The Flamboya Tree

Clara Olink Kelly now lives in Bellingham, Washington with her husband. She spends much of her Lime with her children and grand­children. flic Flamboya Tree is her first book.

'Incredibly moving ... The courage of the whole family, particularly of Clara's mother, shines through' Cathy Kelly, Daily Mail

 

`Fascinating' People Magazine

 

'A wrenching memoir ... These stories clearly demonstrate that terrible atrocities are committed - justified even - in the name of war' Seattle Times

 

'A moving, immediate account of a relatively unknown wartime drama ... Unforgettable' Booklist

 

`Remarkable ... Trie Flamboya Tree charts a family journey that is awesome and heartbreaking, but which remains a story of hope' The Herald Sun

 

'An affecting account of wartime deprivation ... Well written' Publishers Weekly

 

'The Flamboya Tree is a touching story of how a mother's love saved a family of three defenseless children trapped in a brutal Japanese death

 

camp. As Clara Kelly honours her mother's memory we are reminded that not all the heroes of World War II faced the bullets of the battle­field' James Bradley

 

`Nothing illustrates wartime suffering and sacrifices more poignantly than a child's voice. Clara Kelly has done a wonderful job capturing the depravity of the Java prison camps and the courage of interned mothers trying to keep their young children alive and humane. The Flamboya Tree is a fascinating story that will leave the reader informed about a missing piece of the World War II experience, and in awe of one family's survival' Elizabeth Norman

 

`The Flamboya Tree is like a bright jewel found in the dust of fading history. I was bowled over by this book' Caroyln See

 

`Simply told, deeply felt, Kelly's The Flamboya Tree shows us that adver­sity can transform our lives into courageous, life-affirming works of art' Gwyn Hyman Rubio

 

`Sometimes the history of war hides its best stories, its fine, quiet stories ... The Flamboya Tree is such a story, with some kinship to Nicholas Gage's Eleni, and, in the same extraordinary way, about the triumph of love and compassion and decency' Alan Furst

 

`Sure-footed and big-hearted, Kelly's narrative offers testimony to the sustaining power of dignity and courage in the face of impossible circum­stances' Beth Kephart, author of A Slant of Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published in the United Kingdom by Arrow Books in 2003

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Copyright © Clara Olink Kelly 2002

The right of Clara Olink Kelly to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988

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otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's
prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is
published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed
on the subsequent purchaser

First published by Random House Trade Publishing,
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ISBN 0 09 944553 0