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The Promise Of Rain
Ethie Coulter was born after her father Howard returned from the war in 1945. She never knew him as he was before, never knew that he had been an open, loving man and a devoted husband. When his wife dies in bizarre circumstances, Howard must take on the burden of looking after eleven-year-old Ethie and her two older brothers. Why, Ethie wonders, is he so silent and withdrawn? Howard Coulter was one of two thousand Canadian soldiers sent to the Far East a month before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Surviving the fierce battle for Hong Kong, he became a POW, moving from camp to notorious camp, watching his friends die of disease, starvation and worse. Yet Howard carries more than the physical and mental scars inflicted by his captors. Something happened in Hong Kong, a secret that he has carried for nearly two decades. Ethie, inquisitive and fearless, will be the one to work her way towards the truth and help her father come to terms with the past.
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Donna Milner
5 books54 followersDonna Jonas Milner, who has been referred to as the, 'Oh, so Canadian author,' was born in Victoria British Columbia and grew up in South Vancouver. As a young woman she relocated to a small town in the West Kootenays where she married and started a family. In 1972 she settled in the central interior of British Columbia and has resided there since. It wasn't until after she had raised four children and retired from a 25 year career in Real Estate that she pursued her secret passion for writing. Her creative non-fiction articles have been published in local periodicals, Reader's Digest, and the anthology Brothers, Borders and Babylon.
Her debut novel AFTER RIVER, was picked out of the slush pile at Gregory & Co Agency, and subsequently sold and published in twelve countries. It has been translated into six different languages, and made into an audio book.
Milner makes no apologies for using the British Columbia locations where she has lived as inspiration for the settings of her novels. It is no secret that the town of Rossland where she resided for seven years, was the prototype for the border town of Atwood in AFTER RIVER, and in her new novel, THE PROMISE OF RAIN, her childhood home in a Fraserview subdivision of 'wartime houses' served as the backdrop for the Vancouver scenes.
Milner and her husband now live north of Williams Lake, off the grid in an eco friendly timber frame home. And of course, she admits, she is using a similar isolated setting on a pristine lake as the location of her third novel, which she is currently at work on.
Her debut novel AFTER RIVER, was picked out of the slush pile at Gregory & Co Agency, and subsequently sold and published in twelve countries. It has been translated into six different languages, and made into an audio book.
Milner makes no apologies for using the British Columbia locations where she has lived as inspiration for the settings of her novels. It is no secret that the town of Rossland where she resided for seven years, was the prototype for the border town of Atwood in AFTER RIVER, and in her new novel, THE PROMISE OF RAIN, her childhood home in a Fraserview subdivision of 'wartime houses' served as the backdrop for the Vancouver scenes.
Milner and her husband now live north of Williams Lake, off the grid in an eco friendly timber frame home. And of course, she admits, she is using a similar isolated setting on a pristine lake as the location of her third novel, which she is currently at work on.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 9, 2020
This should have been riveting. This is a story about family secrets, lingering wartime trauma coupled with alcoholism, ableism, and a young girl dealing with the grief. Instead, I found the writing somewhat tepid, despite all the interesting story elements. I kept finding my interest flagging as I read, and only really engaged with the story and its characters in the last few chapters, when the plot actually had some urgency.
October 19, 2013
I didn't even have the opportunity to update my status on my reading progress for this book because I took less than a week to finish reading it. It was so good that all I did was read and read and read and possibly lost some sleep for a couple of nights. All because I needed to know how each chapter ended and what happened next.
