DEATH OF A COAST WATCHER by Anthony English

In 1943 on Bougainville Island, New Guinea, a Japanese officer beheads Hugh Rand, an Australian spy — a coast watcher. The spectators include villagers he terrorised as his mind frayed under the stress of pursuit by soldiers and their hounds.Rand’s influence transcends his death. For decades he plagues characters who strive to cope with him and one another in New Guinea, the Gilbert Islands, Australia and Japan. Who misperceives? Lies? Self-destructs? Suffers? Loves? The layers unfold as the author entices us through cultural, historical and intellectual curtains, deep into minds and relationships disturbed by the Pacific war and Rand’s legacy.AwardsShortlisted for Paul Torday Memorial Prize (Society of Authors, 2022) Shortlisted in ‘Best Australian and NZ Fiction’ (ANZ Lit Lovers, 2021) Praise‘Death of a Coast Watcher is a gripping and ambitious novel that ranges across time and space, exploring the distant ramifications of a seemingly minor act of violence on a remote island during WWII.Deeply atmospheric and with a firm command of local cultures, it plays with the misunderstandings that form part of all human relationships and lays them bare as key to the human condition itself.’ Nigel Barley, author of The Man who Collected Women‘After an incredible opening and a brutal account from WWII New Guinea, readers are kept guessing as to where they will go next in the islands of the Pacific. They are then spun sideways to Australia and to Japan to revisit the scene of wartime crimes. I found myself on a complex journey that I did not want to stop.’ Tim Page, author and photojournalist‘English tackles tough questions about war … the question whether those who survived will ever cease to be haunted is left open.’ Susan Blumberg-Kason, Asian Review of Books‘Tough issues explored with pinpoint accuracy … erudite in its exploration of unusually difficult issues and ideas … [English’s] greatest achievement is to have sat convincingly inside the heads of his principal characters, including the Bougainville women, and relayed their most sensitive innermost feeling and thoughts … Later this year I intend to read his book a second time and digest its many messages at a slower pace. Death of a Coast Watcher deserves it.’ Robert Forster in PNG Attitude‘The best kept secret of Australian writing … an exceptional novel’ Greg Barron, author‘Death of a Coast Watcher is an artful novel that asks very difficult questions: about evil acts done by all sides in war; about mythologising false heroism; about whether atrocities should be memorialised because that might only foster ongoing hatred, and about how governments so readily abandon moral principles for strategic, economic and diplomatic reasons … a thought-provoking book … Highly recommended.’ Lisa Hill, anzlitlovers.com‘As a woman, I found myself totally immersed in this account of the horrors of war, where innocent indigenous women are caught up in its atrocities, demonstrating their strength and resilience … Memories of past events plague the minds of those who have a connection to it, to the point of obsession, as if they are possessed by the ghosts of these characters … An amazing read which delivers a complex tale of the injustices of war and a fight for survival, very close to home.’ Dr Jenny Murray-Jones, Deakin University (review on Goodreads)‘An intense study into many aspects of humanity: obsession, infidelity, fear, cultural clashes, mental illness and the shattering effects of misinterpretation … Anthony English’s writing is superb: intelligent and powerful. He belongs to the ranks of David Malouf and Alex Miller. I recommend this book to all Australians and to all lovers of good fiction.’ Reading HighAbout the authorAustralian author Anthony English was formerly a university lecturer in international management and prior to that a civil servant and development project manager, working in Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Previous publications include journalism and academic articles, and his non-fiction book Tug of War: The Tension Concept and the Art of International Negotiation (2010) analyses international negotiation in hostage release, diplomacy, trade and business. Death of a Coast Watcher is his first long work of fictionPaperback 9781912049707 Ebook 9781912049714 Extent 464pp Category Fiction / Historical