FLOWERS AND BULLETS
LAND OF THE MOON FLOWER, by Gerald | Snarrow; Elek Books, Enfélish price 18/-; | WE LIVE IN SINGAPORE, by Donald | Moore; Hodder and Stoughton, English price 16/HE author of Land of the Moon Flower, a graduate of Cambridge | and member of the Inner Temple, was (continued on next page)
| BOOKS (continued from previous page) | from 1930 to 1941 a Judge of the Inter- | national Court at Bangkok, Thailand. He survived four years of not too rigor- | Ous imprisonment by the Japanese, and | settled down afterwards (his Court been abolished) to a lotus-eating | life with some Siamese sweethearts. This he describes with graceful candour. Monogamy as practised in Britain and the U.S.A. has long appalled him, he says. Thailand is shown to be a charming place inhabited by a laughing and happy people. As with the rest of South Asia, Communism is poking its head into this paradise. Mr. Sparrow has all the proper attitudes towards it, but suggests no particular remedy. This is an entertaining book by an author who knows how to write. Sly or open fun is | poked at conventional behaviour, but | gracefully, gracefully. We Live in Singapore has less literary | merit and is rather disconnected as a narrative, being interspersed with anec- | dotes and short stories. Like Siam, '_Malaya’s problem is the Communist peril, which takes as we all know well an active terrorist form. The author | makes it clear that this country of many | Taces needs much help in its develop- |; ment if it is to conquer poverty and | destitution. In the meantime, the terrorists are kept in check. Anyone can appreciate how difficult this is when he | sees the hungry wretches sleeping on the footpaths of the towns and cities. Selfgovernment and dominion status is, ‘however, achieved, and might help by bringing out the urge to develop the little nation and make better use of its resources. But there will be no short cut to order and prosperity, nor is it | certain how the strategic Malay penin- | sula will react to self-government. Such 'a mixture it is of races, cultures, religions and standards of education and
political development. :
F. J.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 884, 13 July 1956, Page 13
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358FLOWERS AND BULLETS New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 884, 13 July 1956, Page 13
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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