This is a very enjoyable book and you should read it if you are gay, Japanese Australian or have an interest in the Australian home front in WWII, but it has a couple of shortcomings that would stop it from appealing to people outside those groups.

The book has very little emotional range. It strikes a note of poignant regret early on and then just keeps playing it throughout the majority of the story. This is particularly problematic because it reflects the fact that the protagonist, Arthur, doesn't seem to change at all throughout the book. So we are left with quite an entertaining story about what some people did at a very interesting time of history, but nothing deeper.

The writing is good, with the actions described clearly and a good balance between description, action and thoughts/emotions. However the position of the first-person narrator is a little unclear and at times I found myself wondering why I should trust a narrator who lies so casually to others. Sometimes an unreliable narrator is used deliberately by authors, but in this book it was never addressed and didn't seem to feed into the story. This also relates to the fact that the narrator is not particularly likeable or sympathetic and so once again the reader is left a little isolated from the events in the story.

This whole review has basically been a justification for why I am not giving this book four stars, despite enjoying it. There are plenty of enjoyable three star books out there (three stars means "i liked it" according to goodreads), but they generally don't stay with me. I'm afraid that this book falls into that category. ( )

A compassionate novel about a gay Australian man and his love for a Japanese youth that he met while guarding an internment camp during World War II, a love that haunted him long after the war was over.

Arthur, the narrator of this novel, was a only seventeen when he joined the Australian Army and was sent to be a guard at an isolated Japanese internment camp. While there he met Stanley, a handsome Japanese two years younger than himself. Life at the camp and Stanley’s personality provided little chance for them to spend time with each other, but Arthur quickly became devoted to him. Their relationship was erratic and often left Arthur hurt and confused. At the same time Arthur became involved with a young woman in the Land Army who wanted to marry him. He tried unsuccessfully to settle down and be a good husband, but never viewed her with the passion he retained for Stanley. Although he lost sight of the young man, he never lost his overpowering love for him.
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