Reviews

'A reader' from St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Poignant story of a life journey amidst a changing backdrop- Set during the Second World War, "Jane" tells the somewhat bizarre tale of a woman whose terms of reference disappear at a stroke when she loses her memory as a reaction to the loss of her new husband. She blunders and lurches her way through a number of new lives and loves, searching for she knows not what. These episodes bring her into contact with disparate groups of characters, all with their own agenda, like the odd mother and her "doctor" son who live in a Swiss beauty spot and fleece unsuspecting passing tourists and the strange but ultimately honourable headmaster of the African school where she teaches for a spell.

The author's love of Africa is obvious from the sensitive way he describes the landscape, animals and gentle, but occasionally savage, way of life and it is indeed here that Jane recovers her memory after a violent episode. Returning to England once more, she is immersed in more mystery than she had expected. Devious sub-plots combine to create a dark undercurrent to the story and ad-hoc journeys into ancient worlds add a wider educated dimension to this fast-moving tale of wartime confusion and break-up.