The Long Road to Changi

When I discovered that an uncle was interned in Changi during the Second World War I decided to try and find out more about this part of Australian military history.  The Long Road to Changi by Peter Ewer attempts to investigate how Singapore fell to the Japanese and how Britain's claim to have the resources to protect the region proved to be a myth. 

Many British accounts of events at this time blame Australian soldiers for being unruly and poorly trained. The author provides a case to dispel this myth and demonstrates the failures of the British government and military to provide adequate British forces and equipment, particularly ships and planes to protect Singapore and Malaya.

This book is a well researched and written account of events and decisions that led to the fall of Singapore in 1942. The soldiers on the ground are revealed as the real victims of poorly conceived strategies to protect them and the territory they are trying to protect. Like Gallipoli and the invasion of Greece and Crete, the protection of Singapore and Malaya was another British organised disaster. 

Due to the Japanese taking Singapore and Malaya, thousands of Australians and other allied soldiers became prisoners of war. Australia now had to depend on the military forces of the United States to help it protect its shores and neighbouring countries from possible Japanese invasion.

Ordinary Gods and Monsters

Nick Wheatley is seventeen and has just left school. He has not yet decided what he wants to do with his life. Marion who lives next door has also just finished school and plans to go to university. Nick and Marion have always been special friends and remain so.  However they both realise that their relationship is changing as they start to experiment with other friendships.

Their lives are also changing in other ways. Nick's mother and father are divorcing which causes a strain on family relationships. Nick's sister's behavioral  problems are intensifying and annoying. Then Marion's father is killed in a hit and run incident which greatly affects her family.

Both Nick and Marion have experimented with using recreational marijuana and smoke cigarettes. However when Nick and Marion try to investigate who might have killed Marion's father they run into some dangerous characters involved with the drug trade. The chase that ensues places them in grave danger.

This sometimes amusing, sometimes tension filled story keeps the reader guessing as Marion and Nick make some serious life choices.

Out of my mind

Melody Brooks is eleven years old. To the other children at school, Melody is just the dumb girl in the wheelchair. They do not know or care that she has a photographic memory and absorbs information easily. Melody has cerebral palsy and cannot speak and cannot use her hands so no one knows how clever she is and how interested she is in what is occurring around her. Melody is therefore a prisoner in her world.

Fortunately Melody does have support from her parents and a few of the teachers at school but her main assistance comes from Catherine, her teaching aide at school and her next door neighbour, Mrs V, who work tirelessly to encourage Melody. They also discover a way to allow her to express her thoughts in the world outside her mind.

However as Melody's abilities become apparent, she encounters an even greater backlash from her classmates including those who had sometimes appeared friendly in the past. Melody discovers that although she can now express herself, not everyone is prepared to listen.  

In Out of My Mind Sharon M Draper has written a novel for young readers encouraging them not to judge the ability of other people by their appearance. Melody has to face up to the things that she cannot do but also adapts to the use of technology such as an electric wheelchair and an electronic communicator to help overcome some of her challenges. She also begins to realise who her real friends are and how to assert herself if necessary. This is a good novel to encourage children to consider their attitudes to people who may be different to them.

Out of My Mind is a book being studied by my grandson in grade 6 at school.

On our doorstep

By March 1942 there was a strong fear in Australia of the threat of Japanese invasion. The Japanese had taken Singapore and Malaya and Darwin had been bombed. The Australian Prime Minister had recalled Australian troops who had been sent to the Middle East. They were now required to help defend Australia and our neighbouring countries.

On Our Doorstep by Craig Collie looks at how the Australian government, Australian military and the Australian people reacted to the possible threat to our country and our region. This book examines how prepared Australia was for the war in the Pacific, the fall of Singapore and Malaya, Australia's traditional alliance with Britain and the necessity of forming strong ties with America, political preparedness as well as how Australians at home coped with the rapid changes occurring around them. The book also looks at the bombing of Darwin and the arrival of Japanese submarines in Sydney Harbour.

Australia's dependence on Britain to help defend Australia was forced to be adjusted as it was realised that previously promised help would not be available. Australia therefore had to turn to the United States for military support. On Our Doorstep provides an informative account of this part of Australian history.

The fair botanists

During the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century there was a fascination with plants discovered in other countries of the world with examples brought back to Europe. The novel, Josephine's Garden, by Stephanie Parkyn is the story of the botanical collection of the Empress Josephine in France. In The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan the setting for the novel is the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh during 1822. Plants in these gardens were primarily investigated for medicinal properties as well their value as different plant species. During 1822 items in the collection, including large trees, were being relocated to a new location - a mammoth task. There is also interest in a plant that flowers every thirty years and now its time has come.

The story in the novel revolves around the lives of two women - Elizabeth Rocheid, a widow who has recently moved to Edinburgh from London and enjoys making botanical drawings and Belle Brodie who is endeavoring to make a living by creating new perfumes. The two women become friends until Elizabeth discovers that Belle also makes a living from being a courtesan, though this profession is restricted to two clients.

In The Fair Botanists, Sara Sheridan creates a world including real and fictional characters living in Edinburgh. She paints a vivid picture of what it was like living in Edinburgh in 1822 and some of the attitudes prevalent at the time. In a section at the end of the book the author provides informative notes about people and events referred to in the novel.

Murder at Holly House

Scottish author, Denzil Meyrick, is best known for his series of DCI Daley crime novels set in Kinloch. However his new crime novel, Murder at Holly House, is set in north Yorkshire. Detective Inspector Frank Grasby has been sent to the small community of Elderby to investigate a series of robberies in the area. He soon discovers that Elderby is not your normal rural community. Frank describes the initial reaction of any visitor to Elderby as seeing a picture perfect place. 

'I don't think any visitor could help themselves loving it, with its little lanes, pretty shops - everything wrought in that grey Yorkshire stone that makes the village look as if it sprang from the earth by force of nature alone. As I am finding out, though, it's a village of secrets, mystery and death.' [page 259]

 While interviewing the landed gentry about another possible robbery he discovers a body in the chimney. This is only the beginning of a series of crimes, past and present, that Frank becomes aware of including attempts on his life. But it is when he is warned from headquarters to avoid over investigating the cases but just locate a culprit for the robberies that Frank knows that this is definitely not your normal community or normal crimes. The problem is is there anyone that he can trust?

Denzil Meyrick has written a fast paced, often humorous crime novel with so many twists and turns it is hard to keep up with what is happening. The novel is set during winter, a few days before Christmas, so there is also the weather to contend with. The effects of the Second World War remain, especially rationing. However as the novel progresses it is obvious that the politics of war still exists in this this part of northern England.