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Tells of a British soldier's ordeal as a prisoner of war and how he was able fifty years later to meet his torturer and offer forgiveness.
User reviews
LibraryThing member John5918
A very good book about the Burma war-time railway, from an interesting angle.
LibraryThing member Gwynny
This is without a doubt THE most moving book I have read.I'm not easily moved but I was in bits by the time I reached the last page. A book of torture and, more importantly, forgiveness.
LibraryThing member jeaneva
Parts of this were very hard to read because of the brutal treatment of our POW's by the Japanese during the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway. Mr. Lomax shares his memories very matter-of-factly which makes them even more chilling to me. Repatriation did not bring healing to his mind. Doctors
I'm not being a spoiler (because of the subtitle) to point out that one of the most touching moments was the meeting of Lomax and a Japanese interpreter from one of the torture sessions. The beauty of forgiveness is that it is not so much for the one who is forgiven, as for the one who forgives.
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had not yet identified post-traumatic stress syndrome, but he was a prime example.I'm not being a spoiler (because of the subtitle) to point out that one of the most touching moments was the meeting of Lomax and a Japanese interpreter from one of the torture sessions. The beauty of forgiveness is that it is not so much for the one who is forgiven, as for the one who forgives.
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
Talk about man's inhumanity to man. Eric Lomax was a POW of the Japanese in WW2 and worked on the infamous Burma railway. This is his memoir of his life before the army, his experience of war and the terrible treatment and torture he suffered as a POW. It also deals with the impact that had on his
Inevitably with any great event, it dominates the book. From the very early pages it is almost as if everything he learns or experiences is, in someway, shaping him in preparation for the defining event of his life. The main influences would be a love of railways and the steam trains that run them and a interest in machinery and of technology, such as radio specifically. He also manifests a desire for order and system and timetable - a means of knowing where he fits into the system of the structures around him, it's a means of grounding him and connecting him to the world at large.
All of which conspires to have him, as an officer, engaged in concealing a radio and a map of the area, with the railway and other features marked. this small act, and the Japanese's paranoia combine to put him in quite dreadful straits. In later years he focuses his hatred onto the interpreter who was involved in the interrogation and torture he suffered.
Post war, the experience now colours the entire of his life, especially in an emotional sense. But there comes a moment of truth, can you actually continue to hate a man who, half a lifetime ago, was implicit in, but didn't drive or control the torture & interrogation. Mind you, he did nothing to prevent it either.
The book is dominated by his years as a POW - that takes over 1/3rd of the book and leaves a scant 74 pages for his entire life after 1945. the last section, dealing with his post war life, felt very brief. He has a wife that he says, honestly, he should never have married, and she is almost brushed under the carpet. The event leading up to his meeting with and forgiveness of his interpreter also seems a bit rushed, somehow. It is almost as if he's opened up to tell what was done to him, but is still struggling to express emotion in any meaningful way. that's not to say that it's not an incredibly powerful book, but you do seem to go from blind hate to forgiveness without the soul searching that I would expect.
It's written in a style I can recognise. Both my grandfathers fought in WW2, and this sounds a lot like them and their friends. All very matter of fact and understated, until you listen to it and hear what is being said, when it very slightly blows your mind. It's all very plain language - this isn't some work of great erudition, it is simply an unbelievable tale told in such a down to earth manner that you can't help but accept every word as being true. I can't imagine how you survive an experience like that and still come out of it a human being - it's a testament Eric, and the many thousands like him, that they did.
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later life - who could survive that and not be scarred. Inevitably with any great event, it dominates the book. From the very early pages it is almost as if everything he learns or experiences is, in someway, shaping him in preparation for the defining event of his life. The main influences would be a love of railways and the steam trains that run them and a interest in machinery and of technology, such as radio specifically. He also manifests a desire for order and system and timetable - a means of knowing where he fits into the system of the structures around him, it's a means of grounding him and connecting him to the world at large.
