Farewell to the King

by Pierre Schoendoerffer

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Description

In 1942, on a remote beach in Borneo, a shipwrecked U.S. Army deserter, Sgt. Learoyd, is washed ashore and found by a tribe of headhunters.

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Member Reviews

2 reviews
This was a book I'd never heard of that my brother brought over, and the cover looks cheap, like the sort of crappy books you expect to see for 10 cents at yard sales. But, this was actually a good book. I did not like the narrator- he was sexist and racist and annoying, but he was also consistent, and the story he was relating was fascinating. The writing skirts the edge of being too florid, but there are some very poetic and thoughtful passages worked into the narrative. I haven't done any research yet to know how much of this story was made up, but I was definitely motivated by this book to learn more about the Murut people of Borneo during and after WW2.

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Farewell to the King
Original title
L'adieu au roi
Original language
Franch

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
DDC/MDS
843.9Literature & rhetoricFrench & related literaturesFrench fiction1900-
LCC
PZ4 .S363Language and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction in English

Statistics

Members
65
Popularity
476,040
Reviews
2
Rating
½ (4.30)
Languages
5 — English, French, German, Italian, Turkish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
14
UPCs
1
ASINs
6