The Separation by Dinah Jefferies
Publisher: Penguin (22nd May 2014)
Amazon || Book Depository || Goodreads
Received a copy for review from Penguin, thank you!
Publisher: Penguin (22nd May 2014)
Amazon || Book Depository || Goodreads
Received a copy for review from Penguin, thank you!
Blurb:
Malaya, 1955. Lydia Cartwright returns from visiting a sick friend to an empty house. The servants are gone. The phone is dead. Where is her husband Alec? Her young daughters, Emma and Fleur?
Fearful and desperate, she contacts the British District Officer and learns that Alec has been posted up country. But why didn't he wait? Why did he leave no message?
Lydia's search takes her on a hazardous journey through war-torn jungle. Forced to turn to Jack Harding, a man she'd vowed to leave in her past, she sacrifices everything to be reunited with her family.
And while carrying her own secrets, Lydia will soon face a devastating betrayal which may be more than she can bear...
Fearful and desperate, she contacts the British District Officer and learns that Alec has been posted up country. But why didn't he wait? Why did he leave no message?
Lydia's search takes her on a hazardous journey through war-torn jungle. Forced to turn to Jack Harding, a man she'd vowed to leave in her past, she sacrifices everything to be reunited with her family.
And while carrying her own secrets, Lydia will soon face a devastating betrayal which may be more than she can bear...
Normally, I don’t go for historical fiction. I mean, I love stories and conflicts but I’ve got all that from studying History in school, so the books I read outside of school are my escape. But, and this is an impressive but, I was really intrigued by the blurb and premise of The Separation by Dinah Jefferies and since the book is set in Malaya (my lovely country, now called Malaysia), I decided to give this book a go!
The Separation follows the story of an English family who lived in Malaya during the 1950s, at the time of The Emergency. Lydia Cartwright, a mother of two and wife, arrives home after visiting an ill friend, to find her house completely deserted. As she digs deeper into her family’s sudden disappearance, she uncovers more and more about her husband’s deceit and sets on a journey of self-discovery but at a very expensive cost.
Right from the start, I was sucked into the rich and exotic surroundings of Malaya. I really enjoyed reading about Lydia and her family’s lives in Malaya during the 1950s, and reading a fictionalised tale of my country’s history was such a treat. Dinah Jefferies’s description of the vast dangerous jungles and natural beauty of Malaya took my breath away. She successfully painted a gloriously vivid image of Malaya in the 1950s and I must commend her on it.
The book is written from Lydia and her eldest daughter, Emma’s perspectives, which gives the readers an insight to their lives after being separated. My favourite character in the book has to be Emma, she’s strong-willed, independent and matured. I liked reading about her childhood in Malaya and it opened my eyes to the beauty of my country back then. You only see buildings and roads now, back then, it was all lush forestry and nature’s beauty.
The Separation is everything a book should be. It’s got suspense, mystery, heart and a little dash of romance. The emotions in the book were written with such flair that you’d be affected by the up and downs the characters go through. A captivating tale of love lost and found, hope and betrayal, The Separation is a rollercoaster of emotions, which will shake you to the core.
The Separation follows the story of an English family who lived in Malaya during the 1950s, at the time of The Emergency. Lydia Cartwright, a mother of two and wife, arrives home after visiting an ill friend, to find her house completely deserted. As she digs deeper into her family’s sudden disappearance, she uncovers more and more about her husband’s deceit and sets on a journey of self-discovery but at a very expensive cost.
Right from the start, I was sucked into the rich and exotic surroundings of Malaya. I really enjoyed reading about Lydia and her family’s lives in Malaya during the 1950s, and reading a fictionalised tale of my country’s history was such a treat. Dinah Jefferies’s description of the vast dangerous jungles and natural beauty of Malaya took my breath away. She successfully painted a gloriously vivid image of Malaya in the 1950s and I must commend her on it.
The book is written from Lydia and her eldest daughter, Emma’s perspectives, which gives the readers an insight to their lives after being separated. My favourite character in the book has to be Emma, she’s strong-willed, independent and matured. I liked reading about her childhood in Malaya and it opened my eyes to the beauty of my country back then. You only see buildings and roads now, back then, it was all lush forestry and nature’s beauty.
The Separation is everything a book should be. It’s got suspense, mystery, heart and a little dash of romance. The emotions in the book were written with such flair that you’d be affected by the up and downs the characters go through. A captivating tale of love lost and found, hope and betrayal, The Separation is a rollercoaster of emotions, which will shake you to the core.
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| Nicole Kidman as Lydia and the immensely talented Soairse Ronan as Emma. |
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