Sole Survivor is a book about three people living on an island off New Zealand in the mid 1960s: Red, 'the madman', who works from dawn to dusk to keep his mind off the atrocities he witnessed while working on the construction of the Burma Railway; Angus, a cantankerous retired policeman who has little time for anyone yet longs for a son, and Rosie, a disenchanted doctor turned market researcher who inherits a shack on the island and is determined to make a new life away from the rat race.
When these three characters get together sparks fly and blood boils, but their antics are completely endearing and it is a joy to read of their interactions. The sideline story of Japanese trawlers illegally obtaining fish from the island's shores is political and quite exciting, but I preferred to read about the everyday adventures of the three characters and the irony in having to work so hard to live a simple life.
Fantastic character portraits, and a positive message. Good reading.
My rating ****
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