I thought it was pretty coincidental that I should be reading yet another book with the plot based on the historical facts during World War II and the Japanese Occupation in Asian countries. The previous book, The White Pearl, was by Kate Furnivall and the premise was that the Japanese had entered Malaya through the thick jungles on bicycles and took over the colonial country, rampaged through the native streets, blasted everything to smithereens (from the lives of the people to the homes and everything else in sight). This current book based its plot on similar premises of the Japanese invading an Asian nation, this time Hong Kong, where a Canadian man by the name of Howard Coulter and his best friend Gordy Veronick had volunteered to assist the British soldiers to hold the HK fort against the Japanese. The author had done a great job on interlacing two separate stories told in two different times on every alternate chapter. One story was told in the eyes of Ethie Coulter whose mother died in an accidental occurrence that almost tore her family apart. Her father, Howard Coulter, was still reeling from his post-war life when his beloved wife died. How the family struggled to survive each passing day with the loss of a loving wife and mother. How the people around them tried their best to be supportive, yet at the same time, not to smother them with too much unwarranted attention. The other story was told from Howard's point of view during his time as a volunteer soldier with his best friend. The ghastly images that stuck in his mind during the war itself and after they were captured along with the other soldiers and were thrown into a prison camp oversaw by Japanese officers. The torture they endured. The suffering they had to live with in the hands of these uncaring officers.
It was just too much for me, yet despite everything, the book kept up its form of companionship to me. From time to time, all that I read either kept me awake or made me wrinkle my face in disgust at some of the things that the Japanese could do to civilians without batting an eyelid. I can't quite think of anything that I disliked about the book. But I did like the short chapters. Easy for me to read and stop. But it was written so well that I just didn't want to stop at all.
I wonder what my next book would be...
I thought it was pretty coincidental that I should be reading yet another book with the plot based on the historical facts during World War II and the Japanese Occupation in Asian countries. The previous book, The White Pearl, was by Kate Furnivall and the premise was that the Japanese had entered Malaya through the thick jungles on bicycles and took over the colonial country, rampaged through the native streets, blasted everything to smithereens (from the lives of the people to the homes and everything else in sight). This current book based its plot on similar premises of the Japanese invading an Asian nation, this time Hong Kong, where a Canadian man by the name of Howard Coulter and his best friend Gordy Veronick had volunteered to assist the British soldiers to hold the HK fort against the Japanese. The author had done a great job on interlacing two separate stories told in two different times on every alternate chapter. One story was told in the eyes of Ethie Coulter whose mother died in an accidental occurrence that almost tore her family apart. Her father, Howard Coulter, was still reeling from his post-war life when his beloved wife died. How the family struggled to survive each passing day with the loss of a loving wife and mother. How the people around them tried their best to be supportive, yet at the same time, not to smother them with too much unwarranted attention. The other story was told from Howard's point of view during his time as a volunteer soldier with his best friend. The ghastly images that stuck in his mind during the war itself and after they were captured along with the other soldiers and were thrown into a prison camp oversaw by Japanese officers. The torture they endured. The suffering they had to live with in the hands of these uncaring officers.
It was just too much for me, yet despite everything, the book kept up its form of companionship to me. From time to time, all that I read either kept me awake or made me wrinkle my face in disgust at some of the things that the Japanese could do to civilians without batting an eyelid. I can't quite think of anything that I disliked about the book. But I did like the short chapters. Easy for me to read and stop. But it was written so well that I just didn't want to stop at all.
I wonder what my next book would be...
January 19, 2021
There was so much of my own life reflected in this wonderful novel. This is a story of a Canadian WW2 soldier, Howard, who has been a prisoner of war after the fall of Hong Kong. He returns home with the most dreadful memories of the horrors he has endured and he keeps a secret from those times from his loving wife. They live in an area with other returned servicemen. In Melbourne where I grew up, we lived in a War Service home besides other families of returned servicemen. My own father had the same dreadful night terrors after he returned plus he suffered continued bouts of malaria that wracked his body. I saw alcoholism, domestic abuse and mental anguish in the families around us, just as is described in this novel. I knew men who had been tortured and abused as prisoners of war under the Japanese. Everything Donna Milner describes is exactly what I experienced.
I found this novel very easy to read especially as the chapters alternate between WW2 times and the 1960’s in suburban Vancouver. Howard has a beautiful, loyal wife in Lucy and three children, Frankie, who is born while he is a prisoner of war, a daughter, Ethie and Kipper, the youngest child who has Down’s Syndrome. I won’t go into the 1960’s tragedy that occurs very early on in the novel ( by page 19) nor the wartime tragedies. If this all sounds very grim, yes, at times it is heartbreaking to read but the goodness of Howard ultimately keeps his precious family together. Hunt down this magnificent novel and you will be vastly rewarded.
