Peter Rees (1)

A remarkably talented and determined man, cruelly shunned by white Australia after the war.
Only near the end of his life was he discovered by a writer and celebrated for a few months.
A well-researched and written. The occasional touch of humour.
It forcefully brings home how appallingly the aboriginals have been treated and marginalised in Australia.
p6, On the road to into Nindigully there is now a sign pointing to the pub and another reading, ' 'Free Beer Yesterday'.
p35, His parents ran a household steeped not just in love but in solid values,
p42, ... the scrub was so thick I couldn't even open my pocketknife.
p193, Darcy went to the Squatter's annual ball wearing pyjamas, announcing deadpan that this it was his 'breeding suit'.
p270, ' ... the white man forces you to think about so many things with just aren't that important, so much so that you forget what really is important!' ... 'Understanding gravity doesn't make an apple taste any nicer— it's still falls from the bloody tree ...'
… (mer)

"A Week in September" was a story of love, courage and survival, however, I felt disconnected from Scott and Marge despite the beautiful letters Scott wrote to his wife. I also didn't like the comparisons and continual references to Victor Franki who was a prisoner in Auschwitz at the same time Scott was a Japanese POW. It took away from Scott and Marge's story and it seemed as though the author was trying to validate Scott's attitudes and behaviours while a prisoner.

"A Week in September" could have been a truly emotive, moving book about the unwavering love of two ordinary people during WWII. Having read "Love Stories" by Trent Dalton recently, I was expecting something similar - a book that would bring me to tears by its sheer beauty, but it didn't deliver and it left me wanting so much more.… (mer)

This book tells the story of the Australian airmen that served in World War 2 under Bomber Command. There are many stories of mateship through long bombing campaigns, and harrowing accounts of lost mates and loved ones. Throughout the horrors of war are evident: the strategic attacks, the miscalculated ones, the loss of planes being shot down or involved in collisions. However, little is said about the civilian casualties. The recollections of the bombing of Dresden in February 1945 are especially poignant. There was, and still is, doubt as to whether it was necessary. Those personally involved were mostly pragmatic - they had a job to do, and did it with clinical detachment. As one pilot wrote: "The war had reached the stage where moral attitudes had given way to pragmatic ones. We wanted to survive the war." One regret they had was the lack of recognition for their role in the war. Many found they were not welcomed home. Some were deemed cowards hiding in Europe from the Japs, despite the fact that Bomber Command had the highest rate of casualties. A lot struggled with their memories afterwards - some suffered from guilt knowing they had survived the downing of their aircraft while many of their crew did not, or were responsible for huge numbers of civilian casualties. It's difficult to compare war stories, especially those from different eras, but the difficulties and horror that these men went through to combat the terror of Nazi Germany, and continued to struggle with later, surely ranks as heroic. I cannot condone war, but I respect these men for the part they played in ending it.… (mer)