Rating: 
Summary: A classic will they- won't they tale with a nice twist.
Review: This book opens in Malaysia during WW2, with descriptions based on Shute's own experiences in Indonesia during the war. In a chance encounter an English Girl and an Australian soldier meet and feel something special exists between them.After the war, each attempts to contact the other. They travel the world to find out if their memories of that defining moment are real, or were a personal illusion, not held by the other person. A real heart rending tale of true romance set in a passionate backdrop of war and the aftermath, and the wild spaces of central Australia. This is not just an Australian classic, it is a classic! A relly good memorable read.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh my word, this is a wonderful book!
Review: This is a beautifully written story, cleverly and very poignantly told from the point of view of a 70-something man - a careful, considerate London solicitor who is the trustee (with broad discretionary powers) of a will that leaves a considerable sum of money (but not a lump sum, due to the conditions of the will) to a young woman. Jean Paget is that young woman, and she is an extraordinary person, making her story very compelling reading. The weaving of the threads of her life - her WWII experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese in Malaya; her fateful encounter with Australian Joe Harmon; the inheritance that allows her to leave the mundane working world; her interaction with solicitor Noel Strachan; and her search for her true destiny - is done in the most masterful way. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is deeply satisfying reading. It is everything a novel should be.
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