I found this novel very easy to read especially as the chapters alternate between WW2 times and the 1960’s in suburban Vancouver. Howard has a beautiful, loyal wife in Lucy and three children, Frankie, who is born while he is a prisoner of war, a daughter, Ethie and Kipper, the youngest child who has Down’s Syndrome. I won’t go into the 1960’s tragedy that occurs very early on in the novel ( by page 19) nor the wartime tragedies. If this all sounds very grim, yes, at times it is heartbreaking to read but the goodness of Howard ultimately keeps his precious family together. Hunt down this magnificent novel and you will be vastly rewarded.
August 22, 2024
So eine wunderschöne, traurige und liebevolle Geschichte. Man kann nicht anders als alle Hauptcharakter von Seite 1 an ins Herz zu schließen und mit ihnen die Familien-Geheimnisse, schrecklichen Erinnerungen an den Krieg und psychischen Probleme zu erleben!
April 12, 2024
1/3 Bücher auf Deutsch für 2024
Es war ok, aber warum so traurig?
Es war ok, aber warum so traurig?
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October 27, 2010The story describes a family situation which challenges our current family expectation where children take for granted to live in a normal family that their parents give them all the necessary love and support.The father in the novel, Howard, is an unsuitable person to take care of his family because he uses alcoholic to escape from the reality and often remain trapped in his own mental world ever since he returned from the war. “Haward’s never missed a single day’s work through drinking (174, Milner)”On the other hand, Ethie is an eleven old daughter who is more mature and responsible than even her father. She shows a maternal personality because she takes care of many of the house chores. Also, she doesn’t run away reality even if the truth may be unpleasant or scary. Since her mother died, Ethie “understood early the power of money. Or, more exactly the lack of it (p178, Milner)”. She doesn’t complain anything but convinces her brother to collect emplty bottle for money so that the family will be able to go to a movie night.
Parts of novel were disturbing but at the same time realistic because it shows the feelings that soldiers experienced as well as the racism that was present during the World War II.At first, the Canadians look down on Japanese and assume they were not brave enough to declare war on the England army. However, when Hong Kong was surrounded by many Japanese navy, the Canadians realized their army was underequipped and massacred by the Japanese soldiers and lots of soldiers like Howard be captured into PoW. Even worse, Japanese people treated the Chinese woman as if they were prostitutes.Even more disgusting when The Japanese soldiers competed each other to see who had achieve a higher death rate in the enemies they take down to increase their own morale. It was then the Canadian learned about what it means to live in fear and hopelessness.
The organization of the novel was confusing because the chapters are constantly shift between different timelines from the present to the past. As a result, it’s hard to connect the information of chapters from between chapters because they belong to different times and the stories don’t seem to connect to each other. For example, in chapter 33, I was in the mood of 1942, Howard could not stop the Canadian soldiers to shoot Shung-Ling. In the next chapter, the story suddenly shift into “my father gave me away(P265, Milner). These inconsistencies take me lots of time to piece different information.
Parts of novel were disturbing but at the same time realistic because it shows the feelings that soldiers experienced as well as the racism that was present during the World War II.At first, the Canadians look down on Japanese and assume they were not brave enough to declare war on the England army. However, when Hong Kong was surrounded by many Japanese navy, the Canadians realized their army was underequipped and massacred by the Japanese soldiers and lots of soldiers like Howard be captured into PoW. Even worse, Japanese people treated the Chinese woman as if they were prostitutes.Even more disgusting when The Japanese soldiers competed each other to see who had achieve a higher death rate in the enemies they take down to increase their own morale. It was then the Canadian learned about what it means to live in fear and hopelessness.
The organization of the novel was confusing because the chapters are constantly shift between different timelines from the present to the past. As a result, it’s hard to connect the information of chapters from between chapters because they belong to different times and the stories don’t seem to connect to each other. For example, in chapter 33, I was in the mood of 1942, Howard could not stop the Canadian soldiers to shoot Shung-Ling. In the next chapter, the story suddenly shift into “my father gave me away(P265, Milner). These inconsistencies take me lots of time to piece different information.
