The Battle of Messines Road is rather a curiosity; a peculiar hybrid interweaving the authentic First World War diary of the author's grandfather, JK Moloney, which he found in the New Zealand National Library, with the entirely fictional story of Zac, a troubled 10-year-old boy charged with reading the account to an ageing soldier in Wellington, New Zealand.
Set in the late 1960s, Zac’s tribulations arise from the absence of his father, who has left home to serve alongside the Americans in Vietnam. He finds comfort in a friendship with the old man who himself finds catharsis in reliving his experiences in the charnel house of Flanders.
The Battle of Messines Road, where Zac lives, alludes to his own battle with fear and grief as well as to the actual battle of Messines in 1917 in which New Zealand soldiers played a major part.
Military history enthusiasts will probably find the interplay between this factual diary account and dramatic storyline jarring at times. But this is not a history book and it sometimes reads more like a screenplay (Peter Jackson take note).
Moloney’s use of fictional licence prompts more interesting consideration of what inspired young men from the outlying territories of the British Empire to travel thousands of kilometres to join the great conflicts of the 20th century, aside from a youthful lust for adventure.
In his diary, JK glories in the “pageant of Empire” represented by the diversity of those gathered under the British flag when he reaches a key staging point in Alexandria. He is a first generation New Zealander who is proud to be part of something bigger.
Elsewhere, upon encountering an ardent Irish nationalist, he says: “I tried to explain to him how we in the colonies had lived in great freedom, protected by the flag ... it was quite beyond him of course.” One suspects this notion to be “quite beyond” the understanding of the current generation, but the history of the Anglosphere in the last century is important in understanding modern day geopolitics.
The dynamics that inspired “the colonials” to join two world wars were in some ways similar to those that explain allied intervention in modern theatres such as Afghanistan.
The introduction of Vietnam, Zac’s father’s war, is an invitation to consider the constants in all wars, so-called “good wars” and so-called “bad wars”: “Soldiers don’t get to pick and choose where they fight,” Zac is told by the old man. “All war is the same” and the courage and selflessness of combatants in a good war is in no way less courageous or selfless in a conflict that has failed to capture public support.
JK’s diary is for the most part relayed in the detached tone typical of a generation that valued understatement and discretion.
Characters ranging from the Prince of Wales (who nearly falls off his startled mount when reviewing a Maori war dance laid on by the New Zealand contingent), to the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George observed from the House of Commons Public Gallery, play bit-parts in a narrative that commences on a New Zealand troop ship bound for France and ends in the Flanders quagmire.
But the book is above all an invitation to remember what is slipping away from public consciousness – to explain to today’s generation (in this case exemplified by young Zac) the reason why medal-bedecked old men huddle around war memorials to the sound of the Last Post each year. It would perhaps make a good classroom set text.
The book is a 12-year labour of love for WJ, a self-confessed “war nerd” who lives in the UAE. Literary or military history purists may take issue with muddying an authentic wartime recollection, but the novel offers a new perspective on the sacrifice of those, as JK puts it, with “a blanket and a few feet of Flanders earth” as their epitaph.
Martin Newland is a regular contributor to The National.
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
