this was set against rampant hostility towards Muslims was also sadly familiar as this attitude is also widespread over here. The main characters never leapt from the page for me though which made it difficult for me to really invest in their story.
I'm not sure this book had decided what it wanted to be. It doesn't have the pace-at-all-costs approach of slick American thrillers, but the occasions where it tries for literary fiction fail too because of their isolation. My audio version was nicely narrated and passed a week of bus journeys, but I had hoped for a deeper novel and was ultimately a bit disappointed.

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Involving but somehow empty

In all fairness to the author, I suspect that the sense of slightly depressed nihilism I feel after listening to this book was largely intentional. The all to convincing, but at the same time Kafkaesque, sense of injustice and cynicism is compelling, but I found the victim characters as bit hollow. In some respects this is entirely appropriate and underlines the point about the marginalised, but it also makes it difficult to engage with. I tended to find the passages with the antagonists much more arresting than those with Wilder and the Doll. I also found some of the more philosophical passages a bit strained - not sufficiently interesting to be justified on their own terms, nor effective enough at character-building.

I'm very glad I picked this up, but I'm not sure how strongly I'd recommend it. It is very well read and Humphrey Bower does a great job of bringing the dialogue and inner monologue alive.

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Thought provoking

Another great story by Richard Flanagan! We are all in it somewhere, somehow. A powerful mirror held up to our society, our world and the sad truth of what may come.

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A gripping heart wrenching story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes as it isn't your normal theme

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Unknown Terrorist?

None

Which scene did you most enjoy?

None

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No maybe a bit sad

Any additional comments?

Scary how that could maybe happen to anyone

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The Unknown Terrorist

I haven't read anything else by this author but was completely engaged and felt a wrench when I finished listening. The story is set in Sydney, Australia and has the seeming straight forward frank approach that often is used to characterise Australians. However, as the story unfolded around the main character, a pole dancer, I empathised with her completely as her view of the world changed. The story is beautifully read by an Australian. Highly recommended.

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2 people found this helpful