October 23, 2010
A story of family secrets, of war, of loss and of horror, this is story-telling at it's very best. I was transfixed by Donna Milner's extraordinary writing from page one, this book takes the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions - through sadness, laughter, horror and hope.
With alternating narratives, first from Ethie, an eleven-year old girl whose Mother has just died. The second in the third person, told from the point of view of Ethie's father Howard whilst he was serving as a soldier during the Second World War.
Ethie is a wonderful narrator - she is devastated by the mysterious and sudden death of her beloved Mother, she is fiercely protective of her brother Kipper who has Downs Syndrome and adores her brother Frankie, who at 20, is more of a father figure than her actual father. Ethie loves her Dad too but knows that he has his problems, he has always been a bit different, a bit distant and quiet and since her Mum's death his behaviour has become more bizarre.
The part of the story that tells of Howard's time during the war explains just why he behaves like he does. Howard served in Hong Kong and was a POW in a Japanese camp - the full horrors of the treatment of the POWs and the Chinese people is explicitly described. It is shocking, breath-taking, powerful stuff that leaves the reader in no doubt that Howard's character has every right to behave in the way that he does. The cruelty that humans can inflict upon each other is horrendous.
When Ethie notices a young Chinese girl speaking to Kipper she becomes obsessed with finding out more about her, what she finds out will also tell Ethie much more about her father and the experiences that he has had that formed him.
A fantastic read, I enjoyed every page, the writing is frank and the story is excellent.
With alternating narratives, first from Ethie, an eleven-year old girl whose Mother has just died. The second in the third person, told from the point of view of Ethie's father Howard whilst he was serving as a soldier during the Second World War.
Ethie is a wonderful narrator - she is devastated by the mysterious and sudden death of her beloved Mother, she is fiercely protective of her brother Kipper who has Downs Syndrome and adores her brother Frankie, who at 20, is more of a father figure than her actual father. Ethie loves her Dad too but knows that he has his problems, he has always been a bit different, a bit distant and quiet and since her Mum's death his behaviour has become more bizarre.
The part of the story that tells of Howard's time during the war explains just why he behaves like he does. Howard served in Hong Kong and was a POW in a Japanese camp - the full horrors of the treatment of the POWs and the Chinese people is explicitly described. It is shocking, breath-taking, powerful stuff that leaves the reader in no doubt that Howard's character has every right to behave in the way that he does. The cruelty that humans can inflict upon each other is horrendous.
When Ethie notices a young Chinese girl speaking to Kipper she becomes obsessed with finding out more about her, what she finds out will also tell Ethie much more about her father and the experiences that he has had that formed him.
A fantastic read, I enjoyed every page, the writing is frank and the story is excellent.
January 26, 2014
I am biased about this book. I loved "After River" by the same author. I also am, like Ethie, the main voice in this book, the child of a Hong Kong veteran, a survivor of the doomed battle to save Hong Kong from the Japanese...a prisoner of war...a man very much like Ethie's Dad Howard. I found this book to be a bit less strong than her first book, but one that engaged me and caught me emotionally. I felt at times like Ethie's life was much like mine growing up. I have bought this book (although my local library had a copy available) to enable myself to lend it out to friends who like to read...perhaps they will enjoy it and perhaps it will give them some insight into something that few Canadians know about or understand.
My Dad was never able to go back to Hong Kong, after being repatriated out of the POW camp. My husband and I were able to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetary in Hong Kong to pay our respects to the many men of many countries who died in the defense of Hong Kong. Reading this book made me realize just how important that respect was.
My Dad was never able to go back to Hong Kong, after being repatriated out of the POW camp. My husband and I were able to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetary in Hong Kong to pay our respects to the many men of many countries who died in the defense of Hong Kong. Reading this book made me realize just how important that respect was.
