The Lost Pearl

The Lost Pearl takes us back to a time in history where the world was just on the cusp of war invading the Pacific region. We begin in Hawaii, in the months preceding the bombing of Pearl Harbour, and then travel to Australia, another island with its northern coast under attack. More than a war story, The Lost Pearl is an examination of the far reaching personal effects of war and the lingering consequences of regretful decisions made in a bygone era.

While by no means a unique story, with its dual timeline that has a granddaughter uncovering her grandmother's past via investigating the curious dying words she was privy to, the way it all unfolded was very fresh and engaging. This is a story that clips along at a great pace, keeping you up late at night and eager to devour as much as you can in one sitting. Both timelines, with Kit in the present and Catherine in the past, equally held their own, tricky, as we all know, with dual timelines. Emily infused a great deal of symmetry between grandmother and granddaughter which went a long way towards ensuring her novel was a complete story rather than two loosely linked separate ones. I really loved the serendipitous link that Emily gives to Catherine and Kit. It was such a beautiful full circle to end up on, I appreciated it immensely but won't elaborate further to avoid spoilers.

The history infused throughout The Lost Pearl was thoroughly authentic and stirred my emotions. From Hawaii to Australia, no stone was left unturned by Emily, she has achieved an historical fiction novel of a high calibre indeed. I appreciated the offering of multiple perspectives, particularly as we neared the end. It offered a more complete story and gave me an opportunity to quell my judgement on some of the characters. Although, even by the end, Catherine's mother still didn't sit well with me and I found William to be a disappointment that I wasn't anticipating. This of course adds to the authenticity of the story overall – you can't like everyone and every family probably has its more questionable members.

The Lost Pearl has much to offer lovers of historical fiction. The bombing of Pearl Harbour is not something I've read about in fiction all that much, although I learnt about it when studying WWII history and have of course watched the Hollywood rendition. Still, it's not a piece of history that has been overwritten and I particularly appreciated Emily's detailing of how the bombing is commemorated each year in a fashion similar to our ANZAC day. I was quite affected by the scenes where Kit was attending the 75th commemorations. I highly recommend The Lost Pearl, it's a terrific read, well researched and impeccably written. There's a natural flow to it that will make it hard for any reader to put down once they've picked it up.

Thanks is extended to Harper Collins Publishers Australia via Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Lost Pearl for review.
Review will be published to my blog www.theresasmithwrites.com and to Goodreads at publication date 20th August 2018.