INSPIRED by Somerset Maugham’s short story The Force of Circumstance, author Rosie Milne has given her own take on the story in this novel set in 1924 Malaya.
The story begins with Frank, a colonial administrator based in Kluanak, a remote district deep in the jungle, who comes to England on holiday.
He woos and proposes to Rose, and despite reservations from her over-protective mother, Rose marries him.
What Frank has neglected to tell Rose is that he has a mistress back in Malaya called Nony, with whom he has fathered four children.
Frank’s hopes of being posted to another district are dashed by office politics, and he is forced to bring Rose back to Kluanak and risk her encountering Nony, whom he initially tries to bribe to leave the village.
However, Nony is no simpering fool.
She resorts to getting the local shaman to put a curse on Frank, and then tries to blackmail him by threatening to tell Rose about their relationship.
However, that plan backfires when Rose finds out the truth.
What ultimately happens to these three characters, and the tough decisions they are forced to make, will keep you turning the pages of this book.
Milne’s knack for creating believable characters that are neither entirely good nor bad is in full effect in this story that sets out to explore how colonial officers have local mistresses and fathered illegitimate children, but then cast them aside like yesterday’s trash.
She also tackles how some of these children are sold by their parents for their own benefit.
Ultimately, this is a story about people who are caught up in circumstances, and how each tries to cope with the situation in his or her own way.
