Book Reviews

Karen McMillan | www.karenm.co.nz

A Message for Nasty

by Roderick Fry

Hong Kong 1943. Marie Broom is at home on Hong Kong Island when the Japanese invade. She is Portuguese Chinese, 27 years old, the mother of four young children. Her New Zealand husband, Vincent, is working in Singapore as a marine engineer, and it is not long before Singapore falls to the Japanese also.

A Message for Nasty follows the fate of Marie and Vincent over the next two years, separated from each other and without any means to communicate. Marie does her best to protect her children, but danger, starvation and death lurk on every corner. Vincent tries desperately to escape occupied Singapore and eventually embarks on a perilous journey across China to try to rescue his family.

A Message for Nasty is a gripping, page-turning read, a novel that packs an even bigger emotional punch when you learn the story is based on the author’s grandfather and grandmother.

Awa Press, RRP $40.00

Travelling Light

by Steve Lowndes

Travelling Light is a travel memoir that follows the adventures of young couple Steve Lowndes and Lisa Potts as they journey across the globe in the 1970s. It makes for fascinating reading as they spend nearly a decade travelling the world together.

This is an entirely different type of travel than what we experience today. There is no mass tourism. No credit cards, mobile phones or the internet. It is more complicated than travelling now, but it also seems much freer in other ways and there is a palpable sense of adventure. Certainly the cities aren’t as clogged then as they are today. It’s a slower pace of life, more space and the chance to relax and experience all the small moments along the way.

Steve has a very engaging writing style that brings their adventures to life, capturing the romance of travel in this era. The photographs by Lisa are a highlight of the book. Travelling Light is a must-read for anyone interested in travel or other people’s stories and anyone with an adventurous heart.

Quentin Wilson Publishing, RRP $49.99