Warlight: A Novel

"Some reviews have called this novel “frustrating” or “incomplete.” Michael Ondaatje probably would be pleased with either, or both. The term “warlight” refers to special sodium lamps for emergency traffic during the Blitz in London, lamps that gave off the odd pinkish-orange glow that can be seen on the book jacket. That strangeness and dimness is reflected in the story, too. Nathaniel and his sister Rachel are left behind when their parents head to Singapore for his father’s job – but they soon discover their mother may be somewhere else entirely. Hearing his mother’s story late in the book changes Nathaniel’s own story, and asks us to consider how much any of us will ever truly understand about our lives."