A review by oldtraine
Kangaroo by

4.0

In Kangaroo Lawrence recounts his experiences in England during the first world war, tries to reconcile his beliefs about love and relationships with his marriage and friendships, and considers the political trends of the time (the Bolshevik revolution had only just occurred and he had seen the early emergence of fascism during his Italian travels). Poor Richard Lovat wearied himself to death struggling with the problem of himself, and calling it Australia, and yes and it's this struggle that makes this novel very worth reading. It's his response to his experience of the previous five years; I particularly enjoyed the long chapter "The Nightmare" describing how he was harried as a suspected spy in Cornwall and the wonderful descriptions of the Australian landscape, flora and fauna. And there is much to think about Human love, human trust, are always perilous, because they break down. The greater the love, the greater the trust, and the greater the peril, the greater the disaster. Because to place absolute trust on another human being is in itself a disaster, both ways, since each human being is a ship that must sail its own course, even if it go in company with another ship.... And yet, love is the greatest thing between human beings.