ESCAPE TO PAGAN: THE TRUE STORY OF ONE FAMILY’S FIGHT TO SURVIVE IN WORLD WAR II OCCUPIED ASIA
Book ID/图书代码： 02820016B90835
English Summary/英文概要： A gripping true story of survival set in Hong Kong and Burma, as one family struggles against overwhelming odds in World War Two. Divided by war, in order to see each other again they must overcome terrible danger. The beautiful landscape of Burma and the tragedy of war are evocatively portrayed in this haunting and moving book.
Hong Kong. Leading an attack on Golden Hill, Jack Devereux of the Royal Scots is shot through the head. A Japanese officer attempts to behead him, in order to blood his samurai sword; waking momentarily, he kills his would-be executioner. His head swarming with maggots, he survives capture as the Japanese are both impressed and fascinated by his wounds. Alive, albeit in a dangerously precarious physical state he then goes on to experience and escape the horrific and tragic incident of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru, in which hundreds of POWs drown, the sharks of the South China Sea, the mines of Nagasaki and the atom bomb.
Burma. Jack’s wife Kate Devereux, her infant son (the author) and mother Harriet desperately try to avoid the unstoppable advance of the Japanese; they flee their home, taking only what they can carry and walk the jungles foraging for food while avoiding predators, snakes and armed bandits (dacoits). Terrified Kate’s marriage certificate will be discovered by the Japanese, they adopt the guise of the Mons Burmese tribe. The once prosperous family becomes destitute and starving. Their chance of survival was slim; multitudes of people like the Devereux’s fleeing the Japanese died of exposure and starvation, were shot by dacoits or killed in bombing raids. They are kept alive by the author’s incredible grandmother, a strong-willed resourceful woman with a proud bearing, able to speak fluent Japanese but also to pass herself off as native Burmese. Their destination is the deserted and mystic city of Pagan. The beautiful but deadly landscape of Burma is the setting for their adventure-filled story.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 这是一个吸引人的关于一个家族在二战中的真实故事，发生在香港和缅甸。被战火隔离的家人为了能够再次团聚而必须克服各种危险。书中描写了缅甸动人的风景，也刻画了战争带来的悲剧。
在香港，苏格兰皇家自卫队的Jack Devereux在战役中被一枪打中头部，一个日本军官想要砍下他的头来血祭自己的武士刀，但就在意识飞散之前，他杀死了这个日本军官。他的头上长出了蛆，但他活下来了，日本人都被他的伤口震惊了。尽管活着，但状态极不稳定，他随后又经历了里斯本丸号的沉没——几百个战俘就这样淹死了，然后又遭遇了南中国海的鲨鱼，后来又是长崎的矿区和原子弹。
在缅甸，Jack的妻子Kate Devereux、她年幼的儿子（本书作者）和母亲Harriet绝望地想要躲避日本人，她们离开家，仅带了一些必须品，然后穿越丛林，躲避着猎食的野兽、蛇和武装土匪。Kate害怕自己的结婚证被日本人发现，她们假装自己是缅甸小部落的土人。曾经富足的家族必须承受赤贫和饥饿。她们存活下来的希望很渺茫，因为很多和她们一样想要逃离日本人的人或者暴露被杀、或者死于饥饿，或者被土匪或者流弹打死。她们得以活下来全亏了作者的祖母，这是一个意志坚定、举止雍容的女人，既能够讲一口流利的日语，也能伪装成地道的缅甸本地人。她们的目的地是少有人知的神秘城市蒲甘。这个充满冒险的故事就在美丽但是危险的缅甸展开了。(LYR)
Awards/获奖情况：Devereux家族的长篇故事是吸引人的，也是无比惨痛的。这个故事告诉我们，在战争中，受害者往往无法轻易地死去，而是要活着承受更多的苦难。本书也是一个有关希望的故事。当Jack感受到了原子弹袭击带来的战栗时，他有意识地躲在了长崎矿区监狱的地下。解放之后，Devereux家族得以团聚。自然而言地，这个充满复杂情绪的真实故事提出了恐惧是我们阅读又一本这样的小说的原因。（《南华早报》）
The Devereux saga is tremendously gripping and gory. It serves as a reminder that, in war, victims often fail to die cleanly and continue in a grossly agonized state, maggots and all. Escape to Pagan is also a story of hope. When he feels a tremor that he discovers was caused by the A-bomb, Jack has the sense to stay underground in his last prison, a Nagasaki mine. Liberation follows. Then, the Devereux family reunites, sort of. Naturally, the sensational, true-life tale that raises the question of why anyone bothers with novels has one more twist. Thrilling.
South China Morning Post
About the Author/作者介绍： Brian Devereux于1940年出生在缅甸，他人生的早几年就如书中岁叙述的一般。他在电影行业作为自由职业的特技演员工作了二十五年，还拥有一个乡间旅馆。
Brian Devereux was born in Burma in 1940 and the early part of his life is described in this book. He worked freelance for twenty five years in the film industry, and as a stuntman; once doubling for Michael Caine, performing all the stunts including the ‘deadfall’ in the film of the same name. He also owned a country house hotel.
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