Helping some people, some of the time

nicholas-jose

Photographed by Isaac Freeman

As a writer, you hold an interesting position because you can be both cynical and idealistic at the same time.Nick Jose

Idealism lies at the heart of Nicholas Jose鈥檚 latest novel. His new book is a moving political mystery 10 years in the making, which 鈥 he points out jokingly 鈥 will take readers just a few hours to finish.

Perhaps it鈥檚 his long and fascinatingly diverse career that has given Nick 鈥 now an Emeritus Professor at our University 鈥 such a healthy perspective on his art. After all, he鈥檚 published numerous novels, short stories and essays over the past 40 years. He鈥檚 also taught and mentored creative writing students at the 成人大片, studied literature at Oxford and even served as a diplomat in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square tragedy.

Nick鈥檚 latest book, The Idealist, is set during a different 鈥 but equally fraught 鈥 period of modern history. It focuses on the violent lead-up to the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum.

Travelling from the idyllic familiarity of the Adelaide Hills to an icy Washington DC, from the dry distances of Yorke Peninsula to humid mountains in Timor-Leste, every setting within The Idealist is beautifully rendered.

In the novel, an Australian defence analyst becomes 鈥榰nmoored鈥 by his destructive relationship with his own idealism as he asks the question, 鈥業sn鈥檛 there a natural law that calls for a neighbour to come to your aid if your life is in danger?鈥

鈥淚dealism is an ambiguous thing, or a dangerous thing in some ways,鈥 Nick says. 鈥淏ut it feels necessary, too. I think you have to believe it鈥檚 possible that things can be better.鈥

The Idealist is a vivid meditation on these themes, wrapped into the sharp outline of a mystery that takes a hard look at Australian international policy 鈥 both the positive and insidious.

鈥淚 think as Australians we want to think of ourselves as nice people, or as small and insignificant among bigger forces. There鈥檚 truth in that, but where we are the bigger force 鈥 and, for instance, East Timor is a tiny little island offshore 鈥 the tables are reversed.鈥

It鈥檚 his time in China as a diplomat that might have informed Nick鈥檚 latest work the most. Interestingly though, he wasn鈥檛 consciously aware of those threads at the time of writing The Idealist.

鈥淲hen I was offered the role of Cultural Counsellor in Beijing, I wondered if I really wanted to do it. I had a lot of Chinese friends because I鈥檇 been teaching there, and I didn鈥檛 want to be cut off from them by working for the Australian government.鈥 Yet he received advice that changed his mind.

鈥淎 friend told me I just had to do the job. I鈥檇 learn more about Australia in that role than I鈥檇 ever learn any other way, and that was true.鈥

Being caught up in the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989 also led Nick to question 鈥渨here I stood, what side was I on, what could I do?鈥

Nick then received another piece of lasting advice. 鈥淚 was told you can鈥檛 really do anything, but you can help some people some of the time. And that was it.鈥

Nick drew on these experiences for The Idealist, focusing now on Australia鈥檚 complicated role in East Timor鈥檚 occupation by Indonesia.

鈥淎s a writer, you hold an interesting position because you can be both cynical and idealistic at the same time,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou can express your ideals through writing, but you also know the world isn鈥檛 really always like that, so you try to depict that truth as well. Then, when someone far away in another space reads it, you hope it helps them see the world differently.鈥

And that鈥檚 the power of a good book. Even if it only takes a few hours to read.

The Idealist

Story by Poppy Nwosu

Poppy Nwosu is a former Media Officer for the 成人大片 and published author of multiple novels.

The Idealist, by Nick Jose, was published in September 2023 by Giramondo Publishing Company. Nick is Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing at the 成人大片. He has published seven novels and three collections of short stories.

Tagged in Lumen Autumn 2024, Reviews