“No one wants to become a refugee. No one should have to endure this humiliating and arduous ordeal. Yet, millions do. Even one refugee forced to flee, one refugee forced to return to danger is one too many.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for World Refugee Day 2011

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Postwar changes

Empire day / Diane Armstrong. Pymble, N.S.W.: Fourth Estate, 2011

Bondi Junction in the late 1940s is a microcosm of changing Australia, and life is changing too fast for locals like salt-of-the-earth Pop Wilson, prickly Miss McNulty and feisty single mum Kath, all of whom resent the European 'reffos' who have moved in. The newcomers are struggling to rebuild their lives while the unhealed wounds of the past threaten to overwhelm them. As the lives of the neighbours interweave, unexpected new relationships cause tragedy for some, but forgiveness and salvation for others. Ultimately the residents of Wattle Street discover that behind closed doors, Old as well as New Australians have secret heartaches which poison their lives. Part love story, part mystery and part crime investigation.
'A captivating story with a host of interesting characters. Armstrong weaves a multi-strand novel that explores the clash of old and new Australians.'
THE AUSTRALIAN JEWISH NEWS

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