Connie has never felt like she belongs where she is and
should be married to the man she is. Although she feels out
of place and odd, she still does her best to raise he son in
the strange and beautiful place that is Malaya. With
impending attacks from the Japanese causing widespread angst
and questions, Connie must make the right decisions now more
than ever.
It is important to note that Connie is, in general, a good
person. She tries to do right by her son and husband and
even tries to make it up to the native children she feels
she wronged. Her husband is a bit of an odd duck, he doesn't
seem to love her as much as one might think. Connie has a
few skeletons of her own in her closet and her newest
employees are not to be trusted. The more the reader delves
into the story, the more they will realize the different
relationship and social dynamics hidden beneath the surface.
Not all is as it seems in this strange world.
The plot is fast-paced and the reader will have to pay close
attention to fully understand the novel and catch all of the
details. Overall, THE WHITE PEARL is one story a fan of
fiction will not want to miss.
A lush novel set during the Japanese invasion of Malaya-from
the national bestselling author of The Russian Concubine.
Malaya, 1941. Connie Thornton plays her role as a dutiful
wife and mother without complaint. She is among the
fortunate, after all-a member of the British rubber
plantation owners, reaping the benefits of colonial life.
But Connie feels as though she is oppressed, crippled by
boredom, sweltering heat, and a loveless marriage...
Then in December the Japanese invade. Connie and her family
flee, sailing south on their yacht toward Singapore, where
the British are certain to stand firm against the Japanese.
En route, in the company of friends, they learn that
Singapore is already under siege. Increasingly desperate and
short of food, the yacht's inhabitants make their perilous
way from island to island. When a fighter plane crashes into
the sea, they rescue its Japanese pilot. For Connie, that's
when everything changes. In the suffocating confines of the
boat, with her life upended, Connie discovers a new kind of
freedom and an exciting, dangerous, exhilarating love.