Book Club: To Love A Sunburnt Country

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Author: Jackie French
ISBN: 978-0-7322-9723-7
RRP: $29.99

Jackie French is a prolific Australian author who has written books over many genres and her latest is To Love A Sunburnt Country, an historical fiction set in WWII. It wasn’t until I finished the book that I discovered it is the fourth in a series so I can assure you that this book convincingly stands alone.

The Matilda Saga begins in 1894 with A Waltz for Matilda and takes inspiration from a well know Banjo Paterson poem as well as actual historical events. To Love A Sunburnt Country is the fourth in the series and is set in the midst of World War II.

Sixteen year old Nancy is in Malaya at the close of 1941 to help her sister-in-law with her baby nephew and convince her to return to the family property in Australia, unfortunately it is also right about the time the Japanese Army ups the ante and starts making progress no-one thought possible.

To Love A Sunburnt Country is a fictional novel based on true events and little-known people which just leaves me wondering how much of it is true.

I am the first to admit that my knowledge of our history is not what it should be, I paid not enough attention in school and have not retained what little I did learn. Some of the names are familiar to me but I can’t remember their stories. An historical novel based on real people and events has engaged me in the history of our country, and from what I can remember showed it from a different perspective too.

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The story is told from the point of view of all the main characters in alternating chapters which gives us an all encompassing look at what’s happening in Malaya, in Australia, for civilians and those in the military. French has used letters and stories from the local newspaper as tools to add depth to the story and bring those outside of the action a little closer to the narrative.

The world has changed a lot since the second world war, to think about the life of Nancy at 16 and compare it to my 16 year old self – I just can’t imagine it, even comparing her life before the war I can’t comprehend. She has been away droving and travelled to Malaya on her own, where she is now living with her sister-in-law and baby nephew.

Nancy is itching to return home to Overflow and is hoping that she can finally convince Moira that it is time, they need to travel before it becomes too unsafe.

To Love A Sunburnt Country tells a story of Australia from 1941 until 1946, the struggles of the families left behind to carry on and keep the country moving and the desperate conditions faced by those unfortunate enough to find themselves in Japanese prison camps. French explored the use of propaganda by both sides to paint a picture that had very little to do with the reality.

Nancy has the Overflow in her blood, she is very much at one with the land so finds it difficult to keep up appearances. Having grown up on the land her priorities were very different from those of the British ladies in her sister-in-laws social circle. Her time on the land has also darkened her already dark skin, Nancy has Aboriginal heritage and French explores the racial element through Nancy’s eyes.

A love of country drives all of the characters in this book, and what they will do in the name of their country, for their country and to get back to their country is at turns both disturbing and inspirational.

The storytelling is gripping and the landscape is vividly drawn. French’s characters leap from the page and draw you into their struggles. This is far from a light summer beach read but it is certainly well worth the read and will leave you giving thanks to the Australians that came before us and fought for the lives we are able to live today.

Jackie French is a fabulous storyteller and one I will be sure to keep an eye out for. I am interested, at some point, to go back and read the rest of The Matilda Saga. I will also be on the lookout for any forthcoming volumes in the saga.

A selection of our lucky readers will be reading To Love A Sunburnt Country as part of the Beauty and Lace Book Club so I will be interested to see what they have to say about the book.

Please be advised that there may be spoilers contained in the comments below.

29 thoughts on “Book Club: To Love A Sunburnt Country

  1. I am a real bookworm and enjoy reading all types of stories, true or fiction. Many books are in part educational even though you may not realise it while reading them. I often read instead of watching TV. I save my books and hand them on to the young ones as they become ago appropriate.

  2. Would love to read this book a shame I didn’t know about the other three, as I’m off to hospital and going to be out of action for a couple of months , I mostly read ,si fi , and Historical romance, so very interested and the story line sounds as though it might just be enough to stop me thinking about myself and give me something else to think about

    1. Chris I am sure you could source them from your local library.
      They are
      A Waltz for Matilda
      The Girl from Snowy River
      The Road to Gundagai.

      Good luck with your trip to hospital 🙂

  3. I love Jackie French’s work. I particularly admire the way she can go from something as gorgeous as Diary of a Wombat – the most delightful picture book set for young ones, to wonderful Historical Australian fiction. Her research is as good as it gets. I’d love to read and review this particular novel.

