Noel BarberRezensionen

This was a wonderful novel covering a whole swath of Singaporean and Malayan history from the 1920s to the late 1950s, with a varied cast of characters from British planters, Chinese businessmen, ruthless Chinese guerrillas, heroic Malayan peasants, and various double agents of dubious provenance. This description may make it sound though this is a story of stereotypes, but it is anything but, covering difficult issues in relations between national and ethnic groups sensitively and from different viewpoints. Events inevitably focus mostly around the build up to the Second World War and its duration and aftermath, including the Communist insurgency of the late 1940s and 50s. Our central characters are Johnny Dexter, an English planter, who has grown up in Singapore in the eponymous house (which means "red earth" in Malay), built by his grandfather, and a Chinese girl Julie Soong, daughter of his father's business partner. They defy racial conventions of the time (on both English and Chinese sides) by becoming seriously involved, meeting with anger and rejection from their respective families. After a lot of vicissitudes, both romantic and war-related, they of course end up together.

As well as the central romantic narrative, the changing relations between the British and Malayan communities are obviously an ongoing theme. The Dexters are comparatively liberal and come to realise that independence is both inevitable and, ultimately, desirable. Before this all the communities in Singapore must go through the horrors of war, having until almost the last moment refused to believe that Singapore can truly be vulnerable to the Japanese. The sense of shock and dislocation is total. At the same time, despite horrific Japanese treatment of the Chinese in particular, the invaders have at the same time shown that the "yellow" man can overcome the white man. The final main sequence shows Julie and another woman being kidnapped by Communist guerrillas, including one who has a personal vendetta against Johnny. There are some quite horrifying and shocking scenes in this book, but also some beautiful descriptive passages, and a narrative drive that never flags. A great read.

This is a fascinating read by a writer who brings us the story of The Black Hole of Calcutta.

The Nabob of Bengal 1756:
P.44
"For years now he had distrusted their [British] promises not to interfere with the government of Bengal. They had abused their trading rights. He knew the Hindus hated the Muslim rulers. The British still harbored Kissendass, his rival to the throne."

Omichand was a Jain merchant in Calcutta.
P.62:
"Omichand's troops had been ordered to keep out the British from the compound until his chief footman, Jaggernath Singh, had killed the women of the harem.

Many men in the fort [William] were now to witness the ghastly scene. The sound of shooting must have drawn them to the east curtain, where some had a clear view of Omichand's compound. The footman was leading A procession to the edge of a small Coconut Grove. 13 women and three children followed him in single file. When they reached the palms they stood in a line with a quiet dignity and submission. There was no warning of what was to follow. Without hesitation, the first woman in the line stepped forward and tore her dress from her breasts. The footman drew a Dagger from his sash and stabbed her in the heart. She made no sound as she slumped to the ground, and the next woman stepped forward. One by one they moved out of the line as the horrifying ritual proceeded. if there were any shouts from startled Watchers in the fort or the bell tower of the church, Singh took no notice. In a few moments it was all over. Then, expressionless, Singh held the dagger high and plunged it into his chest."

Hague, captain of The Prince George, a ship anchored in the River Hoogley, defending Perrin's Redoubt, North of Fort Williams, waited for the right moment to target the Indians pouring out of the jungle towards the Redoubt.
P.74:
"meantime, new waves were pouring out of the jungle. Hague now had time to reload, but his guns were trained on the jungle and Ditch and the bulk of the Indians were now halfway across Perrin's garden. This was the moment Piccard [Ensign defending Perrin's Redoubt] had been waiting for. He himself dropped the burning portfire to the torch-hole and waited for the shivering air to burst and crack his eardrums as the first ball shrieked into the midst of the Moors barely 50 yards away.

Those at the loophole had an instant vision of the Carnage, the scrabbling figures, the bodies and flesh, the heads and entrails, the arms and disconnected feet, the spurting blood. One man, his leg blown off, tried to stand, holding up the Nabob's flag in a pathetic gesture of defiance. But his remaining leg gave way beneath him and soon he was crawling around in circles, still clutching the banner."

P.166-7:
"The story of the siege of Calcutta is one in which, even allowing for the blunders of its leaders, bad luck - sheer misfortune - seems to have dogged The defenders each time they appeared near to overcoming disaster. Now, about 5:00, when everything seemed to be going so well, when hopes were higher than they had been since the morning, when enemy attacks had been beaten back, a new disaster--the one stroke of bad luck nobody ever envisaged - befell the Fort. The [ship] The Prince George, upon which everything now depended, ran aground on a sandbank.

