by Melvyn Bragg
First published 2003
Spring 1946. Samuel Richardson steps off the train in Wigton, Cumbria, after years fighting in Burma. His wife Ellen waits for him, relieved her husband has survived the war. The town looks the same as when Sam left. The cobblestone streets, the familiar shops, even the faces haven't aged much. But Sam carries Burma with him in ways Ellen cannot see. The jungle battles replay in his mind. Sleep brings nightmares instead of rest. Then there's Joe, now six years old, who barely knew his father before Sam shipped out. The boy treats this stranger in uniform with polite distance. Ellen tries to bridge the gap between father and son while managing her own adjustment to having Sam back. She built a life without him, made decisions alone, raised Joe by herself. Now three people must learn to be a family again. Love exists between them, but it competes with memory, trauma, and time lost.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Burma, Cumbria, Wigton
Period: 1946, Spring
Audio CD · Blackstone Pub
Content warnings: war