Under the Sun - Softcover

Kerr-Smiley, Justin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908129492 ISBN 13: 9781908129499

Publisher: Arcadia Books, 2013

Synopsis

* It is the final weeks of World War Two and the Japanese forces are in retreat. Young Spitfire pilot, Edward Strickland is based in the South Pacific. His task is to search and destroy any remnants of the once mighty Imperial Army. During a dawn patrol he is forced to ditch his aircraft near a remote island.

About this title

About the Author

Justin Kerr-Smiley was born in 1965 and brought up in Scotland. He was educated at Ampleforth and Newcastle University. Awarded a BBC bursary for post graduate studies in journalism, he worked as a radio reporter in Sydney and London. He then spent 15 years with Associated Press Television News (APTN) and reported from Northern Ireland, the Balkans and South America. His first novel 'Under The Sun' is published by Arcadia. The Sunday Telegraph described it as: 'a small masterpiece; the best novel that I have read about war since Captain Corelli's Mandolin'. In 2011 he received a travel scholarship from the Society of Authors in order to research 'Goodbye To The President', a novel about the 1973 coup in Chile. 'Goodbye To The President' was published by Merman Books in December 2014. He has also had poetry and short fiction published in the London Magazine.

Reviews

This accomplished literary war novel, Scottish journalist Kerr-Smiley's debut, is set in the South Pacific's Caroline Islands during the waning months of WWII. A Japanese submarine shoots down a Spitfire piloted by Edward Strickland, a young but decorated RAF flight lieutenant, while he's on a routine patrol. Capt. Tadashi Hayama, the commander of a nearby island listening post, observes Strickland's forced landing and rescues him from the shark-infested Pacific. Strickland is brutally interrogated by Hayama and the captain's underlings, but refuses to talk. A failed escape attempt marks him for death, but then Hayama makes an unexpected decision that paves the way for captor and captive to become close friends on the tropical island. Hayama, a descendant of samurai warriors, has a creative bent that extends to playing the violin, collecting butterflies, and reading the poet Basho. It's just a matter of time, however, before the outside conflict touches the island again. The protagonists' friendship may initially strain credibility, but Kerr-Smiley's passionate tale should convince readers that remarkable, as well as horrific, things can happen in the midst of war. (Nov.)

Edition details

• Publisher: Arcadia Books
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908129492
• ISBN 13: 9781908129499
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192