'Narrow Road' author shares father's 'Death Railway' strife - Tribune

There are numerous stories about the atrocities committed by Axis forces during World War II. Among the least talked about are what Allied prisoners of war had to endure when they were forced by Japanese troops to build the Burma-Thailand Railway.

Richard Flanagan, the author of “The Narrow Road to the Deep Northâ€� (Vintage, $15.95), based his novel â€" which won the 2014 Man Booker Prize â€" on his father's harrowing experiences.

As a medical officer, he was forced, along with an estimated 300,000 workers â€" including 60,000 prisoners of war, according to the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre â€" to construct the railway in horrific tropical conditions.

Also known as the Death Railway, more than 100,000 workers died on the 258-mile stretch, including an estimated 2,800 Australian and 130 American prisoners of war.

“My father didn't talk a lot about the railway, but he did tell some stories,� says Flanagan via email from his home in Tasmania. “They were warm, frequently funny, albeit tinged with a certain sadness. He was, in this regard, unusual. Most returned POWs never spoke at all of their experience.�

Flanagan will speak April 29 at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland as a guest of Pittsburgh Arts Lectures Authors on Tour series.

Even in Australia, the Death Railway is “not considered a major story,� Flanagan says. If it is remembered at all in the United States, it is via “The Bridge on the River Kwai,� David Lean's 1957 film that won seven Academy Awards, including best picture.

“The Narrow Roadâ€� was problematic for the author from the start, he says. Flanagan wrote five versions of the story â€" deleting them from his hard drive and burning the printed manuscripts â€" before finding the right tone and narrative. Even now, he's at a loss why the sixth version of the novel was successful.

“What made it different was that it worked,� he says. “Why or how, I have no idea. It just did, and that was all that mattered.�

Despite being one of Australia's most critically acclaimed novelists, Flanagan was ready to take a job in the mines of northern Australia to support his family before the success of “The Narrow Road.“ During his acceptance speech for the Man Booker Prize, Flanagan said he would “do what everyone else does with money: live.�

Does that mean the novel was a by-product of desperation?

“I only ever write in desperation,� Flanagan says. “Any other writing isn't writing worth reading. My money troubles were only that though. With or without money, I was always going to write the books I was going to write, ‘Narrow Road' included.�

Rege Behe is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.

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