The news shattered the morale of the Garrison. Here was an accident that must have made them wonder in their disMay if even the Lord had not abandoned them. And indeed, in the whole story of The siege, It is not the blunders and crass incompetence for which blame can be apportioned, but the almost uncanny succession of unaccountable misfortunes which makes it seem as though Fort William lay under some inexplicable and preordained curse. The run of ill - luck was so persistent that had it been Incorporated in a work of fiction, the novelist would be criticized for clumsily contriving situations in order to heighten the drama. Yet all these events actually occurred in unrelenting sequence, with disastrous results which the unhappy Garrison could hardly foresee even in their worst nightmares."

This story is about the last men left defending the Fort, and their attempt to negotiate surrender of the Fort to the Nabob, on honorable terms. They were instead tricked and tortured. 146 humans (one woman) were crammed into a room 18x24 feet, from 8:00 pm to 6 am the following morning, with only two small, barred windows for breathing space. Only 22 men and the one woman survived. Most were trampled to death and suffocated, others merely suffocated, pinned tightly in place standing, and dead.

An especially gruesome scene takes place when Holwell, the leader of the last remainders of the Garrison, begged his Indian guards to pass some water into the dying humans inside. There were no receptacles to hold the water, so the soldiers' hats were passed through the bars of the window. A stampede commenced, all trying to get near the window to the few drops of water that would not be sloshed out of the hats by passing through. The Indians were vastly amused by this scene and called to their friends to come to watch.

P.217:
"Again and again the prisoners made desperate attempts to force the door-- invariably without success. Next, some of them began hurling insults at the guards in the hope of provoking them to open fire and at least put an end to the nightmare. But the guards ignored them until the men's piteous and insistent Cries for 'water! Water!' made the old guard whom Holwell had tried to bribe take pity on them.

Despite his own thirst, this was just what Holwell had dreaded. To his horror, he watched as the guard 'ordered the people to bring some skins of water, little dreaming, I believe of its fatal effects. I foresaw it would prove the ruin of the small chance left us.' HolWell's medical knowledge left him in little doubt that water itself could do nothing to assuage their raging thirst, but only accentuate the danger and lead to fighting.

With his face pressed to the bars, HolWell shouted to the guard to desist, but the old man apparently did not hear, and after a few minutes 'the water appeared. Words cannot paint to you the universal agitation and raving the sight of it threw us into. I had flattered myself that some, by preserving an equal temper of mind, might outlive the night; but now the reflection that gave me the greatest pain was that I saw no possibility of one escaping to tell the dismal tale.'

As every man fought to reach the window--and the water--Holwell tried to control the fighting that inevitably broke out. The only containers suitable for distributing the precious liquid were hats which Holwell and Lushington pushed through the bar so that the guards could fill them from the skins. These were almost useless. 'Though we brought full hats between the bars, there ensued such violent struggles and frequent contests to get at it that, before it reached the lips of anyone, there would scarcely be a small teacup full left in them. These supplies, like sprinkling water on fire, only served to feed and raise the flame.'

Time after Time whole hatfuls of water were spilled. Men fought like maniacs, dipped their hands into the empty felts, then licked them. The urge to drink was so desperate that several men at the other window left it--abandoning their only chance of Air and life--and 'pressed down on those in their way... And trampled them to death' as they tried to reach HolWell's window."

What a load of drek! I've been reading alot of good books lately and the bad writing and ponderous plot and two dimensional characters just jangled my nerves. I think I probably thought of this as an okay beach read style book but it was more of a painful slog. I think at least 200 pages could have been cut with no loss at all. I have another Noel Barber on my shelf but I think I will let it go and move onto something I would enjoy more.

Another enjoyable read by this author, it gives an incite into the atrocities those faced with exile endured, and illustrates the trials and tribulations of building a new life in another country.½

Another enjoyable book written by Noel Barber. Barber incorporates his experiences in the South Pacific into an interesting tale of a young English doctor who takes up a deputy medical officer role on a small island whose inhabitants are largely Pacific Island people. The trials and tribulations of coping with isolation, lack of supplies, epidemics, and primitive hygiene are just a few of the conditions he learns to overcome.½

An interesting and revealing insight into life in Egypt from 1919 until 1953. So spanning the period of occupation of Egypt by the British, and on to World War Two. The story is centred around two well-to-done families, neighbours, one Egyptian and the other British. A long tender love affair and the many trials and tribulations the couple, and their families endured makes for an enjoyable read for those interested in this period of our history and the life in this Middle Eastern country.

