Episode 45 - Duncan Burne-Wilke

PZ's Podcast

May 08, 2011•27 min

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Episode description

Herman Wouk's 1985 novel "War and Remembrance" has a most prophetic minor character buried within its 1300 pages.

This character is a philosophical and definitely sweet English aristocrat named Duncan Burne-Wilke, whom we meet in the "CBI" or "China Burma India" theater of the Second World War.
Burne-Wilke envisages the end of Western colonialism on account of a massive disillusionment caused by the War. But he also thinks in religious terms concerning the future of America and England. He sees the future in terms of the "Bhagavad gita", and a "turning East" of which we are now aware and in relation to which the Christian churches are having to live, defensively.
My podcast speaks of one small voice within a large contemporary epic.
Burne-Wilke's disenchanted words are "crying to be heard" (Traffic), and also responded to. He haunts the bittersweet narrative of Wouk's marvelous book.

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