Official Review: The Train To Kuranda by David Maiville

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Train To Kuranda" by David Maiville.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Rose and Bill Allen get married three days after they meet on a train. One week later, he ships out to the Pacific Theater, where the Japanese take him as a prisoner of war. He survives being force-marched without shoes in the Bataan Death March, starved, beaten, and threatened to be beheaded while in captivity. Bill sent two letters to Rose, received two letters back, and then heard nothing else from her. Eight years later, he is rescued, and he returns to Kuranda in search of Rose. A lady tells him that Rose died in childbirth eight years ago and her husband died in the war. A man named Joe and his wife Anne adopted her daughter and called her Hannah Rose. Being crippled and scarred from the injuries he received while a prisoner, he has nothing to offer his daughter and goes with his friend Sean to work the goldfields. Will he strike it rich? Will he and his daughter ever meet? Read The Train To Kuranda: An Odyssey of Love, Hope, and Renewal by David Maiville to follow their journey.

The character development in this book allowed me to picture each of the characters and their surroundings vividly. I could see Rose and Hannah’s long red hair, Bill’s crippled hand, and the long scar down his face. I could picture the Aborigines in their native clothing and traditional dances. In other words, I felt like I was a part of the story. There is a lot of action in this short 64-page book that kept my attention, such as attempted murder, rape, and romance. I particularly like the Elder’s philosophy that “every ending is a new beginning.”

There are a few things about this book that distracted me from my reading enjoyment. There is quite a bit of Australian terminology in the book that I was not familiar with, and I had to stop and look up the words. It would have been nice if the author had placed the translation for these words in parentheses. Every page of the book has formatting issues. For example, there are hard breaks in the middle of sentences. Since these formats occur throughout the book, I did not count them as errors because they may be stylistic. The worst thing about this book is that a professional editor has not edited it.

A professional editor would have found the overabundance of errors in this book. Due to these errors, I can only give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I did not give the book two stars, although there are over ten errors, and I was not too fond of the formatting because the plot is good and flows smoothly throughout the book. Regardless of the flaws, I enjoyed the book.

I recommend this book to adults who enjoy romantic mysteries set in historical fiction. I do not recommend this book to younger readers because of the non-borderline profanity. The sexual content is a rape scene, but it is not graphically described. There is a small amount of religion in the book, but I do not believe many readers will find it offensive.

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The Train To Kuranda
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[MarveeAman]

The story sounds intriguing, and I'm curious whether Rose ever meets her father. Your review has convinced me to add it to my reading list.

[Kanchan Sharma]

The write-up provides an effective and elegant approach. I am looking forward to read it.

[Becca Olsson]

Oh wow, the plot sounds intriguing and the list of hardships Bill goes through is lengthy. Thanks for the great review!