Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North

As this was the winner of the Man Booker prize this year, I'm sure it'll be on many people's Christmas lists. Although, I've only just started to read my way through the shortlist, I'm not convinced this would have been the winner for me.

The Plot: The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, was built by Japan during WWII using forced labour. Approximately 180,000 Asian civilians and 60,000 allied Prisoners of War worked on the railway. Hundreds of thousands of people died, due to starvation, and the brutal regime of the camps.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the account of a fictional Australian army doctor, Dorriago Evans, and his life before, during and after his experience on the Death Railway. Dorriago struggles to save the lives of the men under his care, as is forced by his captors to select the POWs to work on the railway each day. Throughout he is haunted by the memory of Amy, the wife of his uncle, who he had an affair with.

The novel is non-liner, showing the long reaching consequences of trauma, and the importance of happier memories in difficult circumstances.

Rating: 3.5/5
Full review after the jump:-

Audrey Magee, The Undertaking

There has been a lot of buzz about The Undertaking, it was the winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Luckily, it lives up to the hype, it is a very powerful novel about the second world war.

The Plot: Desperate for a respite from the Eastern Front, Peter Faber, a German solider agrees to arranged marriage with a woman he has never met, Katharina Spinell. Although their marriage begins awkwardly, they soon develop an unexpected sexual chemistry and depth of feeling for each other. Their brief 3 week honeymoon must sustain them whilst Peter confronts the horrors of Stalingrad. Katharina, encouraged by her delusional parents, aligns her interests to the Nazi party, but as the regime begins to crumble she begins to regret her decision.

 
Rating: 5/5
Trigger warning: rape, violence, war, anti-Semitism, Nazi ideology, starvation

Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger has the kind of heroine that appeals to me, red-haired, sharp-tongued and quick-witted. The kind of woman who travels to exotic places, verbally spars with male colleagues and takes lovers.

The Plot: Dying in her hospital bed, Claudia reminisces about her life and the men she has loved; Gordon, her brother and rival, Jasper, fickle and charming and Tom, the love of her life. Non-linear, the narrative skips between Claudia's childhood, her time as a war correspondent in Egypt and her dotage.

Rating: ««««¶ (4/5)

For my full review click under the jump, but in brief if you enjoy novels such as Julian Barnes Sense of an Ending or Alison Moore's The Lighthouse, books about retrospection and nostalgia, this should also appeal to you. Moon Tiger is full of charm, glamour and truth.  

Tan Twan Eng- The Gift of Rain

The Gift of Rain is currently available of Kindle for £0.99, I strongly suggest you snap it up.

The plot: Set in Penang, Malaya, this novel spans decades, from the dying days of the Chinese imperial court, to the collapse of the British empire to Japanese hostilities in World War Two.

The protagonist is Philip Hutton, who feels alienated because his dual British and Chinese parentage, until he meets Hayato Endo.  Endo, a Japanese diplomat becomes Philip's friend and mentor, teaching him about Japanese culture and the martial art aikido.

 With the outbreak of World War II, and Japan's brutal occupation of Penang, Philip comes to realise he has been betrayed by Endo, who is a Japanese spy. Philip becomes an unwitting traitor as he is forced to collaborate with the occupying forces in a hope to save his family. 

This novel is emotionally draining. Tan Twan Eng is a very talented writer, he made me sympathise with so many of the characters, but especially Philip, who's life is so tragic that I felt worn out by the time I'd finished reading. That's not to say it's not a good book- it's just very sad. 

Wartime collaboration is a contentious issue, usually when people talk of collaborators it is negative. Collaborators are seen as weak, cowardly traitors that should be shamed and punished. The Gift of Rain, shows how love and loyalty can be manipulated, and how people believe they are doing the wrong thing but for the right reason. Though The Gift of Rain examines the morality of collaboration, it isn't preachy and it isn't simplified. Both Philip and Endo have their reason for assisting the Japanese with the invasion of Penang, there reason's are not presented as an excuse. They are not blameless just because they are coerced.  

The scope of the novel is huge. I really enjoyed when the narrative broadened out, and included glimmers of Buddhist religion, Japanese philosophy and Chinese history and folk-tales. Penang sounds like a fascinating place, an interesting mix of different cultures, after reading this book I really want to visit. 

Although I learnt about the Second World War in school, we mainly focused on the Western front, so I am woefully ignorant about the battles in south-east Asia. Before reading The Gift of Rain, I was unaware that Malaysia was a former British colony, that during the war had been shamefully left undefended when invaded by the Japanese army. It is something, that after reading this novel, I really want to educate myself on.  

If you enjoyed this, I'd recommend Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie. As like The Gift of Rain, the novel depicts World War II in south-east Asia.