Eddie Price

It is great to read another perspective on the history of the 'death railway' in today's Thailand. For too long we have watched the movie from one perspective, namely the officers of the British soldiers. Richard Flanagan's novel describes the brutality that normal soldiers felt under barbaric conditions. Not just that; we learn how the diposed Axis overbarers accepted a final punishment in post bomb Japan. A diappointing aspect is portrayed when a desceased British officer is described as having an 'affected accent'. His condemnation is based on accent and not deed which seems to be an athema of today's Australia. Overall the novel is alot better than more recent winners of the Booker prize and it may go down in history as a valid historical work of semi-fiction.