ABSTRACT
War narratives have traditionally been fundamental in the construction of collective identities. Imperial wars, civil wars, liberation wars, even wars fought for relatively unclear reasons, mould – and are moulded by – national discourses, and condition communal attitudes towards those designated as outsiders. Perhaps because the twenty-first century began with episodes signalling the danger of war in home territory, the British commemorations of the centenary of World War I, opening in 2014, were especially charged with political meaning. One of the most striking contributions to the collection, Xiaolu Guo's "Coolies", follows a historical tract rarely discussed in talk of the "Great War". War documents record 2,000 deaths at the front, but suspected figures are closer to 20,000; causes of death are not documented. In contrast with Ali Smith's metaliterary opening piece, Jeanette Winterson's contribution, which closes the collection, is clearly inclined towards the essay form.
