Ransom by David Malouf
Vision Australia, 2009. Audio book. Read by
Ron
Haddrick. ISBN 978186484826142. Random House, 2009.
David Malouf's novel, Ransom retells part of Homer's Iliad, the
epic
poem which recounts the story of the Greek hero Achilles and the siege
of Troy. Far from simply retelling this classic story, Malouf focuses
on one small part, at the end, where Priam, the elderly King of Troy
goes to Achilles to try and ransom the body of his son Hector. Malouf
elaborates in his own lyrical language, each detail and justification;
Achilles sent mad by grief and guilt; Priam needing to take some
action, rediscovering the part of him that is just a man and father.
The focus is close and on those small interactions which bring a story
to life, like the sharing of the daughter-in-law's pancakes and the
touching relationship between the carter and his intelligent little
mule. There is the feeling of a war that has gone on too long and of
lives nearing their end. Nothing will be left but stories to be told
and elaborated on, long after all are dead.
Malouf's interest in storytelling makes this audio book version an
appropriate way to engage with the novel. Ron Haddrick's eloquent
reading whisks us through the Iliad story and brings the wholly
original character detail of Priam and Somax, the muleteer, vividly to
life. At approximately 5 hours listening this Vision Australia audio
book (presumably unabridged, not stated), is an accessible way to
experience Malouf's writing and to become immersed in the story. My
immediate response when finished was to put in the first CD to go
back and pick up what I'd missed; a further reading of the prose would
now reveal the structure and nuts and bolts that this remarkable writer
has used to construct this modern classic.
Sue Speck