The Planters Wife by Ann Bennett

The Planters Wife Reviews

• 
  Hazel Lewis

  Gripping
  
  Not so much for the part in the camps did I find this an interesting read because I have read other books on the topic. No, it was for the story of life on a rubber plant ion that I found most enjoyable. I will say no more not to spoil what I think is a very good read.
• 
  Cora Tea Party Princess

  5 Words: Memories, family, love, passion, war.
• 
  Cindy Woods

  Engrossing read!
  
  What a wonderfully written book about a woman's life prior to and after WWII in Malaya.
  
  The story is told, many times in flashbacks, as Juliet is forced to remember the horrific past mostly during Japanese occupation during the war. A young woman arrives in her doorstep claiming to be a relative causing total disruption of Juliet's staid life in her Malaysian plantation in 1962.
  
  I have to say that the attention to historic detail is very well done and descriptions of sights, sounds and events are very real. The feelings of fear, despair and inhumanity are balanced by the very few human likenesses throughout Juliet's life story. You feel the emotions!
  
  This is a great one for readers of historical fiction that I will recommend to readers. And I thank this gifted author for a beautiful story.
• 
  Beth (bibliobeth)

  Hello everyone and welcome to the second of three very special days on my blog to celebrate the Bamboo Trilogy by Ann Bennett. To see my review of the first book in the series, Bamboo Heart, please click HERE. This post today will focus on the second novel, Bamboo Island which involves different characters than the first book but is set in the same time frame, in Southeast Asia during the Second World War. It means each book can be read as a stand alone but we do get certain events being referred to in the second and third book.
  
  I really enjoyed the first book in the series but I was especially delighted to discover that I enjoyed Bamboo Island even more! It follows a British woman called Juliet Crosby who has lived with her husband, Gavin on a rubber plantation but their marriage is fraught with difficulties. Her only confidant is her sister Rose who is married herself and lives in Singapore so visiting and speaking with each other is a rare occurrence. There are a number of different time frames to this story (which was part of why I loved it most) and we switch between them seamlessly.
  
  There is pre-war, naive Juliet and her struggles with her distant husband and distant sister (both distant for VERY different reasons, mind you!). Then there is Juliet during the war with full and heart-breaking description of her struggles and her internment at a horrific prison camp but also the friendships and bonds she makes along the way. Finally, there is post war Juliet living back on the rubber plantation and waiting for someone. The person who turns up is definitely not whom she is expecting, a young girl called Mary, claiming to have crucial information about Juliet's family and the loss of those that she had been close to. Juliet is uncertain about whether to believe her but the two women journey to try and find evidence to back up Mary's claims leading Juliet to go on an emotional journey back in time herself as she remembers her difficult life and comes to terms with what happened to her in the past.
  
  I raced through this book in just over twenty-four hours, I kid you not. I literally could not put it down. I connected and sympathised with Juliet as a character so much, perhaps more than I did with the female lead in Bamboo Heart and I was constantly on edge whilst reading it, desperate to find out more about her past. I also can't remember the last time I was willing a character to have a happy ending so bad! Again, the author does not avoid full and frank details about the conditions a prisoner of war under the Japanese would experience and once again, she had me disgusted, despairing but completely devoted to the story. I felt that the secondary characters in this novel were also people I wanted to get to know and felt like fully, fleshed out people who you could instantly love (or hate, in some cases!). After the strength of this second part of the trilogy, I now can't wait to get to Bamboo Road where I hope to find further fascinating characters that will give me the intense feelings that Bamboo Island did.
  
  If you like the sound of Bamboo Island, you can buy it here:
  
  Amazon Link:
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9...
  
  For my full review and many more please visit my blog at
  http://www.bibliobeth.com
• 
  Judy

  I seem to have read a spate of WWII books lately, not necessarily great reading during a pandemic. "The Planter's Wife," however, is a welcome change of pace--or more accurately--setting. Anne Bennet sets her characters, sisters Rose and Juliet, in Malaya before the outbreak of the war. With both parents gone, the pair visit an aunt and uncle in the British colony. The owner of a local rubber plantation is attracted to Juliet. Despite her aunt's skepticism and the rumors of his unsavory character, Julie accepts his proposal, while her outgoing sister weds a dashing RAF officer. Juliet soon understands aunt's caution and regrets her decision to marry Gavin Crosby.
  
  The details of Juliet's experience unfold when a stranger appears on the plantation twenty years after the war, claiming to be her only surviving relative. Mary produces the one relic that might convince Juliet of the truth of her story, but Juliet and Mary must retrace all the harrowing events of the war before Juliet accepts Mary as well as her past.
  
  This is an aspect of WWII history about which I am far less familiar. Bennett does a nice job of engaging the reader in the story and creating empathy for the reclusive Juliet.
  
