Book Review: "The Hanging Garden" by Patrick White

I had no idea that this book was unfinished because the author died before completing it. Patrick White had physically declined but not mentally and so, still worked on his novels. He refused hospitalisation in his last weeks and died at his home at the age of 78. He received letters of appreciation from the likes of Salman Rushdie and is often considered to be one of the great writers of the 20th century. Honestly, after reading The Hanging Garden, that statement makes a lot of sense. Though the novel is unfinished, it is still a grand masterpiece that covers some harrowing themes. It is written beautifully.

Patrick White seems to have planned a three part novel here and what we get is the first third of it. It wasn't published until 2012 - quite a while after he died. Unlike White's other novels, this one hadn't been edited yet and so, presents the reader with this very raw, but also incredibly brilliant piece of prose. I mean, the amount of polished it is already without editing really does show us that Patrick White had some sort of inate talent for writing.

The story covers two thirteen year olds from different countries: Eirene is from Greece and and Gilbert is from England. They exist in 1942-43 and are sent to Australia to live with family whilst the horrors of World War 2 continue in their part of the world. Their new families leave them unattended for long periods of time, forcing the children to come to terms with themselves. The often did this whilst in the beautiful garden. Patrick White's ability to write the story of these children is not just something incredible, but he does so that the reader feels the emotions the children are feeling. There is something deeply sad about the distance they are from their home. Even though they have the garden, it really isn't enough.

Eirene has survivor's guilt after her Greek father's execution. Her consciousness about being Greek and in Australia makes her struggle very uncomfortable for a girl turning into a teenager. There is something universal about her experience even though the intricacies are traumatic. At the surface, she is yet another teen girl with identity and appearance struggles. Underneath, she is a girl absolutely horrified at the treatment of her father, carrying around the burden of his death and possibly the understanding that she herself may be labelled a traitor's daughter. Not quite at home in Greece and an outsider in Australia, Eirene was probably my favourite character in the whole book.

Gilbert is very cautious about becoming friends with Eirene and is very quiet after arriving to Australia after the Blitz, in which members of his family died. He is shy, reserved, more so than Eirene. Eventually, when he does become friends and open up to her, there's a lot of empathy the two share about their experiences. Precocious children, they are well beyond their years in the understanding of the other person's experience. (I don't know whether you've actually met a teenager of the 2020s but they have no empathy whatsoever). It is quite surprising but it is also what I think children would have been like back then.

They build a treehouse in the garden and the way it is all overgrown means that the children can hide out there for ages, making mystical and magical imaginary lands. Patrick White's language to describe the children in the garden is often littered with this wonderful sensory phrasing. It turns the world of war into something else entirely - the garden is not only a refuge and place of play, but a possibility of just being away from reality. It is wonderfully described.

All in all, I thought this book was fantastic. It doesn't really matter if it is unfinished, there is something deeply clear here - Patrick White sought to tell us the story of these two children in wartime. Perhaps, he wanted them to meet again when they were older and the war was over. Perhaps, he wanted to cover another war in which they would inevitably find each other. We can only speculate. But I have to say, that I was deeply moved by this book.

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