Product Description

Married, but obstinately set in their separate ways, Hugh and Kristy Foster know nothing of Al-Bustan, a far-flung island in the Indian Ocean. Too late they discover how it seethes with unrest and intrigue. Yet now when they need each other, the sullen, muttering forest seems only to intensify their differences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236788 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 279 pages

Review
"'So rich and significant... the novel gives the impression of having been felt as well as imagined... beautifully written, buttressed by wisdom, judgement, keen observation and knowledge of life' - Irish Times; 'This novel... so masterly, so calm and dazzling... is her most ambitious. It is also her best' - Sunday Telegraph"

From the Publisher
From one of the classic writers of post-war English literature comes a stunning novel of love, betrayal and redemption.

About the Author
Olivia Manning, OBE, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, spent much of her youth in Ireland, and, as she puts it, had 'the usual Anglo-Irish sense of belonging nowhere'. The daughter of a naval officer, she produced her first novel, The Wind Changes, in 1937. She married just before the War, and went abroad with her husband, R.D. Smith, a British Council lecturer in Bucharest. Her experiences there formed the basis of the work which makes up The Balkan Trilogy. As the Germans approached Athens, she and her husband evacuated to Egypt and ended up in charge of the Palestine Broadcasting Station. They returned to London in 1946 and lived there until her death in 1980.

Customer Reviews

A very underrated novel, one of Olivia Manning's best
After reading all six of the Fortunes of War novels I became a fan of Olivia Manning and sought out some of her other novels. School for Love is another good novel of hers, as is this one. But instead of being set in war time europe this novel is set on a fictional island Al Bustan.
Rather similar in style to the fortunes of war novels, it centres on the realtionship between Hugh and Kristy Foster who arrive on the island at a time of political upheaval and corruption.
Al bustan is a fictional island, but that makes it all the more appealing. Mrs Mannings descriptions are goergous and unless you knew that is wasn't real, you would think she had lives there herself like she had in the Balkans and the Levant. Descriptions of the islands landscapes, history, wildlife and geography are all beautiful and vividly written. The ending is chilling and will leave you feeling unsettled.
The only (quite big)glitch I found with it was that I didn't find myself sympathizing with the characters unlike in the fortunes of war series where I loved all of the characters, even the annoying and pathetic ones. Hugh and Kristy aren't as endearing as Guy and Harriet Pringle and it was only towards the end of the book that I found myself caring about them. Also, i didn't like any of the supporting characters. But other than that, well written and cleverly contrived, worth reading for the descriptive passages alone or if you are a fan of Olivia Manning.

Well Written
First published in 1974 but despite knowing this author from The Balkan and The Levant trilogies I had never come across this title before. It was drawn to my attention when I read a review by a friend; she then very kindly sent me her copy.

A tale from the last days of the British Empire, When Hugh Foster a failing script writer takes a temporary post with the Foreign Office; on the island of Al-Bustan in the Indian Ocean his marriage is already very rocky. After eleven years of married life he and his wife Kristy, a writer herself, are leading somewhat separate lives and Hugh seems somewhat surprised that she had agreed to go with him. This posting is to be an opportunity for them to start afresh.
Settling in to their new life in Al-Bustan is no easy task as they find themselves surrounded by snobbery and political scheming by people who just do not want to accept either of them into island society. They are both treated appallingly but particularly Kristy, one could not help feeling sorry for this weak and pathetic couple. It was so annoying when they put up with such treatment, especially at the hotel where they had to deal with the most terrible humiliations!
An extremely tense and sad ending to a novel that although I found exasperating at times I could not help but like as it is so well written.