Antwyn Price’s “Paradise in Ruins” reviewed by the USRB with positive feedback
Paradise In Ruins: A Novel (View) Of The Pacific War, a historical novel written by Antwyn Price, has received critical acclaim from the US Review of Books (USRB).
The book presents an interesting view of the Pacific Theater of World War Two through the prism of the military and naval leadership from both sides of the war. On a granular scale, the book also offers a look at the impact of the war on local populations of the Pacific islands whose lives were disrupted following the explosion in Japan in December 1941.
USRB’s Donna Ford remarks that “Price is extremely knowledgeable about his subject, wishing to show the “way it was” for residents of the Pacific region at this time.”
The book critic also observes that the book’s storyline often proceeds from Price’s broad knowledge of the war in the Pacific, hitting various topics such as whether lesbian affairs arose from men being separated from their families, the treatment of blacks in the army, or the value of nurses stationed at island hospitals serving injured men ferried by air or ship.
Finally, the book concludes with a helpful list of abbreviations and fictional characters. Real characters, such as Nimitz and MacArthur, make walk-on appearances or earn brief historical references, Ford writes in her review.
