The Railway Man

I feel the need 2 hold you. What terrible things humans r capable of !. I shed tears 4 you & my Uncle by marriage 2 my aunt ,who servived same railway with his brother.His book 'On Paths of Ash' by Robert Holman along with Railwayman help us 2 understand so much more.Thank you 4 your bravery in bring -g this book 2 us. Rest now Mr Eric Lomax. Regards 2 family. Love & take care of each other. Lv Merrilynne Holohan x

The experiences of the POW's who suffered under Imperial Japan during WW2 has always been minimised or ignored so that post war Japan could be seen as an ally is shameful or disgusting depending on how close you are to those who experienced these events. I am forced to ask have we really learned anything by hiding these events? Yet this book whilst hard to read at times goes some way to relaying those horrible times with the authors inner strength and resolve shinning through. Often the writing is slow and methodical and you struggle to get through some parts. But the reward of seeing how 2 men who were, through simple chance of being born in different countries of origin, are then on opposite sides during this war of imperialism. Where one was the vicitim of torture and the other an unwilling participant both suffer as a result and are eventually united by forgiveness is especially relevant now, when you consider what has been done to people in our names at places like Guantanamo Bay. We may all have to pay for these atrocities in the near future. Unless of course we can convince ourselves and our governments "that at some point the hating has to stop"

To read about how the Japanese treated POWs was disturbing. However it was a very interesting story going into a lot of detail. It is good that it came to a happy ending. I have not seen the film, so just waiting for it to come out on DVD.