Expatriates of No Country: The Letters of Shirley Hazzard and Donald Keene is an absolutely fascinating look into the lives of the writers Shirley Hazzard and Donald Keene. Columbia University Press and editor Brigitta Olubas have collected the letters between these luminaries. The result is an engrossing look not just into their creative lives, but also how they view the world around them (the politics of the U.S., Japan, Italy, etc.). .Hazzard was born in Australia, but she spent most of her time going between Italy and New York. Keene was born in New York, but his love for Japanese culture and history prompted him to spend a great deal of his life as an expatriate in Japan.

Their letters are so fascinating as we follow their relationship (platonic friendship) from 1977 to 2008. We grow to understand just how difficult it is to write and how they see themselves as writers. Keene discusses his writing in detail while Hazzard does not provide many details about her work including The Great Fire which won her the National Book Award and the Miles Franklin Award. She talks more about the art and literature she adores. This dynamic is a glimpse into the mindset of how men and see their work and their reputations as artists/writers.

As I read the last letters in the collection, a sense of doom comes over me because I don't want this collection to end. I know that their advanced ages will mean illness and injuries, and that their connection will be more difficult to sustain. It's still a bit painful to read.

If there's a small complaint, it's that I would have liked more editorial notes for the letters. There are references that aren't explained, and while google can be a reader's friend, it would have been nice to have them here. A wonderful treat from Columbia University Press.

The body of this book is broken into sections by-decade between 1977-2008. The “Introduction” begins by explaining how these two met. I have not seen many such contemporary epistolary collections. They were common in the 19th century, but I have not seen any equivalents for the covered years from two puffed bylines. Their correspondence begins and continues with each of them puffing their adopted countries. They have a “devotion” for their “chosen land”. One writes that upon entering Naples: “I became joyful… really for the first time I knew what joy was.” This is apparently the acceptable manner in which an immigrant is allowed to view their new country. If I had written letters where I expressed how disappointed I was with America after moving here… it probably wouldn’t have sold to a mainstream press. After including these pufferies of places, the editor finally mentions who these people were, noting that Hazzard died in 2016, after winning the National Book Award. Then general pufferies of Hazzard’s novels follows that phrase them in general terms, without offering clear summaries to ground the reader in what they are about. This “Introduction” goes on for too long, and most of it fails to deliver useful information about these two relatively obscure, from the perspective of an average-reader, authors.
The second letter from Hazzard to Donald on August 17, 1978, notes that they were also talking over the phone. They began corresponding when letter-writing was still relatively common due to the relative expense of international phone calls, and the newness of phones. This might be the reason there are so few such epistolary collections for post-80s generations. As was typical in the 19th century, most of these letters are mutual pufferies by these writers of each other’s works. Donald’s letter on September 6, 1978, thanks Shirley for the puffery of his Barren Years that she had sent to him previously. Most of the letters are travelogues that puff the places these writers are visiting separately. There are some curious details, such as that Donald on November 26, 1980 writes that he is “writing… from my room in a building overlooking the sea.” He Bought a tiny apartment on the ninth floor”. He reports purchasing it with the knowledge that “seismologists have predicted that the next major earthquake in Japan will be here.” And he apparently “knew” this before buying it.
All the letters I glanced through included some curious details that explain the lives of writers in these distant foreign lands. Thus, current writers in all genres are likely to benefit from casually reading these letters. Few of us receive song extensive reflections from our friends today. Thus, we can all benefit from reading such friendly correspondences, even if they are not addressed to us. Libraries of all types can also benefit from purchasing this book, as while these writers were obscure to me, their novels were popular enough for them to be at least partially represented in most collections.
--Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Summer 2024 issue

The letters exchanged between two erudite scholars such as Keene and Hazzard are fascinating. If you have an interest in Donald Keene and/or Shirley Hazzard you should definitely read it. The introduction is appropriate and informative and then it is just the voyeuristic thrill of reading their correspondence and coming across any gems that spark your own thinking. I have an interest in Japan, so I immediately was drawn to reading anything by Donald Keene and as the letters span a great many years, I found it quite interesting to see the changes they lived through.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a niche book, I suppose and I hope the right readers find it.

I was intrigued by this book's title and description because I'm an ATCK and was a expat for a number of years. I relate to the feeling belonging to no country/being split in different parts relative to the places I've lived. I was expecting a book that explored sense of belonging, national identity, cultural identity, the complexities of navigating the identities we are given versus the ones we choose, expat life, the shadow side of globalization, etc.

Instead, the book read to me as two friends writing letters back and forth, catching up, grieving a shared loss, updating each other on their professional endeavors, and congratulating each other on their continued accomplishments.

There is a thorough introduction that provides you with a lot of background about the writers' lives, which was really helpful and appreciated. I don't think I would've been able to continue reading the book without that introduction. But nonetheless, I feel like I would've enjoy this book more if I had prior knowledge/interest of the writers and sought this book out to know more about them, not to read an exploration of cultural identity/sense of belonging, which is what I was hoping for. I worry my review is unfair for that reason and I also feel the title/description was a little misleading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the copy of this book!