The movie is excellent as well. This book is based on a true story. ( )

I had never heard of the author and assumed the book was new. The book was new, the story wasn’t new it first came out in 1950. Predictable to a degree but so well told it was a pleasure to read such wonderful writing.
A woman who is part of a group of women and children who are first prisoners and then cast adrift in Malaya during WWII. The woman comes into some money and wants to make some changes.
In addition to taking place in Malaya, it also takes place in London, and NE Australia.
Excellent book. ( )

This was a very touching story. ( )

Very good novel about a woman caught by the Japanese near Singapore and an Australian man who tries to help her. ( )

Published in 1950, this modern classic is a story of a smart and capable woman, Jean Paget, as told by her solicitor and trustee, Noel Strachan, from the 1930’s to 1950’s. She is the heir to a trust established by an uncle, which is administered by Strachan’s firm. He becomes not only her solicitor but her friend. She eventually tells him about her time in Malaya (now part of Malaysia) during WWII, when she and a group of women with children were marched hundreds of miles to various villages, each Japanese leader sending them on to the next to avoid having to feed them. They suffer tremendous hardships, but eventually find a way to remain in one station until the war ends. While there, Jean meets an Australian soldier who tries to help them, to his peril. She returns to England, meets with Strachan, and travels back to Malaya and on to Australia, where the bulk of the novel transpires. It provides a vivid picture of what life was like in the Australian Outback at that time.

Themes include a woman’s place in society, entrepreneurship, and renewal of life after war. The attitudes of the period are in evidence in racial issues and gender roles; however, the author is attempting to show that these views are false. For example, Jean, being a woman, is assumed to be incompetent with money, but she proves to be an astute businesswoman. She also figures out a way to improve the lives of the women of the Malayan village that helped her group during the war.

The characters are likeable and convincing. The romantic elements of the story are held in the background and do not take over the narrative. I think it might have been even more effective if Jean had told her own story, as we are getting information second-hand, which keeps the reader at a bit of distance. I am not sure how our narrator got information about her love life, which she surely would not have mentioned at the level of detail portrayed (or perhaps this is how Strachan imagined it took place?) He obviously cares for her deeply. I think this book will appeal to those who enjoy stories of international travel, altruism, or strong women.
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