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The Long Journey Home
WW2, 1st edition Headline 2003 paperback, fine In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
- GenresHistorical Fiction
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 12, 2018
A very real depiction of the fall of Singapore and how affected the white population suffered in the internment camps under the Japanese. One of my most compelling books of this period was white coolies, a true story from Australian nurses who actually had their ship bombed out from under them and then were forced to walk miles to the camps. This book had some lovely twists to it, all in the voice of a nine year old girl. Worth the five stars.
June 10, 2018
The arrival of the Japanese army in 1942 marked the end of colonial life in Singapore. The pre-war round of parties, games of tennis and servants, disappeared overnight as the British women and children attempted to escape by ship, while their menfolk were unable to defend the island and were quickly imprisoned in Changi jail. Meanwhile many of the Chinese population were murdered or tortured.
Ten-year-old Sylvie has had a privileged life despite her mother’s coldness. Tutored by Virginia Chen, a Eurasian graduate in her late 20s, she is able to meet many other people in the multi-racial city. When her father takes his family to the docks to board one of the last ships, an aerial attack causes confusion and she is left behind. Eventually finding Virginia, the two of them try to survive the rest of the war together.
This thrilling and very credible story relates the horror, comradeship and continuing racial tension. The deep friendship between Virginia and Sylvie helps them to endure the hunger and cruelty but peace threatens to divide them forever. There is a hint of romance for Virginia and we wonder whether Sylvie will ever see her beloved father again and there are some pleasing family connections to be discovered.
I have read many other books about the fall of Singapore, since so many true stories of endurance and suffering can be told, but this was a book I could not put down and the stratas of social behaviour and need for racial equality make it a novel worth reading in the 21st century.
Ten-year-old Sylvie has had a privileged life despite her mother’s coldness. Tutored by Virginia Chen, a Eurasian graduate in her late 20s, she is able to meet many other people in the multi-racial city. When her father takes his family to the docks to board one of the last ships, an aerial attack causes confusion and she is left behind. Eventually finding Virginia, the two of them try to survive the rest of the war together.
This thrilling and very credible story relates the horror, comradeship and continuing racial tension. The deep friendship between Virginia and Sylvie helps them to endure the hunger and cruelty but peace threatens to divide them forever. There is a hint of romance for Virginia and we wonder whether Sylvie will ever see her beloved father again and there are some pleasing family connections to be discovered.
I have read many other books about the fall of Singapore, since so many true stories of endurance and suffering can be told, but this was a book I could not put down and the stratas of social behaviour and need for racial equality make it a novel worth reading in the 21st century.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews