The Promise of Rain
Following her debut novel After River, about an American draft evader who comes to Canada during the Viet Nam war, Donna Milner's The Promise of Rain (McArthur $24.95) recalls how nearly two thousand poorly equipped Canadian troops were sent to defend Hong Kong during World War Two.
"The eager young Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers who sailed out of Vancouver harbour in late October, 1941, to answer Britain's request for reinforcements for Hong Kong, were not ready for combat,"; Milner says. "They sent our least-trained troops.";
A month after the rookie Canadian soldiers arrived in Hong Kong, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour (December 7, 1941). By Christmas, the Japanese had captured Hong Kong, and the Canadians who weren't killed in battle were sent to Japanese prisoner of war camps. Of the 557 Canadians who did not return, 289 died during the eighteen-day battle for Hong Kong. The remaining 268 perished in the POW camps in Hong Kong and Japan.
As in After River, Milner juxtaposes two different time sequences. The main storyline takes place in 1962 when the mother of three children and the wife of Japanese POW survivor, Howard Coulter, mysteriously dies. The story is told through the eyes of the youngest child, eleven-year-old daughter, Ethie.
Interspersed are chapters depicting the drama, anguish and adventures of Howard's wartime experiences and the suffering and hardship he and fellow POWs endured during their four years of captivity.
One of the main characters in the novel is Ethie's older brother, Kipper, a fifteen-year-old with Down's syndrome. The author does a masterful job of humanizing an individual with this chromosomal anomaly, explaining how this condition is caused by an extra, twenty-first chromosome in a person's cellular make up. Milner shows with sensitivity and caring how a Down's syndrome person can be meaningfully included into the family mosaic.
Milner credits former Williams Lake city councillor and seniors advocate, Hazel Huckvale, for inspiring her to write the novel. She is also grateful to surviving Hong Kong veterans Aubrey Flegg, Dick Wilson, Robert (Flash) Clayton, and Jan Solecki, having sought help from the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association.
The Promise of Rain is an uplifting and intriguing story that will touch your heart. Milner launched her book at the Open Book Store in hometown of Williams Lake. 978-1-55278-840-0
- by Sage Birchwater
"The eager young Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers who sailed out of Vancouver harbour in late October, 1941, to answer Britain's request for reinforcements for Hong Kong, were not ready for combat,"; Milner says. "They sent our least-trained troops.";
A month after the rookie Canadian soldiers arrived in Hong Kong, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour (December 7, 1941). By Christmas, the Japanese had captured Hong Kong, and the Canadians who weren't killed in battle were sent to Japanese prisoner of war camps. Of the 557 Canadians who did not return, 289 died during the eighteen-day battle for Hong Kong. The remaining 268 perished in the POW camps in Hong Kong and Japan.
As in After River, Milner juxtaposes two different time sequences. The main storyline takes place in 1962 when the mother of three children and the wife of Japanese POW survivor, Howard Coulter, mysteriously dies. The story is told through the eyes of the youngest child, eleven-year-old daughter, Ethie.
Interspersed are chapters depicting the drama, anguish and adventures of Howard's wartime experiences and the suffering and hardship he and fellow POWs endured during their four years of captivity.
One of the main characters in the novel is Ethie's older brother, Kipper, a fifteen-year-old with Down's syndrome. The author does a masterful job of humanizing an individual with this chromosomal anomaly, explaining how this condition is caused by an extra, twenty-first chromosome in a person's cellular make up. Milner shows with sensitivity and caring how a Down's syndrome person can be meaningfully included into the family mosaic.
Milner credits former Williams Lake city councillor and seniors advocate, Hazel Huckvale, for inspiring her to write the novel. She is also grateful to surviving Hong Kong veterans Aubrey Flegg, Dick Wilson, Robert (Flash) Clayton, and Jan Solecki, having sought help from the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association.
The Promise of Rain is an uplifting and intriguing story that will touch your heart. Milner launched her book at the Open Book Store in hometown of Williams Lake. 978-1-55278-840-0
- by Sage Birchwater
Submitted on April 27, 2010 in By David.