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Bamboo Trilogy #1
Bamboo Heart
Thailand, 1943: Thomas Ellis is a prisoner-of-war on the Death Railway. In stifling heat he endures endless days of clearing jungle, breaking stone and lugging wood. London, 1986: Laura Ellis, a successful City lawyer, travels to Asia to retrace her father' past and discover the truths he has refused to tell her including how he got his Bamboo Heart. Heart-wrenching history plus a daughter's journey of discovery about her father and herself.
352 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2014
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390 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 24, 2017
5 Words: Family, revenge, war, friendship, loyalty.
August 11, 2016
This review first appeared on our blog, where we also talk to the publisher, founder of Monsoon Books, Philip Tatham: http://www.tripfiction.com/monsoon-bo...
I was of the generation that grew up with the 1980s TV series Tenko, set in a women’s labour camp run by the Japanese. The female prisoners were all picked up after the fall of Singapore in 1942 and kept in terrible conditions, forgotten by the British War Office, and subjected to ordeals beyond the imagination.
For a later generation this trilogy of Southeast Asian World War II novels (the third due out 2017) will be an eye opening insight into the trials that previous generations endured on the Thai – Burma railway, otherwise known as the Death Railway, built by prisoners to move Japanese supplies into Burma to aid their war effort.
Set mainly in Thailand and Malaysia, it is the heart wrenching story of Tom, volunteering to join the defence lines in Malaysia, captured, and held prisoner. Before the war, he chose to leave the city in London and oversee a rubber plantation in Malaysia and life was pretty good – he embarked on an affair with a married woman, but soon found his heart captured by Joy, a young Eurasian woman. And it is his love for her that sustains him through terrible ordeals in the camp, his humanity nevertheless in tact even when it comes to facing his nemesis in the form of an english racketeer, on the make at the expense of the well-being of others captives.
Forward to London of the 1980s and his daughter Laura is tending her father, as he is ill. It is clear that he is suffering a condition called Bamboo Heart, the eponymous title of the book, physical after-effects of sustained malnutrition and starvation. She has never heard her father’s story, so determines to find out more by travelling to the Far East. She is in an on/off relationship with Luke, who, with one ill considered action too far prompts her – just like her father – to consider what she too must do in the face of immoral behaviour.
Setting is very strong and is redolent of the tropics. A great book to get a feel of footsteps past if you are visiting Malaysia.
This is an extremely readable and confidently written book and it is a shame I didn’t pick it up sooner. I think for me, the book has a jacket which just didn’t attract me, it seems dull and old fashioned rather than a modern book recreating the period. Of course, however, never judge a book by its cover (although I have said many times before that the cover is the first thing that catches a reader’s eye and therefore has a blink in which to do so!).
Highly recommended. Each book in the trilogy can be read as a standalone.
I was of the generation that grew up with the 1980s TV series Tenko, set in a women’s labour camp run by the Japanese. The female prisoners were all picked up after the fall of Singapore in 1942 and kept in terrible conditions, forgotten by the British War Office, and subjected to ordeals beyond the imagination.
For a later generation this trilogy of Southeast Asian World War II novels (the third due out 2017) will be an eye opening insight into the trials that previous generations endured on the Thai – Burma railway, otherwise known as the Death Railway, built by prisoners to move Japanese supplies into Burma to aid their war effort.
Set mainly in Thailand and Malaysia, it is the heart wrenching story of Tom, volunteering to join the defence lines in Malaysia, captured, and held prisoner. Before the war, he chose to leave the city in London and oversee a rubber plantation in Malaysia and life was pretty good – he embarked on an affair with a married woman, but soon found his heart captured by Joy, a young Eurasian woman. And it is his love for her that sustains him through terrible ordeals in the camp, his humanity nevertheless in tact even when it comes to facing his nemesis in the form of an english racketeer, on the make at the expense of the well-being of others captives.
Forward to London of the 1980s and his daughter Laura is tending her father, as he is ill. It is clear that he is suffering a condition called Bamboo Heart, the eponymous title of the book, physical after-effects of sustained malnutrition and starvation. She has never heard her father’s story, so determines to find out more by travelling to the Far East. She is in an on/off relationship with Luke, who, with one ill considered action too far prompts her – just like her father – to consider what she too must do in the face of immoral behaviour.
Setting is very strong and is redolent of the tropics. A great book to get a feel of footsteps past if you are visiting Malaysia.
This is an extremely readable and confidently written book and it is a shame I didn’t pick it up sooner. I think for me, the book has a jacket which just didn’t attract me, it seems dull and old fashioned rather than a modern book recreating the period. Of course, however, never judge a book by its cover (although I have said many times before that the cover is the first thing that catches a reader’s eye and therefore has a blink in which to do so!).
