''The Sound of One Hand Clapping'' is a 1997 novel by Australian author Richard Flanagan. The title is adapted from the famous

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

kōan A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...

Hakuin Ekaku was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, focusing on rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice. Biog ...

. ''The Sound of One Hand Clapping'' was Flanagan's second novel.

Plot summary

The book focuses the relationship between a woman, Sonja Buloh, and her father Bojan. Bojan is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n immigrant from the post-World War II period who came to work on the Tasmanian Hydroelectric Schemes, and a drunkard. While working on a remote construction camp in the central highlands in the winter of 1954, when Sonja was just three, Bojan's wife walked into a blizzard never to be seen again and leaving Bojan to raise his daughter. When Sonja returns to visit

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and her father in 1989 as a balanced middle-aged woman, the past begins to intrude, changing both their lives forever.

Awards

Victorian Premier's Literary Award The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction The Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, formerly known as the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. As of 2011 it has an remuneration of 25,000. The winner of this category prize vi ...

, 1998: winner *

Miles Franklin Literary Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–19 ...

, 1998: shortlisted *Booksellers Choice Award, 1998: winner

Notes

*Dedication: "For Archie Flanagan, Helen Flanagan, Anton Smolej. Forgive me its failings, but I tell it with love."

Reviews

*"CNN.com

*"Reading Matters

*"Words and Flavours

Interviews

*"Many Hands Clapping" - interview by Murray Waldre

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of this novel was released in 1998, directed by the author, Richard Flanagan (who also wrote the screenplay), and featuring

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

, Kristof Kaczmarek, Rosie Flanagan and Arabella Wain.Internet Movie Data Base
/ref> The film was produced by Rolf de Heer, who encouraged Flanagan to direct the film, and broke into tears and "was a mess for four days" when he first read the script. Flanagan first read the phrase "the sound of one hand clapping" in an essay about feminist influence on the early English co-operative movement. The film competed for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound of One Hand Clapping, The 1997 Australian novels Novels by Richard Flanagan Pan Books books Novels set in Tasmania Australian novels adapted into films