  
• 
  Dawn lawson

  Wonderful book I love this series of the planters well well worth reading.
• 
  Gillian Thomson

  There was a very abrupt ending which I didn't like. It would have been nice to see how the relationship developed between Juliet and Adam. Mary didn't feature very much either and would have liked to have read more about their relationship.
• 
  Gloria Hargrave

  Great book
  
  Lived the book and looking forward to reading more by this author. The location was new to me but I enjoyed learning about that part of the world. We need to learn about what people experience during war.
• 
  Wytzia Raspe

  Nice read situated in Malay pre, during and post WW2: The Planter's Wife by Ann Bennett
  
  A middle aged woman who owns a rubber plantation and lives a solitary life after having lost much during the war, is visited by a young one who thinks she is her niece.
  
  She hands the young woman a journal written during her early years there pre, during and post WW2.
  
  Then the both of them go on a journey to solve the puzzle and to find out about the girl's mother. That takes them to Indonesia and a beach.
  
  Comfy read that describes exotic places and violent pasts.
  
  4 stars out of 5
  
  http://www.dutchysbookreviewsandfreeb...
  
  
  
• 
  Kara

  I could not put the book down, the story of Juliet her sister Rose who travelled to Penang in the 1930s. Juliet’s horrid husband Gavin and his nasty drunken brother Scott, the rubber plantation in Malaya and the war and the Japanese invasion all kept the story moving and were vividly alive. I can’t say much more without a spoiler but there are lots of twists along the way. I spent three months in Malaysia and Singapore in the 1970s so the landscape and the descriptions of the food and the food stalls all felt really familiar. I really like Ann Bennett’s stories of the Far East and I love stories that cross across decades and life times. On to the next book by Ann Bennett.
• 
  Carole Hazell

  Ann Bennett has researched the historical, cultural and geographical details of this period very thoroughly, which made this historical romance very readable.
  Her father's incarceration on the Thai Burma Railway led her to undertake this research, and she has woven her narrative cleverly around the historical facts.
  She does maintain the suspense of the story, although the ending could be guessed at.
  
  I will read more of this author's books set in the East; quick, light reads that do evoke the atmosphere of place and time.
  *Editor note: There are some annoying grammatical & spelling errors; and bacon (pork) is definitely not on the breakfast menu in a cheap Sumatran guesthouse.
• 
  Eileen Vernor

  incredible story!
  
  This is the third book I’ve read by Ann Bennett and this was as good as “The Last Pavilion” and “The Tea Planter’s Club” if not better. The author so carefully weaves historical facts with characters that the reader feels like they are living through what the characters are experiencing. The Japanese occupation of Malaysia and Singapore was a brutal time, it’s amazing anyone survived. Ann Bennett’s characters are flawed but resilient. I look forward to reading more by this author.
• 
  Linda

  Loved this book
  
  The book is well written and I love how the author tied everything together in the end, without giving anything away earlier. Set in WW2, there were some parts that were difficult to read, but needed to be told. Juliet who never really thought much of herself, overcame extreme pain, became a strong and determined woman as she faced her past. This was a fast read and I didn’t want to put it down,
• 
  Margaret Williams

  A book of historical fiction and romance. A well researched story of the life of a planter's wife in Malaya pre-war and the terrible years of Japanese occupation. We all know the stories of the attack on Singapore and the evacuations that followed but I had read little about what life was like there for those left behind. 3 stars perhaps for the quality of the writing but an engrossing read nonetheless.
• 
  Marsilla Dewi-Baruch

  Bennet was Absolutely brilliant in this book. She built the storyline surrounding Japanese occupation of British Malaya vividly, transported back to the wonderful stories my grandfather always told me when I was a small kid. And it also happened that my grandfather was a native of Kuala Lipis. So lucky that I plucked this book out of shelves and worth spent every minute.
• 
  Anna Brown

  HISTORICAL BASED STORY
  
  Wonderful story, best for read unlike I did in short bursts of time... made it a little confusing. However, the author brought it all together and the parts I was confused about were resolved. I have read many WWII historical novels, this offered a different perspective and a different setting. Very good read. Character development very good.
• 
  Robbie White

  I enjoyed this book and blazed though the hope and heart ache. I have read quite a bit of war historical fiction but mostly crafted around the USA and Americans so getting some knowledge about English lives in colonies was a breath of fresh air.
• 
  margaret Paterson

  Whilst I really enjoyed this read I had been looking forward to more historical depth. I visited Malaysia last year so am aware of the history. The characters are good but I’d liked to have had more about them as individuals. Also more of an understanding of the 2 brothers backgrounds. Mary’s too!
• 
  Amanda Snell

  Good honest story
  
  I enjoyed this and read it quite quickly but found the writing style a tad dull. It’s the kind of book I liked but won’t stick with me in any way. I don’t think I will read any more of the series but thanks anyway Ann Bennett.
• 
  Pam

  a very emotional read about the ups and downs of love and family life beautiful colourful scenes of Singapore and Malaysia very exotic. Juliets character comes alive and you can relate to her emotions an enjoyable read.
• 
  Bonnie Goodwin

  This was an amazing historical fiction. With settings in Malaya and Singapore. It’s the story of sisters and how the Japanese invasion changes their lives.
• 
  Emily

  I didn’t want it to emd
  
  I loved the characters and their story! I didn’t want the book to end. I would highly recommend this book.