Highly recommended. Each book in the trilogy can be read as a standalone.
June 29, 2025
It was good, but it is the third fiction book I've read in a row that follows the pattern of dying parent/grandparent who went through some trauma they refused to talk about alternating chapters with their child or grandchild trying to understand what happened and using that knowledge to sort out their own relationship.
It made what would have been an interesting story feel like a bit of a tired trope.
It made what would have been an interesting story feel like a bit of a tired trope.
September 25, 2014
I met Ann Bennett through the peer review site YouWriteOn and have watched her wonderful book grow through several drafts to become the beautifully written historical novel you can read today. Harrowing at times as it deals with the horrors of the Death Railway in Thailand during World War II, Bamboo Heart's main theme is the human spirit and how the characters fight to survive against all odds. It's a story that needed to be told. Tom is a fantastic protagonist and Ann Bennett really brings him to life in the sections that deal with the past. His daughter, Laura, grows as she learns about her father's experiences and seeks her own path. A truly riveting read and I'm looking forward to more novels from Ann Bennett.
August 13, 2023
This book was excellent and well written. Ann Bennett transported you to the places she wrote about you both the beautiful and the awful
April 12, 2025
Read this today, a must read, no one should forget about prisoners of war held by the Japenese!!, how cruel they were !!, extremely thought provoking and sad.
April 7, 2022
Excellent
By now, most of us know of the bridge on the River Kwai, or seen the movie "Unbroken". This little gem was written as a sort of mystery, flashing back and forth between WWII and the daughter's life in the 80's. It involves her father's life during WWII, as well as the daughter's life at age 26. You will find this just as harrowing and just as evil as all Japanese prison camps were, but unusual with the daughter following his mystery with her own set of 80's problems. I loved this book! Well done!
By now, most of us know of the bridge on the River Kwai, or seen the movie "Unbroken". This little gem was written as a sort of mystery, flashing back and forth between WWII and the daughter's life in the 80's. It involves her father's life during WWII, as well as the daughter's life at age 26. You will find this just as harrowing and just as evil as all Japanese prison camps were, but unusual with the daughter following his mystery with her own set of 80's problems. I loved this book! Well done!
March 7, 2016
A daughter searches for the truth about her father's wartime experiences. Like many POW's he has kept his memories hidden and refused to talk about them.
Laura travels to Thailand and Malaya to try to uncover just what her father went through as a prisoner of the Japanese working on the infamous Thailand to Burma railway.
I found the historical references interesting, fiction can often make reading about the horrors of war slightly easier.
Laura travels to Thailand and Malaya to try to uncover just what her father went through as a prisoner of the Japanese working on the infamous Thailand to Burma railway.
I found the historical references interesting, fiction can often make reading about the horrors of war slightly easier.
October 27, 2019
While the substance of Bennett's work is moving, its execution is choppy and distracting. There doesn't appear to be any reason to repeatedly jump backwards and forwards in time and change points of view nearly every chapter. That said, the work certainly does carry emotional weight, drawing the reader in to a complex father-daughter relationship complicated by distance, war, and too little time.
March 11, 2025
The Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest by Ann Bennett is a powerful historical novel. It is based on the author’s father’s wartime experiences as a POW on the Thai Burma railway and is absolutely heart breaking.
The novel is set over two time periods – 1943 onwards in Malaya, and in London in 1986. It is linked by the young man in 1943 who became the elderly father in 1986.
The father had never spoken of his time as a POW. It is only after his death that his daughter goes on a quest to find out about her father’s lost years.
Ann Bennett pulls no punches. This is a very hard-hitting read. The Japanese (though a gentle nation now) were brutal to all those in captivity. The comprehensive detail of the sufferings makes this a very hard read. But it is a necessary read. We need to know what happened so we never forget the generation of young men who went to war, and returned changed, if they returned at all.
We witness a beautiful budding love that is brutally ripped away by war. This contrasts sharply with a selfish, young, egotistical young man in 1986.
The title Bamboo Heart “means that the heart has been permanently weakened by starvation” at some time in the past.
The soldier who suffered feels like God is far away. “If there was a God, where was He?” Seeing what he saw and what he experiences, it is understandable to follow his line of thinking. When questioned by his daughter, her father stays silent, only saying “you wouldn’t understand… No one who wasn’t there would understand.”
We meet another old soldier who says “I blame myself every day. I torture myself with the memories. I try to make amends… When I think of all those poor lads who never came back.” Though the time in the POW camp is far behind in years, it never leaves the minds of those who returned.
In captivity there are those who think of others, and those who only think of themselves, profiteering from the misery of others.
Strong bonds formed in the camps never leave the minds, even though some are long gone.
