The Narrow Road to the Deep North

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel by Richard Flanagan, and was the winner of the 2014 Booker Prize. The novel tells the story of an Australian doctor haunted by memories of a love affair with his uncle's wife and of his subsequent experiences as a Far East prisoner of war during the construction of the Burma Railway. Decades later, he finds his growing celebrity at odds with his feelings of failure and guilt. The title is taken from the 17th century epic Oku no Hosomichi, the travel diary and magnum opus of Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō. Plot summary Dorrigo Evans has found fame and public recognition as a war veteran in old age, but inwardly he is plagued by his own shortcomings and considers his numerous accolades to be a “failure of perception on the part of others”. He knows that his colleagues consider him a reckless and dangerous surgeon, and he has habitually cheated on his faithful and adoring wife, though his public reputation has been undented by the air of scandal that trails him in his private life.