Receive Your Copy The Turning Tide Formulated By C.M. Lance Distributed As Manuscript

took me about two pages to fall in love with this beautiful Australian book, The writing reminded me strongly of George Johnston in My Brother Jack, It had the same sweetsad narration, heavy with regret but also a sense of wonder and joy.
Best of all, it was a pleasure to read, and I fell easily into the pages each time I picked it up.
Three and a half, Books about war are not among my favourite genre, but I quite enjoyed this novel, because of the complex characters.
Some of the war bits I found hard to read and I admit to skimming those a bit.
What I did like was how this story shows the lingering effects of war on the psyche of those who have been involved and also how people sometimes respond to the truth of a situation.
It is a story that covers love and lost love as well as secrets kept, These secrets are mostly to do with Mikes childhood friend and war buddy, Johnny,
The story highlights attitudes held by people to those from different backgrounds and how that can change as circumstances change.
There is a bit of bad language but it usually is in keeping with the characters,
Mike Whalen was an interesting character, Originally from the pearl town of Broome, he meets up with the granddaughter of Helen, an old love.
The story moves easily between the present and the past and from Broome to Timor and Japan to Victoria, Australia.
It was a book I kept wanting to return to and see how it all played out, though at times I felt it could have done with a bit less description at times.
Still, all in all a good read and I liked the way the characters were explored,
I enjoyed this story and characters mainly based around the WWII campaign in Timor, I love it when a story makes me experience a range of emotions throughout the story, It is a story on the horror of war and its aftermath, mateship, complicated families, love and ultimately hope.
The story jumps time periods several times per chapter, sometimes throwing me off the flow of the story, but was only a minor complaint.
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The Turning Tide is a sweeping saga, crossing rural Australia, through to the Timor and the Pacific.
It is the powerful life story of Mike Whalen, a young man who hails from the pearling town of Broome and later becomes a commando in the Pacific during World War.


Mikes compelling story is told via two timelines, it follows his time as a commando, firstly in training at the picturesque Wilsons Promontory, through to his harrowing time serving in the Pacific, namely in Timor.
It also looks at Mikes time as a translator working in post war Japan, where he marries Japanese Australian Betty.
When Betty dies, Mike returns to Australia, marries again and eventually decides to retrain at university to become a professor of engineering.
A chance encounter with the granddaughter of the man whom Mike swore to protect on his deathbed during the war, reigniting a flurry of emotions for Mike.
The reader moves back and forth with Mike as he recalls his glory days in the war, contrasting it to his now sorrowful current existence.


I was completely enamoured by The Turning Tide, enjoying the unfolding story from cover to cover.
I whipped through it in three short sittings, all in the space ofhours, which indicates how highly I regard this novel.
When I wasnt reading this novel, I was longing to get back to it, namely for the fantastic character study it offers.
I will start off with Mike Whalen, the principal character, I loved his narration and the journey he makes from a young man, to a brave commando, to a loving husband and an academic in later life.
He is a caring soul, building solid relationships with so many he comes into contact with, These people, a mixture of family and friends, filter through the novel, forming memorable periphery characters in the novel.
I enjoyed their stories just as much as Mikes, as they all seemed to have an integral part to play in Mikes overall story.


The locales are a stunning feature of The Turning Tide, Lance is ambitious in setting her scene, taking the reader far and wide, Mike takes the reader on a journey from various parts of Australia to the Pacific, to post Hiroshima Japan and back to a changed post war Australia.
In each setting, the details are so finely built that the most accurate picture is provided to the reader.
Lance also uses setting to contrast her time frames, offering a well drawn picture of life pre World War II, post World War II, into the fifties, right through tos Australia.
I lapped each and every time frame covered, as it was so well drawn,

War is a strong theme in The Turning Tide, It did feel harrowing, offering a realistic picture of the Australian war experience in the Pacific, I found myself learning much about this conflict and feeling slightly embarrassed not to have known more about the conditions, suffering and finer details about this historic battle.
I am glad to have had my eyes opened to this essential part in our history, Lance also examines the human psyche and the long term effects this war had on those involved.
In addition, Lance sheds some light on the home based experiences of the loved ones left behind.
She highlights the sense of the unknown, which many experienced as they were unsure if their men on the front line would ever return home safely.


Romance is also on the agenda in The Turning Tide, It is perhaps the overwhelming reason why I stayed so glued to this novel, Mikes unresolved relationship with Helen, another main character and the wife of his good friend Johnny, is the main reason why I loved this novel.
I held much hope throughout the novel that Mike would finally get his happy ever after, The conclusion more than satisfied my hopes for Mike, The Turning Tide was wrapped up nicely at the end, offering the revelation of a significant family secret but I guessed what this was very early on in the piece.
Nevertheless, my overall enjoyment of this novel was extremely high,

The Turning Tide is a book that encompasses love, war, family, secrets and the power of friendship across time and place.
The profound narration from main character Mike, made this book and unforgettable read and one I would not hesitate to recommend highly.
I look forward to reading more in the future by this author,
sitelink wordpress. com At the outset, I must say The Turning Tide is a thoroughly enjoyable book! I found it hard to put down, reading it in just

two evenings.


This is a love story, one suited as much to the male reader as to the female.
It contains many elements, tenderness, savagery, soft longings, harsh realities, care, hate, trust and betrayal, all set against a backdrop of tides: tidal Broome, Wilsons Promontorys Tidal River, the varying tides of life and times, the turning tide of World War Two and the constant tide that is the human condition.
All of this is woven through an appealing read by an excellent author,

Its thes, Mike Whalen is a lecturer in engineering in Melbourne, Although from Broome, where his family built and operated pearling luggers, Mike spent a lot of time in his youth with family friends on a farm near the beautiful Wilsons Promontory.
He takes a journey down memory lane, visiting the Tidal River, stopping to look at a memorial to those Mike included who trained on the Prom as commandos in the early days of WW.
Strong, lifelong friendships were made,

While there, Mike bumps into Lena, granddaughter of his friends, the beautiful Helen and debonaire Johnny.
It is a surprise to both of them, as they know each other from university, where Mike is one of Lenas tutors.
Meeting as they do, a friendship forms, and we begin to learn their background stories, They are drawn to each other, only in part because of prior associations, but always on the basis of an older/younger family relationship.
This is the catalyst to the greater story,

The book recounts three time periods: prewar, wartime and postwar, moving seamlessly back and forth from one to another.
It also recounts three stages of relationship: establishing, strengthening and deteriorating, The balance is well handled, Lance also includes what is effectively a sensitive essay, spread through the book, on homosexuality, something with a direct bearing on the storyline.


We are taken to a number of disparate locations, Broome, Wilsons Promontory, Melbourne, Timor, Japan, all graphically presented.
Even more so, Lance has drawn strong characters, most of whom the reader grows to like, No punches are pulled, though, when difficulties arise, One of these is secretive and discovered only after death, It initially comes as a shock, and becomes a major factor in pulling our main character back to reality.


Memories of childhood friendships and separation the wartime years a love that was never to be sad losses and painful recollections from Timor Hiroshima and the bride he was to lose to radiationinduced haemorrhagic illness a return to Australia and the adoption of a friends two children the loss of a second wife, all contribute to Mike losing direction.
His story is beautifully crafted and draws the reader into his life, Without giving anything away, it all comes nicely together at the end

I believe the reader will be well satisfied with The Turning Tide.
It is one of two outstanding Australian novels I have read in a little over a week.
It pleases me to see our fictional literature doing so well, Definite fourandahalf star material.

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