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Under the Sun

Justin Kerr-Smiley
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  / SYNOPSIS

Under the Sun is set in the closing stages of World War Two in the South Pacific. Flight Lieutenant Edward Strickland is a young RAF Spitfire pilot flying sorties over the Carolines and their outlying atolls. On a dawn patrol he is shot down attacking a submarine and ends up on a remote island occupied by a small Japanese garrison that has remained undetected throughout the war. The garrison’s commander Captain Tadashi Hayama brutally interrogates his captive and a battle of wills develops between the two men. The scene is set for a contest where there will only be one victor. But events take an unexpected turn and the island becomes, for a while, a kind of Eden. The war is a distant memory that has no relevance to the rhythms and echoes of island life. Yet beyond its shores danger lurks and Japan’s capitulation after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki leads to a climactic end that shatters the idyll for ever. UNDER THE SUN is not only a novel about war and its effect upon the human condition, it also explores the redemptive power of friendship and how it can surpass all odds, inspiring love and even sacrifice.

  / CHARITY

A percentage of the profits of Under The Sun will go towards The Japan Society UK. The Japan Society was founded in 1891 and is the leading body in the United Kingdom dedicated to the enhancement and celebration of UK-Japan commercial and cultural relations.

  / PRESS REVIEWS

"The gripping and beautifully paced debut of an intriguing new talent." William Dalrymple

"This well-researched and thought-provoking novel skillfully explores the psychology of conflict and the contradictions and absurdities in the wartime concept of 'the enemy'. On an idyllic Pacific island in WWII the two protagonists, English Spitfire pilot Strickland and the Japanese officer Hayama, slowly bridge the immense cultural gulf which divides them and discover the meaning of true friendship. It is an impressive first novel by Justin Kerr-Smiley which grippingly  depicts the suffering and pain of conflict and the humanity that lies within us all." Sean Curtin, Editor - Japan Book Review

"..it is a small masterpiece; the best novel that I have read about war since that other flawed island story Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It can well stand the comparison." Nigel Jones, Sunday Telegraph


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Catalogue Details

November 2007
243pp. Hardback £16.99
Foreign rights: World
ISBN: 9780955572937

July 2008
243pp. B-format paperback £7.99
Foreign rights: World
ISBN: 9780955830280

Daniela Norris and Shireen Anabtawi in discussion - October 12th, London Jewish Cultural Centre

Daniela Norris and Shireen Anabtawi in Bristol - October 13th