A woman is found wandering injured in London after an air raid. She remembers nothing of who she is. Only that she has lost something very precious.
As the little boy waits in the orphanage, he hopes his mother will return. But then he finds himself on board a ship bound for Australia, the promise of a golden life ahead, and wonders: how will she find him in a land across the oceans?
In Perth, a lonely wife takes in the orphaned child. But then she discovers the secret of his past. Should she keep quiet? Or tell the truth and risk losing the boy who has become her life?
Many thanks to Headline via NetGalley for my copy of The Oceans Between Us to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Oceans Between Us is the début novel from Gill Thompson and she has chosen to write about a topic that will leave the reader angry and upset at the injustice at what befalls the main characters. Even more so because the book is based on true events. The story has a long timeline beginning in 1941, going up to 1962, and in the epilogue it is set in 2009. There are numerous strands throughout the story all told from three distinct perspectives - Molly, Jack and Kathleen. There are five parts to the story spread across various different years that were being featured in that section.
Each character was heard from during that time but the one thing I will say is that as the story jumped around a lot from person to person within each part or even several times within chapters it did become confusing at times. I think it would have been very beneficial to have the name of the character we would be following printed just above the beginning paragraph of that section. I found myself getting used to someone's story and then it jumped to a different character and even several years forward all within the space of a page or two. This was disconcerting to me and I think that's why it took me so long to really get into this book and to see that the author did an excellent job of bringing issues and topics to light that many people in the present day may not have even realised occurred in the first place. It was only when I reached just past the half way point that for me the story really came alive and I became deeply invested in the eventual outcome.
The brief prologue provides us with many questions, just who are the man and woman on the plane? Where are they going? What are the reasons for going to something that they had apparently fought for? I pushed this scene to the back of my mind but when I reached the epilogue I thought it connected very well back the opening pages.We then move back to 1941, the scene is set as Molly Malloy lives in Croydon with her young son Jack. She lost her husband Mick at Dunkirk and has soldiered on since as best she can despite all the deprivations and hardships that the war brings. London is a dangerous place to live as bombing raids are an almost daily occurrence. Then their little family unit is torn apart as a bomb falls near to their house. This sets in motion a change of events that will have far reaching repercussions for many many years.
I loved how the reader knew everything that was going on at all times during the book. There was nothing kept secret from us or hidden and we have to decipher the clues so to speak. It's the characters that are kept in the dark and it was interesting would the wool ever be pulled from their eyes and light therefore allowed to shine though. War and bureaucracy play a major part at what unfolded as a woman remains in a hospital. Her memory gone and no recollections as to who she is or how she came to be there? We follow this person for several years and over time it becomes apparent that this is Molly and that fateful day when the bomb exploded was the day her life changed forever and she was separated from her beloved Jack.
Molly throughout was a character who was very fragile and a vulnerable person who had to relearn how to live in the outside world and one who hoped the memories would come back over time. She was in an awful situation, not of her own making, and she had no control over the events that followed. But one thing is certain once she realises she had a son she will not give up looking for him no matter what difficulties and obstacles are thrown in her path. Over the years that follow her own personal circumstances change. Many of these for the better but the gaping hole left by Jack still remains. As you delve further into Molly's point of view and she becomes aware of things you do question why didn't she sort things out fairly quickly once she had some concrete information? On reflection I'm glad the author didn't make things very easy because at the time it wouldn't have been but saying that I wish she had fought that little bit harder with the authorities in England to uncover the truth as to what happened to so many children. Too many excuses were given and she shouldn't have accepted them so readily.
As for Jack we journey with him as he goes from an innocent young five year old whose life was torn apart following the 'death' of his mother in a bombing raid to a man who lives on the other side of the world. Jack experiences many different stages and transitions in his life but he never believes that his mother is dead. He hopes that one day she will come looking for him, to reclaim him so to speak. Children who were left orphans at the time of war were viewed as an extra burden that needed to be dealt with. If you were unfortunate enough not to have a relative to take you in what awaited you was certainly not the best life. Jack lost all his innocence and grew guarded and wary. He becomes traumatised and hardened by unspeakable events.Promises that were made and ideals portrayed were nothing but lies. As the Australian government seeks to boost its white population and curtail their native people a programme is set in motion by the Ministry of Immigration to transport children from England to Australia. I couldn't believe what I was reading and the way the authorities spoke as if they were moving cattle or something for sale. The blatant disregard they had for the Aboriginal people and the manner in which they took in children from another country for their own gains was just incredible and so selfish and immoral. The children were promised the world but then racism and the Catholic Church did play a part in what happened to these children in their new life in Australia.
What angered me even more the further I delved into Jack's aspect of the overall plot was they were promised sunshine and a good life and what they got was the opposite. How could the powers that be not have noticed what was going on or else did they sit back and let it happen and sweep everything under the carpet? Simply because they had long term plans and ambitions with regard to Australia's population and an attempt to make it a super country. I thought the way the author dealt with racism both in Australia and England was wonderfully woven in throughout the story and it shows how far we have come today in some ways and in others various forms still exist.
I thought there were innumerable comparisons to be made between what Jack experiences and who he connects with as he grows older and that of his mother back in England and the path she takes in her personal life. As Jack grows older he is no fool and his desire for revenge with something that connects back to a place called Bindoon was more than justifiable and I could see that this drove him to be the person he became. But still as other characters have a role to play his life could have been so different if secrets hadn't been kept. They were not misunderstandings rather deliberate attempts to keep someone's life the way they felt it should be.
As for Kathleen all she ever wanted was a child to make her family complete. Married to John who works at the Ministry, she leads a lonely existence and craves a baby that will make her feel complete. John was manipulative, domineering and controlling although I felt when their family situation changes this wasn't as apparent in relation to Kathleen and to be honest I don't think a leopard really changes their spots. So I found it frustrating that things became all happy in the garden once Kathleen gets her wish. As they visit a farm where young boys supposedly live a good life, one young boy catches her eye and she feels a connection. Can they adopt and make her dreams come true but at what cost will this be? I could totally understand Kathleen's longing for a child, to fill the emptiness that eats away inside her but I think if she had known all the background details would she have really gone for it. Kathleen had a very strong voice in the earlier half of the book but I thought this faded the further we progressed. I thought a bit more searching and confrontation with John would have added some drama to her storyline. Instead of her sitting back and accepting things as she found them. If she had her suspicions she should have acted on them.
Although it took me quite some time to really get into The Oceans Between Us, I do think having finished it that it was a very good début novel. The author dealt with topics that stir up many emotions in people and people will have firm opinions either way on what went on. At times I felt she did overstretch herself and maybe had too much going on in terms of dealing with racialism and the issues of 'importing' children. I understand that these are two very important parts of history and people deserve to know what went on but at certain times during the story I thought certain aspects were dealt with too quickly and needed more exploration. Maybe shortening the timeline ever so slightly might have helped as well as I thought we moved through years very quickly and it wasn't as apparent to the reader as it should have been that we had moved forward several years. Saying all that this book was a very good read which brought my attention to a time and place that I had very scant knowledge of. It has opened my eyes to the injustice done to so many and it does provide for a thought provoking and interesting read.
Thank you so much Emma and Sharon xx
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