The stories of tragedies are never told by the victims, only by the survivors. While the events of Sept. 11, 2001 can attest to this, they also speak of the need to understand the reasons behind tragedies. Recent events, while still somewhat unexplainable, can be more fully understood in comparison with past losses.
Dennis Bock's novel, 'The Ash Garden' moves the reader to an infamous date burned into this world'Aug. 6, 1945. In one cataclysmic morning, Hiroshima became a graveyard and the world was forever changed. The atomic age marked a new era that has reached into this very time we live in.
Crawling away from the Bantai Bridge, marked as ground zero, are three unique lives shaped by the war and the bomb. Emiko Amai survives the blast and leaves her one remaining family member to come to America and its hospitals. Anton Boll makes his way toward the leveled city to witness what his creation has wrought. Meanwhile, Anton's wife Sophie is left in New York City to contemplate the life she put behind her when she fled Hungary and the Final Solution.
In a finely calibrated collision, these three lives come to a crossroads 50 years after that dark day. Anton and Sophie have retired. Emiko is now a filmmaker who has turned the camera toward Hiroshima. Three lives must now own up to the consequences of Aug. 6.
There is a peaceful stream of pastoral imagery throughout 'The Ash Garden' offsetting the horrors of war. The three main characters are given tremendous depth, but few others are even developed past their names. The characters in their younger years are written with wholesome vitality that matures into blameless wisdom. Without taking sides, Bock manages to appeal to both our empathy and our reason.
The tragedy of Hiroshima has, fortunately, not been repeated. However, other events have left their scars. If this book provides any consolation, it is that those who have created the weapons can be reconciled with the survivors.
