Did the weak demand, or did the strong offer themselves unsolicited? Did strength beget weakness, or reinforce it, or negate it? What was strength, what weakness, for that matter?World War II has been over for a matter of months and Ward X of Base Fifteen has gradually emptied until only five patients and one nurse remain. Some are there for legit reasons and others, including newcomer Michael Wilson, are there for reasons not-so-legit.Ward X is a tight-knit little group, administered by Honour Langtry, who loves her patients and who has their loyalty and love in turn. Wilson upsets the balance, and the fact that he is well, that Honour doesn't need to "fix" him, makes her dream that she can - after six grueling years of war - have a relationship with a man who she doesn't feel maternal towards. For once, she feels like she's the one whose needs could be tended to.But even though the reason for Michael's being in the ward seems innocuous and trumped-up, it masks a deep need of his own to heal and protect, due to his failures in the past. He feels Honour doesn't need his strength, but that some of the men in the ward do. The night Honour finally gets what she wants from him is the same night when nothing can possibly end well for them. Honour is ready to shed her duty, but Michael hasn't reached that emotional point.I don't think it's too surprising that fans of McCullough's The Thorn Birds wonder "What went wrong?" with this book. It's really not historical fiction. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. There was a lot of psychological baggage, some obsessive romance, and a vague "historical" backdrop of post-war pulling of stakes from the military life into the civilian. Honour faces the pull of duty vs. desire and wonders if the two can be one and the same, once she's reached a certain age and has become used to what her life has been and where she can expect it to go.McCullough, prior to becoming an author, had medical experience and the details of life in the ward, the procedures and "shop talk" was interesting, despite it sometimes dragging down the narrative. It was a fascinating glimpse into the military hospital system and the medical field of the time, the stigma of homosexuality and mental illness. It definitely rang true.It's hugely depressing, but not in the way of grand-scale tragedy (though there are several deaths). Overall I felt like it was a solid analytical melodrama on the cost of war on the bodies and souls of men and women alike, and the hopelessness they must have felt when the war ended and everyone expected those on the front lines to "get back to normal." As the military rends this family of strangers apart, they react in ways that one would think are reserved only for "real" families of blood ties. And it gets ugly.Definitely a different kind of book from The Thorn Birds (what I've assumed, anyway - I haven't read it) and her Masters of Rome series.
Este livro, poderei classificar como estranho de acompanhar, é diferente, enervante mas para mim foi uma leitura boa.Uma enfermeira Australiana, que vai conviver com cinco soldados arrasados pela Segunda Guerra Mundial, num hospital prestes a ser desmantelado agora que a guerra terminou.Cada um com problemas diferentes, com lutas interiores graves e que vão fazer da vida destas seis pessoas que convivem diariamente,uma luta para sobreviverem aos seus demónios interiores.Não é só a guerra que transformou estas pessoas, também as sua vidas antes vão contribuir para os devidos transtornos de cada um.Todos juntos formam uma família e cada mudança vai alterar o equilíbrio do seu dia a dia.A chegada de mais um doente, Wilson vai mudar tudo radicalmente.Nem a enfermeira Honour vai conseguir resistir a este novo elemento.Uma narrativa, estranha, violenta e muito dramática até ao final.Não é uma narrativa facil, mas adorei e consegui ler avidamente para saber como iriam terminar esta personagens tão intensas.Um livro muito bom de fabulosa Colleen McCullough, com personagens e estórias bem características da autora.
Do You like book An Indecent Obsession (1999)?
Not what I thought it would be, but intriguing enough I went back and started rereading it as soon as I turned the final page. Great portrait of a nurse and her patients, all of whom suffer with PTSD. Ironically, the nurse doesn't even realize she has it. She is a pretty annoying character with little self-awareness or knowledge. Thus when she falls for a new patient she convinces herself he's normal and never sees his PTSD nor his love of killing. She also misses the violence of another patient, as well as the sincere call for help of the resident psychopath. Clueless but determined to martyr herself for "duty". Completely unconscious of the sexual feelings she arouses in the men. I really disliked her as you can tell. But a brilliant portrayal by McCullough. Very well-written.
—Louise Leonard
Unless the author's point in writing the book was to show that human values and motives have changed so much since the 1940s that they are no longer recognizable as rational, I don't know what this book was about. I kept reading, thinking that something would unfold that would make the rest fit together, but no. No clue why Michael chose to devote his life to keeping Benedict from killing again, or why it's presented as a noble rather than disturbed plan. No clue why Honour would "allow" Michael to make that sacrifice. No idea why, upon hearing of Michael's death, Honour reverts to thoughts of Neil. Deep sigh at having spent three afternoons reading this tangle.
—Mia
