Hiroshima Joe: A Novel

Front Cover
Picador, 2013 M10 8 - 304 pages

One of the most powerful novels about the experience of war, first published in 1985

Captured by Hirohito's soldiers at the fall of Hong Kong and transferred to a Japanese slave camp outside Hiroshima, Captain Joe Sandingham was present when the bomb was dropped. Now a shell of a man, he lives in a cheap Hong Kong hotel, scrounging for food and the occasional bar girl. The locals call him "Hiroshima Joe" with a mixture of pity and contempt. But Joe—haunted by the sounds and voices of his past, debilitated by illness, and shattered by his wartime ordeal—is a man whose compassion and will to survive define a clear-eyed and unexpected heroism.

From inside the book

 

Results 1-5 of 53

Page 9
... walked briskly after the fruit and stopped the papaya with his foot . He looked up the bank . No one there . Once in safety around the corner of the building , Sandingham stopped to regain his breath . Another sound , above his head ...
Page 12
... walked down the corridor through the floor lobby to the main hotel staircase . The floor captain ignored him : he was busy defrosting the refrigerator in which the guests kept soft drinks and perishable luxury foods which they ate in ...
Page 14
... walked towards the main entrance , his back to Sandingham . His highly polished shoes clicked on the floor , and then softened on the carpet that ran from the large , sunken main doormat to the stairs . As soon as Heng's back was to him ...
Page 22
... walked slowly , with unconcern , but not too slowly . Leung's enemies were numerous , even in the closed criminal society of Kowloon City , and now they were certain to be Sand- ingham's enemies as well . The guard remained in the ...
Page 26
... and there was only one way to do that . The sun had moved away from the front of the hotel by the time Sandingham walked through the lobby . The bar was closed and the glassware was dull , lacking the sparkle it 26 HIROSHIMA JOE.

Where's the rest of this book?

Selected pages

Other editions - View all

Hiroshima Joe: A Novel
Martin Booth
Limited preview - 2003

Common terms and phrases

asked barrack blood building bunk camp Cantonese centre Chinese cloth dark dead deck door eyes face feet felt ferry fingers fire floor front Garry glass guards hancho hand head hear heard Hideo Wada Hiroshima Ho Man Tin Hong Kong Imperial Japanese Army ingham jacket Japanese Kempetai Kowloon lance-corporal Leung lifted light Lisbon Maru lorry Macau machine-gun minutes Mishima morning moved Nathan Road night officer once opium papaya Peak Tram Pedrick pocket prisoners pulled realised replied rice rifle road roof roomboy round Sand Sandingham knew Sandingham looked Sandingham saw Sandingham watched Sham Shui Po ship shouted side skin smoke soldier spoke standing steward stood stopped street tenko timber yard took tram tree trousers truck turned voice walked wall Wan Chai window wire wooden

About the author (2013)

Martin Booth (1944-2004) was the bestselling author of novels including Hiroshima Joe, Islands of Silence, and The Industry of Souls, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Another novel, A Very Private Gentlemen, was adapted into the 2010 movie, The American, starring George Clooney. He also wrote several nonfiction books, including Cannabis: A History and the memoir Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood. Booth was born in England, but spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, a location that would deeply inspire his writing. He moved back to England at the age of 20, and started his literary career as a poet. He worked as a schoolmaster, a job he held until 1985, when the success of Hiroshima Joe allowed him to devote himself full-time to his writing. At the time of his death in 2004, he was living in Devon, England.

Bibliographic information

TitleHiroshima Joe: A Novel
AuthorMartin Booth
Editionreprint
PublisherPicador, 2013
ISBN1466853980, 9781466853980
Length304 pages
  
Export CitationBiBTeX EndNote RefMan