Shortlisted for a prestigious Rubery Book Award (2020)!
Children of a Faraway War tells the story of Wendy and Robbie, two Australian-born sisters, now in their seventies, and their life-changing quest to learn the truth about their father who died in England in World War II while serving in Bomber Command. Because of their mother’s reticence and their reluctance to probe her grief, they grow up knowing very little about the man who could have been a father to them. Separated by half a world, Robbie in Australia, Wendy in Canada, they plan a trip to England as a kind of homage to this missing dad.
This journey of discovery, undertaken so late in their lives and guided by the one artefact they have, his wartime diary, leads them the length and breadth of the UK. Their travels, ranging from the hilarious to the serendipitous to the deeply moving, allow them to recreate their father’s story and the horror that was Bomber Command. Undertaken almost casually at first, their quest grows into a search for identity and an affirmation of the profound power of family, love, and memory.
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Reviews
“Wendy Gruner has written a tender, witty memoir of the father she and her sister barely knew. This record of a young Australian airman's life and death is a robust act of imagination and love. With their father's diary (and a somewhat unreliable GPS) to guide them, Gruner and her sister travel to forgotten airbases, seaside towns, B&Bs and graveyards as they retrace their father's steps during the Second World War. With warmth and generosity, Gruner brings a dead man back to life. Readers will be entertained and moved by this delightful book.”
— Diana Fitzgerald Bryden, author of No Place Strange
RUBERY AWARD (Shortlisted, Non-Fiction category, 2020)
Click here to read the Rubery Award committee's review of Children of a Faraway War.
MEDIA LINKS:
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Press coverage
GuelphToday.com profile.
Central Western Daily profile.
AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMERS: You will usually be be able to get the best deal by ordering from Amazon.com.au.
Author(s)
Wendy Gruner
Wendy Gruner was born and educated in Australia. In her twenties she travelled, as many young Australians do, to the UK and explored Europe. She then drifted to Canada. There she stayed, marrying a Canadian and raising a family of three daughters.