The Great Reclamation - Rachel Hengová

'An extraordinary achievement . . .Every page pulses with mud and magic' Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace'A monumental epic . . .I was spellbound' Nathan Harris, author of The Sweetness of Water'Ah Boon's story will stay with me for a long time' Lara Prescott, author of The Secrets We Kept'Alive to the beauty and mystery of the natural world as well as the human heart' Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good MothersSingapore, 1941. A gentle young boy called Ah Boon is desperate to win the approval of his father and brother, as he joins them on his father's fishing boat for the first time. Before long, he discovers he has the unique ability to locate bountiful, movable islands that no one else can find, and develops a new sense of obligation and possibility - something to offer the community and impress Siok Mei, the spirited girl he has fallen in love with.By the time they are teenagers, Ah Book and Siok Mei are caught in the tragic sweep of history: the Japanese army invades, the resistance rises and the future of their fishing village is in jeopardy. As the nation hurtles towards rebirth, the two friends must carve out their fate and decide who they will become - and what they are willing to give up. This is a powerful coming-of-age, of both a young boy and a country, as well as an aching love story, that confronts the wounds of progress, the sacrifices of love, and the difficulty of defining home when nature and nation collide.