October 4, 2011
I thought this would be an interesting read...set in early 1960's Vancouver - familiar setting and recognizable streets and moving back and forth with the past, 1941 during the wartime, it was a very intense but captivating read. Always intrigued with stories of the war, this could be any Canadian soldier's story- especially of those brave men who sailed out of Vancouver with their hopes to serve their country - sent off to Hong Kong to support the British Army and then to find themselves totally devastated and pretty much trapped as prisoners-of-war in a situation where every day you hope and pray to live another day. More than anything, this was a novel about a family and how a family copes and survives. The story told from a young daughter's prespective and then from her father whose secrets dominate his existence. Great book - easy to read despite the harsh themes and depictions of war but very valuable in the telling of the story.
April 21, 2010
I am the very first to review this book on Goodreads! Ha! I loved this Canadian Author's first book, "After River," and have been waiting for this one. It is just as good, except for the topic of war and post war illness. I just find it so hard to read about soldiers happily wanting to join the army, and after a few years, if they make it back alive, are so terribly traumatized, some are unable to find their place in the society that they are returning to.
Donna Milner quotes President Dwight Eisenhower, "no one hates war more than the soldier who has lived it, who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
However, Ms. Milner creates a family in this story that is so connected to each other it is so beautifully heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Keep a box of tissues close by.
Donna Milner quotes President Dwight Eisenhower, "no one hates war more than the soldier who has lived it, who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
However, Ms. Milner creates a family in this story that is so connected to each other it is so beautifully heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Keep a box of tissues close by.
August 1, 2012
A good story is clearly in safe hands with this author, she writes with a quiet confidence, with an eye for small detail. She brings together different stories from different times to converge neatly at the end. Both the bereavement and the POW strands of the plot were heartrending. Definitely an author I would read more by.
September 20, 2012
A wonderful and absorbing story. Full of love, death, loss, and much more. Family dynamics coping with loss and courage as a returning prisoner of war. Read it in 2 days...couldn't put it down. An unforgettable story.
November 12, 2013
I know Donna, for she is my grandmother. I loved the book, and I liked how she made two story lines for it. She wrote it in this format because of her family. It happened almost completely like this. For any of you who haven't read it, I think you should.
January 13, 2021
I enjoyed reading about Vancouver in the 1960's, two reasons to relish the book; its familiar turf and I was Ethie's age in 1962.
Warning: Christ's name is misused several times.
Warning: Christ's name is misused several times.
April 4, 2013
This book, taught you the realities of war, the promise of love, the fear of secrets, and the healing that can occur when truth is revealed. Loved it!
January 15, 2015
Not as good as ..After River
August 5, 2022
*** Rezension eines kostenlosen Exemplars von Vorablesen ***
"Der Tag an dem Marilyn starb" beginnt mit einem tragischen Ereignis: Dem überraschenden Tod der Ehefrau und Mutter Lucy. Neben ihrem seit dem Krieg in sich selbst zurückgezogenen Mann Howard hinterlässt Lucy den etwa zwanzigjährigen Frankie, den am Downsyndrom erkrankten Teenager Christopher "Kipper" und Ethie, aus deren Sicht die Geschichte in der Gegenwart erzählt wird.
Nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter ist für die Familie nichts mehr wie es einmal war und die Familie muss alte Gewohnheiten überwinden, um zurecht zu kommen. Immer wieder wird die Gegenwart von Rückblenden unterbrochen, die aus der Erzählperspektive von Howards Erlebnissen im Krieg und vor allem in Gefangenschaft erklären. Auch das wohl gehütete Familiengeheimnis kommt auf diese Weise zu Tage und findet letzlich seinen Weg in die Gegenwart (auch wenn man das Geheimnis ab der Mitte des Buches schon erahnen kann).
Besonders fasziniert hat mich, wie es Donna Milner schafft, die einzelnen Familienmitglieder so detailvoll und lebendig erscheinen zu lassen, dass man als Leser mitten dabei ist, als wäre es die eigene Familie. Jeder Charakter hat viele Schichten und macht bis zum Ende des Familiendramas einen Wandel durch, der realistisch und nicht aufgesetzt wirkt.
Zu guter Letzt ist der Schreibstil auch phänomenal: eine gute Mischung aus einfach und detailvoll, bei dem vor allem Emotionen sehr gut rüberkommen.
