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Set against the turbulent aftermath of World War 2, Devastation Road is a deeply moving story of a man rediscovering his memory and his past.
About the Book
(from the publisher)
Spring, 1945: A man wakes in a field in a country he does not know. Injured and confused, he pulls himself to his feet and starts to walk, and so sets out on an extraordinary journey in search of his home, his past and himself.
His name is Owen. A war he has only a vague memory of joining is in its dying days, and as he tries to get back to England he becomes caught up in the flood of refugees pouring through Europe. Among them is a teenage boy, Janek, and together they form an unlikely alliance as they cross battle-worn Germany. When they meet a troubled young woman, tempers flare and scars are revealed as Owen gathers up the shattered pieces of his life. No one is as he remembers, not even himself – how can he truly return home when he hardly recalls what home is?
My Thoughts
Snippets of war-time horrors, of memory, of a life that may be his or may belong to others—all this keeps you engrossed in the latest novel from Jason Hewitt. From the moment Owen wakes in a field injured and no memory of what has happened we are on the journey with him to discover not only where he is, how he got there, and where was he headed, but who he is. And once he teams up with Janek we confront Owen’s dilemma about what he would do to survive. While reading this I couldn’t help but be struck by how little has changed when it comes to war and displaced persons (Syria was front page news as I was reading this novel). Yet this isn’t a novel about war. It’s about one man’s journey—literally and figuratively—to rediscover himself and his past and find his way home.
I loved the uncertainty of this novel. For a long time I wondered if his acquired companions, Janek and Irene, were figments of his imagination. What was real and what was imagined? Even towards the end of the novel as the threads of the story came together, I still wondered if Janek and Irene weren’t manifestations of those Owen had left back home in England.
Devastation Road is an incredibly touching and literary account of the aftermath of World War 2 and its impact on those who survived, but it’s Owen’s journey and what he finds at home that will leave you undone.
Highly recommended.
My copy courtesy of Simon and Schuster Australia
About the Author
Jason Hewitt was born in Oxford and lives in London. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University.
After completing his degree he spent a number of years working in a bookshop in Oxford before moving into the publishing industry.
He is also a playwright and actor. His first full-length play, Claustrophobia, premiered at Edinburgh Fringe in August 2014 and was also previewed at the St James Theatre, London.
As an actor he has performed major roles in a number of plays including Pericles, A Christmas Carol, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear (directed by Sir Jonathan Miller).
Jason is currently writer-in-residence at Abingdon School, Oxfordshire. Devastation Road is his second novel.
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