Bamboo Heart was an all-consuming, powerful read. We must never forget those poor, brave souls who built the Thai Burma railway.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
The novel is set over two time periods – 1943 onwards in Malaya, and in London in 1986. It is linked by the young man in 1943 who became the elderly father in 1986.
The father had never spoken of his time as a POW. It is only after his death that his daughter goes on a quest to find out about her father’s lost years.
Ann Bennett pulls no punches. This is a very hard-hitting read. The Japanese (though a gentle nation now) were brutal to all those in captivity. The comprehensive detail of the sufferings makes this a very hard read. But it is a necessary read. We need to know what happened so we never forget the generation of young men who went to war, and returned changed, if they returned at all.
We witness a beautiful budding love that is brutally ripped away by war. This contrasts sharply with a selfish, young, egotistical young man in 1986.
The title Bamboo Heart “means that the heart has been permanently weakened by starvation” at some time in the past.
The soldier who suffered feels like God is far away. “If there was a God, where was He?” Seeing what he saw and what he experiences, it is understandable to follow his line of thinking. When questioned by his daughter, her father stays silent, only saying “you wouldn’t understand… No one who wasn’t there would understand.”
We meet another old soldier who says “I blame myself every day. I torture myself with the memories. I try to make amends… When I think of all those poor lads who never came back.” Though the time in the POW camp is far behind in years, it never leaves the minds of those who returned.
In captivity there are those who think of others, and those who only think of themselves, profiteering from the misery of others.
Strong bonds formed in the camps never leave the minds, even though some are long gone.
Bamboo Heart was an all-consuming, powerful read. We must never forget those poor, brave souls who built the Thai Burma railway.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
March 31, 2025
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Ann Bennett for the gifted copy.
Thailand, 1943: Thomas Ellis is a prisoner-of-war on the Death Railway. In stifling heat he endures endless days of clearing jungle, breaking stone and lugging wood. London, 1986: Laura Ellis, a successful City lawyer, travels to Asia to retrace her father' past and discover the truths he has refused to tell her including how he got his Bamboo Heart. Heart-wrenching history plus a daughter's journey of discovery about her father and herself.
Review
I am a sucker for historical fiction novels, especially when they are wartime stories. Even though these stories are just fiction, there are people who have lived these lives in the past, and so I appreciate that it pays homage to some people. We meet Laura who travels to uncover the horrors of what her father goes through as a POW. This plays a huge part in Laura's life because it trickles down to her own relationship in life. I appreciate the research that went into writing this book. I am sure that it wasn't easy, and even though not everything was 100%, I'm sure it still wasn't easy to sift through all the brutality the POW had to endure during this time. If I'm going to be honest, her father's story was more interesting than hers. I only say that because his story was a bit more meaningful in my opinion. Not that Laura's story doesn't mean anything, but Tom's experiences was so intense and felt surreal. There was more to follow than Laura's. I still liked this book very much.
Thailand, 1943: Thomas Ellis is a prisoner-of-war on the Death Railway. In stifling heat he endures endless days of clearing jungle, breaking stone and lugging wood. London, 1986: Laura Ellis, a successful City lawyer, travels to Asia to retrace her father' past and discover the truths he has refused to tell her including how he got his Bamboo Heart. Heart-wrenching history plus a daughter's journey of discovery about her father and herself.
Review
I am a sucker for historical fiction novels, especially when they are wartime stories. Even though these stories are just fiction, there are people who have lived these lives in the past, and so I appreciate that it pays homage to some people. We meet Laura who travels to uncover the horrors of what her father goes through as a POW. This plays a huge part in Laura's life because it trickles down to her own relationship in life. I appreciate the research that went into writing this book. I am sure that it wasn't easy, and even though not everything was 100%, I'm sure it still wasn't easy to sift through all the brutality the POW had to endure during this time. If I'm going to be honest, her father's story was more interesting than hers. I only say that because his story was a bit more meaningful in my opinion. Not that Laura's story doesn't mean anything, but Tom's experiences was so intense and felt surreal. There was more to follow than Laura's. I still liked this book very much.
April 2, 2025
Bamboo Heart which has also been published as A Daughter’s Quest is an epic dual timeline novel set in Malaya and Thailand in the 1930s and 1940s, and in London in 1986.
Tom leaves his job as a lawyer to go to Malaya to work as at a rubber plantation in 1938. The time before the war was spent in a luxurious colonial setting, in addition to Tom meeting and falling in love with Joy, a Eurasian teacher in Penang. The glamorous life he leads before the war contrasts massively with what he experiences following the invasion of Malaya by the Japanese in 1941. Tom finds himself transported to Thailand as a prisoner of war, to work on the Thai-Burma railway, including the bridge over the River Kwai.
The sheer brutality of what was experienced by the soldiers who were captured by the Japanese makes tough reading at times as the story progresses.
In the 1980s we find Tom’s daughter Laura working as a lawyer and dating an activist who is involved in the riots at Wapping. When her father becomes unwell it makes her think about his experiences during the war in part because he would never discuss it with her. It leads her to travel with her boyfriend to Thailand to find out more information about what happened to her father during the war.
This was a moving story of the life experiences of Tom and the way in which his daughter finally understood what he had experienced prior to his life with her mother and long before Laura was born.
The locations were described in ways that allowed me to visualise them clearly, sensing the heat and humidity of the jungle while the prisoners were being tortured, beaten or simply worked until they could work no more.
Bamboo Heart was originally published in 2013. The inspiration for the novel was the author’s father’s experience as a prisoner of war working on the Thai-Burma railway.
Tom leaves his job as a lawyer to go to Malaya to work as at a rubber plantation in 1938. The time before the war was spent in a luxurious colonial setting, in addition to Tom meeting and falling in love with Joy, a Eurasian teacher in Penang. The glamorous life he leads before the war contrasts massively with what he experiences following the invasion of Malaya by the Japanese in 1941. Tom finds himself transported to Thailand as a prisoner of war, to work on the Thai-Burma railway, including the bridge over the River Kwai.
The sheer brutality of what was experienced by the soldiers who were captured by the Japanese makes tough reading at times as the story progresses.
In the 1980s we find Tom’s daughter Laura working as a lawyer and dating an activist who is involved in the riots at Wapping. When her father becomes unwell it makes her think about his experiences during the war in part because he would never discuss it with her. It leads her to travel with her boyfriend to Thailand to find out more information about what happened to her father during the war.
This was a moving story of the life experiences of Tom and the way in which his daughter finally understood what he had experienced prior to his life with her mother and long before Laura was born.
The locations were described in ways that allowed me to visualise them clearly, sensing the heat and humidity of the jungle while the prisoners were being tortured, beaten or simply worked until they could work no more.
Bamboo Heart was originally published in 2013. The inspiration for the novel was the author’s father’s experience as a prisoner of war working on the Thai-Burma railway.
April 7, 2025
BOOK 14/52 READ FOR THE 52 BOOK CHALLENGE 2025
PROMPT 50: SET IN THE 1940'S.
Necessary and historically accurate and yet, for all of that, given its content of WW2 scenes from Malaya including the brutal treatment of Prisoners Of War {POWs} by both Japanese guards and soldiers, this was not always an easy read, in fact I'd go as far as to say that whilst not gratuitous at times lots of the descriptions of the conditions and the treatment of the POWs at the hands of their Japanese captors made for horrific reading.
A story of family, love, loyalty, hardship and endurance with a duel timeline that depicts the events endured by Tom, a POW during WW2 and, his daughter, Laura, who many, many years later retraces the footsteps of her father whilst working out some of the issues in her own life; one of those issues being her relationship with Luke, a man who, in sharp contrast to her father, is selfish and egotistical. Though I admired how the author linked both aspects together I have to say it was Tom's story that I found incredibly gripping and poignant, Laura's, hmm, less so, no doubt in part due to what I perceived as her insensitivity towards her father in the earlier chapters of the book.
Essentially what I found to be an interesting read, however, I felt soooo frustrated when it came to what I perceived to be the trite struggles between Laura and Luke to the point that I became, what, resentful{?} of time devoted to this aspect of the story ... and then there was the ending which I felt to be disappointingly anti-climatic.
Still, something that bit different when it comes to WW2 fiction, I must admit to having become tired of books of this genre {of which there seem a monumental amount} in which young women in cities such as Liverpool find themselves either working in ammunition factories, as land girls or as nurses; Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest is a powerful read set in a period of time that we will do well never to forget.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
Disclaimer ... One of several bloggers participating in the Blog Tour/Book Birthday Blitz of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.
PROMPT 50: SET IN THE 1940'S.
Necessary and historically accurate and yet, for all of that, given its content of WW2 scenes from Malaya including the brutal treatment of Prisoners Of War {POWs} by both Japanese guards and soldiers, this was not always an easy read, in fact I'd go as far as to say that whilst not gratuitous at times lots of the descriptions of the conditions and the treatment of the POWs at the hands of their Japanese captors made for horrific reading.
A story of family, love, loyalty, hardship and endurance with a duel timeline that depicts the events endured by Tom, a POW during WW2 and, his daughter, Laura, who many, many years later retraces the footsteps of her father whilst working out some of the issues in her own life; one of those issues being her relationship with Luke, a man who, in sharp contrast to her father, is selfish and egotistical. Though I admired how the author linked both aspects together I have to say it was Tom's story that I found incredibly gripping and poignant, Laura's, hmm, less so, no doubt in part due to what I perceived as her insensitivity towards her father in the earlier chapters of the book.
Essentially what I found to be an interesting read, however, I felt soooo frustrated when it came to what I perceived to be the trite struggles between Laura and Luke to the point that I became, what, resentful{?} of time devoted to this aspect of the story ... and then there was the ending which I felt to be disappointingly anti-climatic.
Still, something that bit different when it comes to WW2 fiction, I must admit to having become tired of books of this genre {of which there seem a monumental amount} in which young women in cities such as Liverpool find themselves either working in ammunition factories, as land girls or as nurses; Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest is a powerful read set in a period of time that we will do well never to forget.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
Disclaimer ... One of several bloggers participating in the Blog Tour/Book Birthday Blitz of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.
March 23, 2025
This is such a sad story. I liked how we split between the past and the present and we learned of Tom's life alongside his daughter's quest to learn more about his experiences. It's so sad he wasn't able to share his story with her but completely understandable.
Tom went through something horrific and his resilience was amazing. His determination to survive and his wish to reunite with Joy kept him going. Such a shame things turned out the way they did for him.
Laura's journey is very different and she has her own issues to work out- Luke being one of them. He was infuriating and I'm glad Laura worked out what was best moving forward;even if she hasn't fully decided the direction that she's going.
This is incredibly sad but also fascinating. I can't imagine what it'd have been like as a prisoner of war and wouldn't want to know. So many lives are lost through war/conflict and many of us are sheltered from what goes on, not just in past conflict but the everyday conflict that occurs around the world. It was an insightful read.
Tom went through something horrific and his resilience was amazing. His determination to survive and his wish to reunite with Joy kept him going. Such a shame things turned out the way they did for him.
Laura's journey is very different and she has her own issues to work out- Luke being one of them. He was infuriating and I'm glad Laura worked out what was best moving forward;even if she hasn't fully decided the direction that she's going.
This is incredibly sad but also fascinating. I can't imagine what it'd have been like as a prisoner of war and wouldn't want to know. So many lives are lost through war/conflict and many of us are sheltered from what goes on, not just in past conflict but the everyday conflict that occurs around the world. It was an insightful read.
March 26, 2025
I'm reviewing this as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.
This historical novel is the first in the Bamboo trilogy by this author. After reading The Lotus House, which I really enjoyed, I was keen to read another book by this author.
The story takes us to southeast Asia, where we follow two characters - Laura Ellis, and her father Tom, who was a prisoner of war during WWII.
I think this author writes in a way that makes you feel as though you know the characters, connect with them and care about them. Tom was brave and loyal, and I felt the need to stay with him, through all that he experienced. I was also keen to follow his daughter Laura on her journey, to see what she discovered about his experiences as a young man. I found this book quite an emotional read, but it was beautifully written and made my heart feel full.
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
This historical novel is the first in the Bamboo trilogy by this author. After reading The Lotus House, which I really enjoyed, I was keen to read another book by this author.
The story takes us to southeast Asia, where we follow two characters - Laura Ellis, and her father Tom, who was a prisoner of war during WWII.
I think this author writes in a way that makes you feel as though you know the characters, connect with them and care about them. Tom was brave and loyal, and I felt the need to stay with him, through all that he experienced. I was also keen to follow his daughter Laura on her journey, to see what she discovered about his experiences as a young man. I found this book quite an emotional read, but it was beautifully written and made my heart feel full.
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
May 14, 2022
Truly one of the best and most memorable books
I have read
It was a story of a daughter who discovered the terrible tortures endured by her father
By the end of the book she understood him but wished she had done so sooner
It was a harrowing account of terrible suffering , well written , uncompromising .
It was a graphic , compassionate and moving account of a dreadful time in history and of the next generation discovering the sacrifices their family members refused to discuss
My grandfather was a POW
I was close to him but was warned never to ask about the war
Sometimes I wish I had but I don’t know what reaction I would have received
They loved the life they came home to and the family they rediscovered .
It’s understandable they didn’t want to drag their family into that hell they endured
But how I wish my Grandad had told me more
I have read
It was a story of a daughter who discovered the terrible tortures endured by her father
By the end of the book she understood him but wished she had done so sooner
It was a harrowing account of terrible suffering , well written , uncompromising .
It was a graphic , compassionate and moving account of a dreadful time in history and of the next generation discovering the sacrifices their family members refused to discuss
My grandfather was a POW
I was close to him but was warned never to ask about the war
Sometimes I wish I had but I don’t know what reaction I would have received
They loved the life they came home to and the family they rediscovered .
It’s understandable they didn’t want to drag their family into that hell they endured
But how I wish my Grandad had told me more
April 9, 2025
In this novel, a daughter explores her father’s past as a POW in Taiwan. We experience the story on two timelines - the daughter as she explores and her father as it happened. The reader sees the man’s pain and the ways it rippled through to the next generation.
Overall, this was thoughtful historical fiction. The echoes of war can leave scars, too, and this is made plain as we look at the myriad ways war continues to impact the families and friends of the POWs.
I don’t feel like there was a lot of new information in this book, but the story was told very well and with a lot of heart. I wish the author had included an Asian perspective or character who wasn’t a captor or explored how war hurt the captors as much as the prisoners. I think that would’ve rounded out the story and brought something new to the story.
Overall, this was thoughtful historical fiction. The echoes of war can leave scars, too, and this is made plain as we look at the myriad ways war continues to impact the families and friends of the POWs.
I don’t feel like there was a lot of new information in this book, but the story was told very well and with a lot of heart. I wish the author had included an Asian perspective or character who wasn’t a captor or explored how war hurt the captors as much as the prisoners. I think that would’ve rounded out the story and brought something new to the story.
January 29, 2023
A brilliant read!
The tragedy at the heart of this book is the incredible hardship the soldiers faced under the indescribable cruelty of the Japanese.
Ann's research and knowledge of the subject is 100% which must have been ongoing for a long time.
Tom's daughter Laura is relentless in her quest to find the truth behind her father's suffering.
Her boyfriend drove me crazy I felt like shouting at my Kindle "dump him, he's hopeless " but I will say no more.
I've read a few of Ann's books but will find more as they are so heart wrenching amid true to life situations .
Thankyou.
The tragedy at the heart of this book is the incredible hardship the soldiers faced under the indescribable cruelty of the Japanese.
Ann's research and knowledge of the subject is 100% which must have been ongoing for a long time.
Tom's daughter Laura is relentless in her quest to find the truth behind her father's suffering.
Her boyfriend drove me crazy I felt like shouting at my Kindle "dump him, he's hopeless " but I will say no more.
I've read a few of Ann's books but will find more as they are so heart wrenching amid true to life situations .
Thankyou.
August 28, 2023
Superb read
I love Ann Bennetts books and this one falls into that category.
It tells the tale of Tom who was imprisoned and helped to build the Thai-Burma railway. The conditions described were totally barbaric. Then we have Laura Tom's daughter who years later tries to discover her fathers story.
The book is so while researched. You feel like you are there with the characters.
5 star book.
I love Ann Bennetts books and this one falls into that category.
It tells the tale of Tom who was imprisoned and helped to build the Thai-Burma railway. The conditions described were totally barbaric. Then we have Laura Tom's daughter who years later tries to discover her fathers story.
The book is so while researched. You feel like you are there with the characters.
5 star book.
August 11, 2025
I loved this book, thought it was very well written. The author has obviously done her research. The story really takes you through every emotion. What the prisoners were put through by the Japanese is unbelievable. Their treatment was horrendous and was very difficult to read.The acground story about Thomas' daughter and her journey to find out her father's history was really good
January 21, 2025
A lovely book that was difficult to put down. Harrowing at times at the conditions and punishments Tom Ellis had to endure while Far East prisoner of war. His daughter Laura travels to Thailand and Malays as she tries to piece together what happened to Tom.
March 13, 2023
Engrossing and well crafted. Will read more by this author
May 4, 2023
Beautiful historical fiction of the Burma-Thailand Railway. Most of the places mentioned I have visited so I really felt this book.
October 24, 2023
Ann Bennett has written many books that are better than this one. I never felt vested in the characters lives.
March 13, 2024
Loved it. Amazing resilient human story.
March 30, 2025
✅Rachel’s Random Resources Book Tour
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My thoughts:
Bamboo Heart: “The heart has been permanently weakened by starvation sometime in the past”
Bamboo Heart is a duel timeline story based during WWII and the experience of Thomas Ellis, a prisoner in a Japanese concentration camp. And, then in the 1980’s we meet Laura Ellis, his daughter. She decides to travel to Asia to retrace her father’s past.
Will she discover her father’s secrets he would never talk about?
Will she be able to figure out her own life path?
This story was so heartbreaking in so many ways. But, the information shared was very informative as well as thought provoking. I think the author researched this part of history very well.
This is my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
#shortbookthyme
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My thoughts:
Bamboo Heart: “The heart has been permanently weakened by starvation sometime in the past”
Bamboo Heart is a duel timeline story based during WWII and the experience of Thomas Ellis, a prisoner in a Japanese concentration camp. And, then in the 1980’s we meet Laura Ellis, his daughter. She decides to travel to Asia to retrace her father’s past.
Will she discover her father’s secrets he would never talk about?
Will she be able to figure out her own life path?
This story was so heartbreaking in so many ways. But, the information shared was very informative as well as thought provoking. I think the author researched this part of history very well.
This is my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
#shortbookthyme
@shortbookthyme
March 28, 2017
Hello everyone and welcome to a very special three days on my blog. For the next three days, including today, I will be talking about a wonderful new trilogy that I've just completed - The Bamboo Trilogy by Ann Bennett. I shall be reviewing the first book today, Bamboo Heart then the second, Bamboo Island tomorrow and finally the third, Bamboo Road as part of a blog tour celebrating the final book in the series and the trilogy as a whole. The books can be read in any order as they are all stand-alone stories although they do make references to things that have already happened in the previous books (in the case of the second and third novels).
Faye Rogers, who works as a freelance PR contacted me and asked me to be a part of this blog tour and when I read the synopsis of the books, I immediately accepted. A huge thank you to her and also to Monsoon Books for sending me a copy of the trilogy in exchange for an honest review. I'm a great lover of historical fiction and one of the periods of interest for me is the Second World War. As it is also set mainly in Southeast Asia, a region I find fascinating, that was the icing on the cake for me. What I wasn't expecting is how emotionally invested I became in the stories. Bamboo Heart is the story of Laura Ellis in London, 1986 whom after the tragic death of her father, becomes desperate to find out more about his life during the Second World War. What happened to her father in the forties in Thailand and Malaysia is difficult for her father to talk about, the horrific experiences that he went through are nothing short of devastating and he deliberately shielded his daughter from the heart-break of his story.
After undergoing a break up of her own and still grieving for the loss of her father, Laura decides to journey to Thailand and Malaysia so that she can understand some of what her father went through. The story takes us through Laura's hunt for that terrible knowledge and back in time to the 1940's when her father, Tom Ellis is a prisoner of war of the Japanese, helping to build a railway from Thailand to Burma. The conditions he works in are brutal and almost indescribable but the author does not shy away from the honesty of how the prisoners were treated. They were beaten on a daily basis, starved, punished for the slightest infraction and before long, were mere skeletons, too weak to undergo the hard labour that was expected of them but terrified of repercussions if they didn't. Laura goes through an emotional journey of her own as she realises what her father suffered and we learn more about Tom's life both during this horrific time and when he first came to the East and fell in love with a local woman.
I found this novel to be a fascinating read, especially I have to say Tom's story and his experiences whilst building the railway as a prisoner of war. I was slightly less invested in Laura's story but I enjoyed how the author linked the two together. I must also mention that the author began writing this story whilst carrying out research into her own father's involvement in the very same railway so I believe this makes the story all the more poignant, being based on real life anecdotes/experiences. It made me think a lot, mainly about the brutality of war but there was also a somewhat hopeful message within - how the soldiers banded together building strong friendships and being incredibly brave in the face of such torture was amazing to read about. I'm looking forward to reading another story based around the same time period but involving different characters in the next novel, Bamboo Island which I'm certain will be just as gut-wrenching but informative as this one.
If you like the sound of Bamboo Heart you can buy it here:
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9...
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
Faye Rogers, who works as a freelance PR contacted me and asked me to be a part of this blog tour and when I read the synopsis of the books, I immediately accepted. A huge thank you to her and also to Monsoon Books for sending me a copy of the trilogy in exchange for an honest review. I'm a great lover of historical fiction and one of the periods of interest for me is the Second World War. As it is also set mainly in Southeast Asia, a region I find fascinating, that was the icing on the cake for me. What I wasn't expecting is how emotionally invested I became in the stories. Bamboo Heart is the story of Laura Ellis in London, 1986 whom after the tragic death of her father, becomes desperate to find out more about his life during the Second World War. What happened to her father in the forties in Thailand and Malaysia is difficult for her father to talk about, the horrific experiences that he went through are nothing short of devastating and he deliberately shielded his daughter from the heart-break of his story.
After undergoing a break up of her own and still grieving for the loss of her father, Laura decides to journey to Thailand and Malaysia so that she can understand some of what her father went through. The story takes us through Laura's hunt for that terrible knowledge and back in time to the 1940's when her father, Tom Ellis is a prisoner of war of the Japanese, helping to build a railway from Thailand to Burma. The conditions he works in are brutal and almost indescribable but the author does not shy away from the honesty of how the prisoners were treated. They were beaten on a daily basis, starved, punished for the slightest infraction and before long, were mere skeletons, too weak to undergo the hard labour that was expected of them but terrified of repercussions if they didn't. Laura goes through an emotional journey of her own as she realises what her father suffered and we learn more about Tom's life both during this horrific time and when he first came to the East and fell in love with a local woman.
I found this novel to be a fascinating read, especially I have to say Tom's story and his experiences whilst building the railway as a prisoner of war. I was slightly less invested in Laura's story but I enjoyed how the author linked the two together. I must also mention that the author began writing this story whilst carrying out research into her own father's involvement in the very same railway so I believe this makes the story all the more poignant, being based on real life anecdotes/experiences. It made me think a lot, mainly about the brutality of war but there was also a somewhat hopeful message within - how the soldiers banded together building strong friendships and being incredibly brave in the face of such torture was amazing to read about. I'm looking forward to reading another story based around the same time period but involving different characters in the next novel, Bamboo Island which I'm certain will be just as gut-wrenching but informative as this one.
If you like the sound of Bamboo Heart you can buy it here:
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9...
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
March 17, 2017
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts.
Despite being a fan of historical fiction, I can't say that I'm big on anything to do with the World Wars. Perhaps due to studying them for years at GCSE and A-Level, I just don't reach for fiction that surrounds them. That changed, however, when I learnt about the Bamboo trilogy which centres around WWII Asia - something I know nothing about thanks to school curriculum focusing solely on Britain.
Straight away when I picked this up my favourite parts were those set in 1943 following Tom in the POW camp. Needless to say I was surprised, but they were so interesting and informative without being boring or too horrific. Yes, things were described in detail and we got quite a good idea of the tortures those poor men had to suffer, but I personally found it to be more educational than off-putting. It was honest, but it wasn't overly graphic.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Laura's chapters in the first third of the book. I found her to be quite weak willed and actually rather dumb and insensitive when it came to her dad's past. Of course he wouldn't want to relive those moments so why on Earth would she think to pressure him?! And after a hospitalisation no less! I also found ti really hard to believe that - as a grown woman with a father who was in the war - she had no idea about what went on in the POW camps. Luke was by far the worst character in these chapters (and the book as a whole). He was manipulative and a complete asshole to Laura and what she was going through.
Thankfully, when you hit the 200s things take a turn as Laura travels to Thailand. The scenes from the 40s are still just as good, but those in the 80s start picking up. Laura comes to her senses regarding Luke and also starts unravelling the mystery of her dad's past.
I also lent this to my nan - who was born in 1939, the daughter of someone who served in the war and spent time as a prisoner, and also an avid history fan. Needless to say she knows some stuff about WWII, so it was interesting to hear her thoughts seeing as they come from such a different perspective to mine. She said that she found this to be difficult to read at times because it hit so close to home, but that Bennett knows how to tell a story and keep you interested, and for the most part I agree with her.
Given it's subject matter this is a really easy read that is, dare I say it, fun. It's quick to get through and doesn't require much prior knowledge of World War II to understand or enjoy. It will grip you from the first page and you'll want to know all about Tom, Laura, and their respective experiences in Thailand.
Despite being a fan of historical fiction, I can't say that I'm big on anything to do with the World Wars. Perhaps due to studying them for years at GCSE and A-Level, I just don't reach for fiction that surrounds them. That changed, however, when I learnt about the Bamboo trilogy which centres around WWII Asia - something I know nothing about thanks to school curriculum focusing solely on Britain.
Straight away when I picked this up my favourite parts were those set in 1943 following Tom in the POW camp. Needless to say I was surprised, but they were so interesting and informative without being boring or too horrific. Yes, things were described in detail and we got quite a good idea of the tortures those poor men had to suffer, but I personally found it to be more educational than off-putting. It was honest, but it wasn't overly graphic.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Laura's chapters in the first third of the book. I found her to be quite weak willed and actually rather dumb and insensitive when it came to her dad's past. Of course he wouldn't want to relive those moments so why on Earth would she think to pressure him?! And after a hospitalisation no less! I also found ti really hard to believe that - as a grown woman with a father who was in the war - she had no idea about what went on in the POW camps. Luke was by far the worst character in these chapters (and the book as a whole). He was manipulative and a complete asshole to Laura and what she was going through.
Thankfully, when you hit the 200s things take a turn as Laura travels to Thailand. The scenes from the 40s are still just as good, but those in the 80s start picking up. Laura comes to her senses regarding Luke and also starts unravelling the mystery of her dad's past.
I also lent this to my nan - who was born in 1939, the daughter of someone who served in the war and spent time as a prisoner, and also an avid history fan. Needless to say she knows some stuff about WWII, so it was interesting to hear her thoughts seeing as they come from such a different perspective to mine. She said that she found this to be difficult to read at times because it hit so close to home, but that Bennett knows how to tell a story and keep you interested, and for the most part I agree with her.
Given it's subject matter this is a really easy read that is, dare I say it, fun. It's quick to get through and doesn't require much prior knowledge of World War II to understand or enjoy. It will grip you from the first page and you'll want to know all about Tom, Laura, and their respective experiences in Thailand.
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