Wer Familiengeschichten mag und gerne tief in eine Geschichte eintaucht, kann mit "Der Tag an dem Marylin starb" nichts falsch machen - mein erstes, aber sicher nicht mein letztes Buch von Donna Milner!
"Der Tag an dem Marilyn starb" beginnt mit einem tragischen Ereignis: Dem überraschenden Tod der Ehefrau und Mutter Lucy. Neben ihrem seit dem Krieg in sich selbst zurückgezogenen Mann Howard hinterlässt Lucy den etwa zwanzigjährigen Frankie, den am Downsyndrom erkrankten Teenager Christopher "Kipper" und Ethie, aus deren Sicht die Geschichte in der Gegenwart erzählt wird.
Nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter ist für die Familie nichts mehr wie es einmal war und die Familie muss alte Gewohnheiten überwinden, um zurecht zu kommen. Immer wieder wird die Gegenwart von Rückblenden unterbrochen, die aus der Erzählperspektive von Howards Erlebnissen im Krieg und vor allem in Gefangenschaft erklären. Auch das wohl gehütete Familiengeheimnis kommt auf diese Weise zu Tage und findet letzlich seinen Weg in die Gegenwart (auch wenn man das Geheimnis ab der Mitte des Buches schon erahnen kann).
Besonders fasziniert hat mich, wie es Donna Milner schafft, die einzelnen Familienmitglieder so detailvoll und lebendig erscheinen zu lassen, dass man als Leser mitten dabei ist, als wäre es die eigene Familie. Jeder Charakter hat viele Schichten und macht bis zum Ende des Familiendramas einen Wandel durch, der realistisch und nicht aufgesetzt wirkt.
Zu guter Letzt ist der Schreibstil auch phänomenal: eine gute Mischung aus einfach und detailvoll, bei dem vor allem Emotionen sehr gut rüberkommen.
Wer Familiengeschichten mag und gerne tief in eine Geschichte eintaucht, kann mit "Der Tag an dem Marylin starb" nichts falsch machen - mein erstes, aber sicher nicht mein letztes Buch von Donna Milner!
February 11, 2020
Dieser Roman schafft es, trotz des traurigen Themas, den Leser immer wieder zum Schmunzeln zu bringen. Oft deshalb, weil man sich in der einen oder anderen Figur selbst erkennt. Doch auch wer nicht – wie Hauptfigur Ethie – seine Mutter verlor, als er noch ein Kind war, wird von ihren klaren und direkten Schilderungen zu Tränen gerührt. In diesem Teil des Buches, der in der Gegenwart spielt, beschreibt Ethie, wie ihre Familie, allen voran ihr Vater, mit diesem schweren Schicksalsschlag umgeht. Sie will wissen, was genau passiert ist, tut sich schwer, zu akzeptieren, dass ihre Mutter nie wieder nach Hause kommen wird. Und mitten in diese Trauerphase platzt ein unbekanntes asiatisches Mädchen, das immer ihr Haus beobachtet. Ethie geht zusammen mit ihrem Bruder Kipper dieser Fremden nach und stößt mit der Zeit auf ein vom Vater gut gehütetes Geheimnis.
Unterbrochen werden Ethies Schilderungen von Rückblenden in den zweiten Weltkrieg, in dem ihr Vater für Kanada in Asien stationiert war. Seine Erlebnisse dort lassen den Leser besser verstehen, warum er in der Gegenwart meist sehr abwesend ist und viel Alkohol trinkt. Außerdem erklären diese Jahre auch, woher das Mädchen kommt, das auf das Haus der trauernden Familie starrt.
Mit einer packenden Unverblümtheit und Direktheit schreibt Donna Milner den Großteil des Buches über sehr schlimme und schreckliche Tatsachen, doch sie schafft es, dass sie den Leser zwar berührt, aber nicht verschreckt. Während der Kriegsszenen weiß man als Leser, dass der Vater heimkehren wird, auch wenn ihm und seinen Kameraden noch so unmenschliche Dinge zustoßen. Und in der Gegenwart lässt die Autorin den Leser hoffen, dass die Familie alles hinbekommt, näher zusammenrückt und letztlich stärker aus alldem hervorgehen wird. Ab und zu rückt das Geheimnis um das fremde Mädchen dabei fast in den Hintergrund und man fühlt sich zwischen den Gefühlen der Familienmitglieder so hin- und hergerissen als würde man zwischen ihnen auf dem Sofa im Wohnzimmer sitzen.
