THE PEPPER GARDEN

by John Slimming ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 1967

The Pepper Garden points up the human dilemmas in the changeling revolutions in Southeast Asia, Narrator Radway is an expatriate Britisher who has lived most of his life in Malaysia. As a young man he had worked in Malaya where he met and loved Juliah, a young Dutch-Chinese girl. But first there was the Japanese invasion and a three-year prison camp existence to survive. Then there was an idyllic seven year interval until the communist uprising of terrorism that brutally destroyed Juliah leaving Radway to move to Sarawak in the hope of avoiding memory. But now, years later, he is witnessing a repeat of the same tragedy. A murder committed by a Red Guardish youth organization has caused the authorities to react with the same tactics that were successful in Malaya..curfews, relocation. But it has fled to resentment, fear and a disruptive breakdown in relationships between the Chinese and their Iban, Dayak, British neighbors. Then Radway discovers that his protege Ah Huange is one of the revolutionists. Told with economy and a bloodless grace, it has an immediate, relevant impact.

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION