Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Posted on September 26, 2014 by thefreerangebookclub
The story of Australian doctor Dorrigo Evans, forced to work on the Burma Railway while held as a POW in WWII. Based on the experiences of the author’s father.
✎ “Evocative, lovely, terrifying, disturbing. Similar to how I felt after reading the about walk to Dunkirk in Ian McEwan’s Atonement, I felt I could hold my own in a conversation with fellow prisoners about life in a Japanese PoW camp after reading this story (“Yes I remember Barry, the medical tent was *very* basic wasn’t it….” etc). As a reader we weren’t observing the story from afar, we were there experiencing every horrible moment.” – Suzy
✎ “What a heart wrenching and deeply moving story. Not only it is beautifully crafted, it was a real pull on the emotions. The raw truth of PoW camps, alongside a touching love story, and education about a moment in history are all contained in this one book. It sounds crazy but I would lift my head from these pages and think “oh that ‘s right, I am here, not in a PoW camp,” my heart thumping, so entrenched in the story was I. I will never forget this book.” – Rachel
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Published 2013
Random House
464 pages
Category: Australian author, Booker Prize, Literary fiction, War story
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