  4. Wow. sounds like an interesting read, I am really starting to embrace Australian Authors thanks to Rachel Johns.

  5. I was born in the UK and emigrated when I was 6. I love to read about Australian history as I too did not listen enough in school and love to envisage the “sunburnt country” as it was back then.

  6. I am an avid reader, born at the end of WW11. Much of the history of that time I learnt orally as family stories, although I did not realise it at the time. I. love reading Australian fiction and mystery. From frank Hardy, Di Morrisey, Jackie French, Kate Greenwood to Rachel Johns.
    I was unaware of this series and would love to start with this one, then look at the others

  7. This book really intrigued me, one because of the author (I am more familliar with her childrens books) and two the content as I spent 7 years travelling back and forth to indonesia as a child, and am familliar with the attrocities associated with WW2 in that part of the world.

    This book was well written, and I loved how the author managed to entwine different aspects of life in WW2 into the story. This story plucked solidly at my heart strings and more than a few tears escaped on reading about the losses and the cruelties endured.

    The way this book is written, illustrates the difficulties of life during the war at both home and away, and provided an insight into Australia’s part in the war. I also loved the way that she utilised some of her characters to illustrate the scars that were still so fresh from WW1.

    Over all, a great read, but I advise a bucket of tissues on hand, and plenty of time, as I found it impossible to put down. I read this book in about 3 days.

    My question to Jackie is: where was the inspiration for her characters and the story drawn from?

  8. Due to having to go in for an operation I have had to read this book before Monday the 2nd……..which wasn’t hard as I found I couldn’t put it down for very long.

    I have only read a couple of books by Jackie French before but was interested in reading this particular fiction story as it was about World War II. I have heard many interesting stories about the Japanese during the war by my late dad who was very involved in his Army division. Jackie has captured the story very true to form of what did happen over there.

    It’s a mammoth book of 464 pages and the cover is beautifully pictured of a young girl’s face over a sunburnt country.

    Most of the story centres around Nancy Clancy who at age 16 left school to spend a year of droving because she simply just loved the land as did her grandfather who was famed as being Clancy of the Overflow. We follow the years of 1941 to 1946.

    Her parents then sent Nancy over to Malaya to bring back their son’s British wife Moira and baby named Gavin. They had never had the pleasure of meeting both of them. Nancy’s brother Ben was a soldier in the army. It was a struggle for Nancy to actually get Moira to return to Australia as she wanted to remain at their plantation house for when Ben returned. As a wife and mother she felt it was her duty to stay. With Malaya under threat from the Japanese, Nancy had to take charge. They boarded a train to Kuala Lumpur and then they would proceed to Singapore where they would sail out for home in Australia.

    Their life on the ship was horrendous and when the ship is bombed, their story really begins.

    Stranded on an island with other women captured by Japanese and put in a prison camp with the most horrendous conditions to live in. The camaraderie amongst the women is a beautiful read. Reading what they went through can be visualised as you read. You become one of the women there as you read on.

    Throughout the book we also learn of other endearing characters that are somehow woven together to make this novel so captivating.

    At the start of each chapter, we are given a verse out of the Australian local newspaper called “The Gazette from Gibbers Creek.” There are also letters to loved ones during the war and I found these were depicted true to form as my own father used to tell me about letter writing to loved ones. This book really relates well to the tragedies and reality of war.

    I warmed to Nancy, her sister in law Moira and her baby Gavin straight away. I actually loved watching Gavin grow from a baby to a toddler. He had a hard life but he really knew of no other. The other women that are in the prison camp with them also are all very much loved.

    On reading about Nancy, I thought she appeared older than what she actually was. Her strength is amazing.

    Nowhere in this book did my mind waver. It’s such a compelling, powerful, captivating story that I could not stop reading and was able to read it in 1 ½ days. There were times that I would smile but there are times that I found myself crying and getting emotional when reading. The story really impacts your life and all the characters become endearing to you. The book really shows and tells us what did happen in the war. It is horrible to just even think what happened but to actually read what they did go through, is very painful.

    It is only now at the end of the book that I see that this is the 4th in the Matilda Saga. I would never have known there was others like this so my interest will be in reading 1 to 3 now also. Jackie French has done a brillant story for everyone to read. This book is well worth the read. Would highly recommend.

    Thank you to B&L for giving me the chance to read this book. Thoroughly enjoyed.

    A word of warning……a box of tissues definitely needed.

    Without giving anything away from the book I would love to ask Jackie why as to a certain character (was never expecting that) and did she find it hard writing what happened.

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