An interesting historic novel set predominantly in France, but also in Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America. One gets a real sense of knowing the family characters, and of all the wonderful and terribly times they lived through during is sad period of French history. There is much factual reference to people, places and events throughout the occupation of France by Germany, and many passages of graphic detail of the horrors of war, but these are contrasted by the beautifully descriptive passages of family life, set in the family chateau and productive vineyard, where much of the book is located. This is another good read.

First published in 1981,I thought I had read this book years ago, when I read other Noel Barber novels, but I think not now. I found this book to be a wonderful read, the story, at times conveying intimacy, was told in an honest but careful manner. Johnnie matures into a strong character, and it is he who tells the story of his life, and his relationship with his parents, and with the woman he takes as a lover, the family he has, the family business he is involved in, and World War 2, which is central to the story and the location. Having visited the modern day Singapore and Malaysia I felt I could visualize the landmarks and locations through the book, and this gave the novel authenticity for me. A delightful read for me!½

Well written account of the (not) war in Malaysia from 1948 - 60. The (not) part refers to the fact that it remained undeclared for insurance purposes. The British ultimately took the smart tactic of keeping the struggle within the command of the police, with help from the army. The brutality of the Chinese communists was sad and normal, unfortunately. Reccommended.½

Unflinching look at the Malaya Campaign of 1941-1942, which resulted in the surrender of Singapore, the largest surrender in the history of the British Army. Barber pulls few, if any, punches in assigning blame, and the commanding general, Arthur Percival, comes in for a rather deserved drubbing. However, there's also a lot of blame to be applied to the grossly malfunctioning working arrangement not only between civil and military authorities, but within those branches as well. Simply put, Barber's thesis was that the entire campaign was grossly mismanaged, not only in Singapore but in London, and it's hard to disagree with him. There are some heroes in the book to relieve the dread, even some soldiers. But quite a few villains.½

I expected this 1980s book to be a little dated - a tale of cross-racial sex and marriage in Singapore in the early and mid 20th century has the potential to anchored in the time of the telling. But, against the odds, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.
The son of a wealthy self-made British trading family in Singapore, born around the time of WW1, falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy self made Chinese trading family, around the time of WW2. The plot hangs on the fact that such cross-racial liaisons were only acceptable if they were temporary and/or paid for. An enduring relationship was beyond the pale. The lovers in this book treat their relationship as completely normal, and perhaps because such relationships are no longer anything other than routine, the effect wasn't jarring as the author intended to portray.
I also found the background of life in Singapore and the history of the island to be fascinating and apparently well researched. Not so the mention of the hero owning a pre-war Morris Minor - a car not produced until after WW2,.
Red Dec 2017

I'm not sure if I've read this WWII novel once or twice (think twice), but enjoyed it. Not just the story, but also I learned a fair bit about wine making, etc as that comes up in the story.

This is the book that introduced me to the site. A friend recommeneded that I read it, and so I reserved it online from my local library; at the foot of the information page for the book was a was mentioning this site, and out of curiosity, I followed it. Five minutes later, I joined.

Frankrig, lidt før, under, og lidt efter den anden verdenskrig.
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I added titles from the defunct Common Reader catalog to my to-read list ages ago and finally thought to request them from the library. Not usually sympathetic to colonizers, I was not overly interested in the incident, and the book didn't inspire either or in the first few pages. With grotesque voyeurism, I flipped to the chapter, 3/4 of the way through, on the 14-hour horror itself. What I hadn't known that was worth learning was that the situation allowed the British to justify to themselves their stranglehold on India for the next nearly two centuries.

Randomly grabbed from a bookshelf in Borders when I was in the mood to read something I have never heard of before, and it actually worked quite well. I love epic, sweeping historical fiction about the ending of an era/death of a civilization and this met those needs. The story is set in Cairo, starting well before World War II when the British occupied the country and the Egyptians wanted to be free of this (and taking you through this time, as well as after it). The atmosphere set was fantastic and all of the historical, non-fiction details were woven into the story quite nicely. I would definitely recommend it, but the one drawback for me was the romance, which I found to be rather dry and clunky at times, yet overly sweet at others. It is rather important to the feel of the story, so it doesn't detract or take you away from what is a good book.