Unterbrochen werden Ethies Schilderungen von Rückblenden in den zweiten Weltkrieg, in dem ihr Vater für Kanada in Asien stationiert war. Seine Erlebnisse dort lassen den Leser besser verstehen, warum er in der Gegenwart meist sehr abwesend ist und viel Alkohol trinkt. Außerdem erklären diese Jahre auch, woher das Mädchen kommt, das auf das Haus der trauernden Familie starrt.
Mit einer packenden Unverblümtheit und Direktheit schreibt Donna Milner den Großteil des Buches über sehr schlimme und schreckliche Tatsachen, doch sie schafft es, dass sie den Leser zwar berührt, aber nicht verschreckt. Während der Kriegsszenen weiß man als Leser, dass der Vater heimkehren wird, auch wenn ihm und seinen Kameraden noch so unmenschliche Dinge zustoßen. Und in der Gegenwart lässt die Autorin den Leser hoffen, dass die Familie alles hinbekommt, näher zusammenrückt und letztlich stärker aus alldem hervorgehen wird. Ab und zu rückt das Geheimnis um das fremde Mädchen dabei fast in den Hintergrund und man fühlt sich zwischen den Gefühlen der Familienmitglieder so hin- und hergerissen als würde man zwischen ihnen auf dem Sofa im Wohnzimmer sitzen.
March 11, 2020
Ethie is devastated by the loss of her mother. Like her older brother, Frankie and her younger downs syndrome brother, Kipper, they are unsure if they can rely on their father, Howard. He has never gotten over the four years he spent in a prison camp in Hong Kong. Often they recognize from his vacant eyes that he is somewhere else or they hear him scream in the night. Now their mother is no longer there to help him through his nightmares. But Ethie notices a Chinese girl staring at their house during the wake. Why is she there? Who is she? And will her father be able to keep the family together?
September 8, 2021
I was thankful for the alternating chapters from the war scenes of 1940's to Vancouver 1950's. It gave relief from the atrocities of war. Alternating chapters centered around a family suffering from those atrocities and how they dealt with the effects of war and each other. The story was full of compassion, and shows us how one moves beyond the paralyzing effects of guilt. I enjoyed the writing style and all the characters.
August 8, 2021
Although this is a novel it could easily be a true story. What it describes is probably true for many families of those who suffered in prisoner of war camps and returned with stories that could not be told. Very well written. A heartbreaking story. Perhaps the ending was a bit too “neat” but it was a relief!
June 15, 2018
J'ai essayé durant plusieurs jours de me plonger dans l'univers que nous propose l'auteure mais ça n'a pas prit. Je n'ai pas accroché dès le départ, j'ai tenu bon une trentaine de pages avant de passer à autre chose.
January 16, 2023
Maybe im just biased because i LOVE war-fiction books, but this book truly touched my heart. It had all the details i never knew i needed and i loved the characters. Minus the almost too perfect ending, i enjoyed every page. Would highly recommend.
August 2, 2017
I have very mixed feeling regarding this book. Parts of it were very well done but occasionally it felt like the author was forcing it a bit. Overall a solid story but it hasn't made my shelf
July 19, 2018
This historical fiction book is a good read. Having lived in both Winnipeg and Vancouver I could relate to the locations the story unfolds in. This is a tearjerker!
October 21, 2020
solide Handarbeit, gut zu lesen - kann man empfehlen
October 7, 2021
Was expecting so much more. I love the writing style tho.
June 1, 2022
Interspersed chapters, 1962 Canada, 1941 Fall of Hong Kong.
Strong HK chapters, occasionally hard to read
M 2022
Strong HK chapters, occasionally hard to read
M 2022
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews