Bread with Seven Crusts

by Susan Temby

'In this wise, compassionate novel.temby explores the antagonisms, the collisions of culture, and the events that transform' - Glenda Adams. In the autumn of 1943 Giuseppe Lazaro, an Italian prisoner of war, is dropped into a small rural outpost on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt. He has never seen a place so colourless and flat. He has never met anyone like Max Nash, the young and struggling owner of the farm. the Nashes slowly accept Giuseppe - or Joe, as they call him - into their home, but he discovers there are limits. Max's sister, Eddy, back from nursing Australian soldiers overseas, bitterly resents 'the enemy' eating at her family's table. the enforced isolation and intimacy of the farm gradually push Eddy and Giuseppe into an uneasy truce. As the months pass Giuseppe's feelings for the prickly young woman grow stronger, bringing him into conflict with not only the family and the community, but also with Hal, a neighbour and family friend.

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Trish G · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story revolves around the detention of Italian prisoners of war being brought to Western Australia to be used in the shortage of labour in farms.
Giuseppe is an educated man who adapts to his change of fortunes with considerable kindness & enthusiasm. He is soon endeared to the family to which he has been assigned. That is until he shows romantic interest in the sister of the man for whom he works.
This story revealed some of Australia’s history as well as shared compassion for foreigners newly arrived to Australia. It lit up the social mores of Australia in the late 1940’s. Frowned upon were marriages of mixed races & class system that was based on British traditions.
Descriptions of the landscape & food, jobs & pastoral life was of interest.
An easy enough read.

[Jan Butterly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly wonderful love story set in post war Western Australia. A lot of it was set in the area I grew up, so it was quite nostalgic for me. The thing I really found the author did well, was the struggle both WWII survivors and the people they came home to had, coping with relief, guilt, anger and the horrors of war. A fantastic read.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would really rate this 3 1/2 if I could. I feel pretty much the same as what Sara Foley expressed in her review about this book. A good story but smothered somewhat in unnecessary trivia.

[Sara Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this book; I would have given it 3 1/2 stars if there was that option. The difficulty lies in that I really enjoyed the book - I loved the story, the characters, the location, the descriptions - everything important about a book I liked. I was affected by the story and felt it resonate within me. But...I felt like it needed a really good edit. It was probably about 1/3 longer than it should have been, and it meandered and wandered aimlessly at times. Still, I really enjoyed it :)

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

sort of Captain Corelli but not as good. Didn't enjoy it, didn't get under the skin of the characters, they were just names in a book not living breathing beings (if you know what I mean).

[Bronwyn Rodden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written love story set among the lives of Italian prisoners of war working in rural Australia. Evocative and deeply resonant, this book may one day be regarded as a classic.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 would be a better rating. This was a book club book.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the setting as it reminded me of growing up in the wheatbelt.