East of India by Erica Brown – Book Review
East of India by Erica Brown – Book Review
East of India
Author – Erica Brown
Publisher – Canelo
Pages – 355
Released – 16th April 2018
Format – ebook
Reviewer – Stacey
Rating – 4 Stars
I received a free copy of this book
Post contains affiliate links.
India, 1940. When Nadine learns that the Indian woman she thought her nanny is, in fact, her mother, she rebels against her English father and he arranges for her to be wed to an Australian merchant many years older. She is whisked off to her new husband’s plantation in Malaya but as the Second World War rages throughout the East, Nadine is taken captive by the Japanese.
She is held at a camp in Sumatra with other women and forced to entertain the soldiers and satisfy their desires. In the most unlikely circumstances, Nadine finds an ally and protector in a Japanese—American major caught up in the war. The two bond over their conflicted identities and gradually fall in love. But can Nadine survive long enough to find happiness?
The story begins in India in 1940. World War II is raging across the globe, but India has been left untouched.
15-year-old Nadine is the daughter of a British businessman and an Indian housekeeper, though she only discovers her housekeeper was her real mother after the housekeepers death. She is stubborn, headstrong and refuses to listen to authority. He father struggles to control her, so he marries her off to an Australian man who takes her to his plantation in Malaya.
However, the Japanese become involved in the war and the couple has to flee their home. Unfortunately, Nadine is captured and is used by the army for their sexual needs. It is also whilst captured that Nadine falls in love. This is story about her cruel, yet extraordinary life.
East of India was a fascinating book. It was quite hard going in parts, and it was also quite slow, especially at the beginning, but the pace did pick up. It also has beautifully descriptive scenes which made it easy to visualise the Asian countries.
I liked Nadine. She was a woman who wouldn’t let anything get her down and tried to find the positives in life, even through the hard times.
The book covers a lot of subjects, some quite dark, yet they are all written quite jollily, which at times did seem a little surreal. It showed the brutal side of the Japanese involvement in World War II, but without the real gory details.
The story did captivate me and I couldn’t wait to see how Nadine’s life would pan out. Would this young woman ever get a fair chance in life? You’ll need to read this stunning book to find out.
Reviewed by Stacey
Purchase online from:
Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com
About the Author
Erica Brown is the pseudonym of a very successful author of women’s fiction and crime. She lives in Bath and has one daughter and twin grandchildren one of whom is dead set on becoming a writer.
This sounds like a very dark, emotional read. I hope she ends up happy!
I likes the sound of this one!
Your review is fantastic. I can think of a couple of people to suggest this book to.
I love the cover. It’s beautiful. The story sounds thought provoking and wonderful.
Fantastic review! I adore well done historical fiction. Especially in that WWII era. Thank you for bringing this one to my attention. I NEED this one in my life.
I love the sound of this book. I need to add it to my TBR ASAP
Great review, this is a new book to me I never heard about it until today but it does looks and sounds absolutely fantastic and right up my alley. I might need to check this one out one day thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and putting this book on my radar.
Thank you. It was both dark and emotional in places.
Wonderful, I hope you get to read it.
Thank you.
Agree the cover is beautiful. It certainly is through-provoking
Thank you. I hope you get to read it,
I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you. I hope you get to read it and enjoy it.