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Monday, March 10, 2014

Book Review and Preview: The Heart Radical by Boyd Anderson

Random House Australia have invited me to take part in the blog tour for the newly published book The Heart Radical by Boyd Anderson that hit book stores in February 2014.
 
 
This is a story told from the 1950s when the Japanese invaded Malaya and the issues faced with the Government, jungle guerrillas, rebels and communists. The heart of the story is based around a court case and the events leading up to it.

The story is told through the voice of a lawyer Su-Lin and professor Paris who knew each other as children because Su-Lin's father was the lawyer who helped Paris' mother, a Dr, in a court case.

Su-Lin and Paris meet up some 50 years later now grown up with a lifetime of memories and talk you through their lives as youngsters with their families which all lead up to the centre of the story - the court case. The story goes into their lives beyond that time too, now some 40 years later and how they have grown up and into the people they are today.

There was insight into the Chinese culture and beliefs that I found really interesting, in fact my favourite part of the book was the Chinese belief telling young girls that for every grain of rice they left in their bowls would be a dimple in their husbands face! That really made me smile :-)

Paris' mother the Dr and her stories I enjoyed as well as the court case when things started to all come together and make sense and really get interesting.

Unfortunately large parts of the story just didn't engage me and I struggled to stay interested. The story chopped and changed from Su-Lin's view as a kid and to her views on life now as an adult and I found this difficult to really get into the story. Paris was not a very forward character and I didn't warm to him.

I recommend this book to those interested in the Chinese culture and the 1950s war time in Malaya.
 
I give this book 2 stars out of 5
 
Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read
 
The Heart Radical can be purchased from Random House Australia here.
 
Sharing my book review on Random House here and Good Reads here.
 
Disclosure: Random House and NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I was given this eBook published by Bantam Australia to review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own.


 photo F0F68C01A59FABD46732FC15E1D8816D_zpsc6047f2f.png 
 
[Image via RandomHouse]

 
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2 comments:

  1. Ah, bummer. The cover looks cool though! Way to persevere!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it was a bit disappointing but I had to finish it and Im glad I did because it was the ending with the court case that was the best part for me. But of course other readers may love this type of book, it just wasnt for me.

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