Writers don't seem to write books like this anymore, which is a very sad thing. This was a fantastic book with just enough history without the history detracting from the characters in the book. I have always been interested in Singapore and this book made me want to learn even more. If you like the new trilogy from Ken Follett you will enjoy this book. I intend to seek out other books from this author.½

Narrative account of the Malayan emergency between 1948-1960. The book is written from the point of view of the victors and gives us a good picture of how the engagement of the local Malay people was essential to the ultimate defeat of the Communist terrorists. My fault with this book which was an enjoyable read,was that it seemed to reduce the conflict to fights between "Cowboys " and "Indians" rather than an objective historical record of events leading to the independence of Malaya and the end of British rule.

The author is a "British novelist" and the Brits, like the Romans have there own unique slant on distorting history. Bearing this bias in mind it is an interesting read on an area far to little is written about.

a delightful read. Historical fiction about the life of an English grandson from one of the most prominent English business families in Singapore since the early 1920s before WWII, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, and after the British took it back from the Japanese in 1949.

This book starts off with the grandfather, having built an impressive business in Singapore and the impressive mansion he built on the island, naming it Tanamera, which in Malay, means Red Earth, for the color of the rich soil on which the house stood. It's in this house that his son and grandchildren grow up, fall in love, keep secrets, and fight to hold.

It was an interesting look at Singapore (then part of Malaya) through the eyes of the rich Englishman and the society they moved around in. Some of the buildings still exist in Singapore, thankfully without the same racial and gender prejudices during the 20s - 50s. It was fun to visualize these places and the patrons of the time. The comparison to the patrons of today is vastly different.

But it is the exploits of the grandson, one Johnny Dexter, and his antics as a child, as a teenager in (forbidden) love with a Chinese girl, as an adult, a father and then a soldier that holds our attention through the book. Touching on the horrors the islanders received at the hands of the Japanese soldiers after they invaded Malaya, this story is told from the view of an English family and what they did to fight for the country they loved. It provides a rather romantic view of the war though and it certainly doesn't delve into the gruesome horrors that the native islanders went through at the hands of the Japanese, but having said that, it did stay close to historical truths, especially the secret partnership the British formed with the Chinese Communists to sabotage the Japanese camps in the jungle, although they did turn on and attempted to hunt down these same communists after the Japanese surrendered at the end of the war.

Barber's historical look into the 1756 Siege of Calcutta by Siraj-ud-Daula is chilling and fascinating all at once. His descriptions of the people involved in the struggle on their last day in the prison reaches a level that few historians can accomplish. Even though the first edition of this text was written 40 years ago, it still shows virtuosity and panache. Anyone interested in colonial history should read this.½

A love that grew in the days before the outbreak of WWII.How Nazi-Germany threatened France and finally triumphed.A magnificent epic,played out under the tumultous background of that time.A decadent French government and the life of a foreign corresponent,the champagne region and the final success of the French Resistance.

The British ruled Malaya in the pre WWII periode. Japan took over and exercised a bloody occupation.Two great dynasties[British & Chinese]fighting through the turbulent times of Singapore.Tanamera is a passionate story in the throes of change and of a love that remains.The fall of Singapore is the backround of this historical very interesting periode of WWII and after.

I doubt that this would have kept the U.S. out of Iraq, but maybe it would have caused some of those who thought it was going to be in and out and home in time for Thanksgiving to take a second look. Not great writing, but a very readable book.

Tanamera is het indringende, schilderachtige verhaal van Singapore in een tijd van omwentelingen. Het is ook het verhaal van een liefde die tegen alles bestand bleek, verrijkt met de beelden en geluiden van een kleurrijke, veeltalige wereldstad, de weelde van de grote koloniale woningen en de verschrikkingen van de door de Japanners bezette oerwouden.

Het is de geschiedenis van twee grote dynastieën - een Britse en een Chinese – de normen die hen scheiden en de hartstocht die hen bond.

In de formele koloniale gemeenschap mochten John en Julie Soong, dochter uit de rijkste en machtigste Chinese familie van Singapore, wel samen opgroeien, maar niet aan een gezamenlijke toekomst bouwen. Ze mochten wel vrienden zijn, maar geen minnaars. Toch gingen ze, alle tegenwerking ten spijt, van elkaar houden en dat was het begin van een relatie die sterker was dan scheiding en verraad, gedwongen huwelijk en diep weggestopte familiegeheimen, oorlogsgeweld en schrikbewind...