All of which conspires to have him, as an officer, engaged in concealing a radio and a map of the area, with the railway and other features marked. this small act, and the Japanese's paranoia combine to put him in quite dreadful straits. In later years he focuses his hatred onto the interpreter who was involved in the interrogation and torture he suffered.
Post war, the experience now colours the entire of his life, especially in an emotional sense. But there comes a moment of truth, can you actually continue to hate a man who, half a lifetime ago, was implicit in, but didn't drive or control the torture & interrogation. Mind you, he did nothing to prevent it either.
The book is dominated by his years as a POW - that takes over 1/3rd of the book and leaves a scant 74 pages for his entire life after 1945. the last section, dealing with his post war life, felt very brief. He has a wife that he says, honestly, he should never have married, and she is almost brushed under the carpet. The event leading up to his meeting with and forgiveness of his interpreter also seems a bit rushed, somehow. It is almost as if he's opened up to tell what was done to him, but is still struggling to express emotion in any meaningful way. that's not to say that it's not an incredibly powerful book, but you do seem to go from blind hate to forgiveness without the soul searching that I would expect.
It's written in a style I can recognise. Both my grandfathers fought in WW2, and this sounds a lot like them and their friends. All very matter of fact and understated, until you listen to it and hear what is being said, when it very slightly blows your mind. It's all very plain language - this isn't some work of great erudition, it is simply an unbelievable tale told in such a down to earth manner that you can't help but accept every word as being true. I can't imagine how you survive an experience like that and still come out of it a human being - it's a testament Eric, and the many thousands like him, that they did.
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LibraryThing member TheWasp
Eric Lomax was young English Signaller with had a passion for trains, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese in Thailand between 1942 and 1945. Following the discovery of a radio, he and 6 others were savagely beaten and tortured. The subsequent death of 2 of these men becoming part of the Japanese
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War Trials. A search of his belongings also discovered a map of the "secret" railway and he was interrogated by the Kempeitai, (the Japanese "Gestapo") and sent to Outram Road Prison where he was further tortured. Miraculously he survived and many years later met with the Japanese interpreter who was present in Outram Road. This is his story. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
For better or worse the power of this war memoir is in describing the horrible tortures and deprivations that a young Scottish man undergoes after being taken prison by the Japanese at the start of the war.To be fair he also finds redemption and undergoes change giving it a novelistic quality. We
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get to see how the war changed his life into the 21st century, which is unusual. It's hard to fault someone without walking in their shoes but I thought he blamed too much on the war and seemed stuck in the negative events of the past, he let it define him, which is the same criticism some of his buddies had. It reminded me more of a Vietnam war memoir than the typical WWII because of the Burma theater which was a forgotten and inconsequential part of the war, there is no sense of heroics or fighting the good fight, just pointless brutality and when it was over, everyone walked away and went home as if nothing had happened leaving a lifetime of scars to sort out. Show Less
LibraryThing member nigeyb
The Japanese treatment of their Prisoners Of War during World War Two is about as monstrous as it's possible to imagine. Curiously though, and despite some horrific personal experiences at the hands of his captors, Eric Lomax's account is most memorable as an inspiring, humbling and remarkable
There is so much in this book: early Scottish childhood memories; a lifelong obsession with railways; joining a Christian sect as a teenager; travelling to India as a Royal Signals soldier; the disastrous fall of Singapore in 1942; torture and beatings by the Kempetai (the Japanese secret police); Changi, the notorious labour camp in Singapore in 1945; survival against the odds; liberation; Eric's undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Eric's eventually rehabilitation; an unlikely love story; and finally, acceptance, forgiveness, and friendship and reconciliation with one of his captors.
The writing is simple and accessible, the contents profound and memorable. An exceptional memoir.
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reminder of much that is good about humanity. There is so much in this book: early Scottish childhood memories; a lifelong obsession with railways; joining a Christian sect as a teenager; travelling to India as a Royal Signals soldier; the disastrous fall of Singapore in 1942; torture and beatings by the Kempetai (the Japanese secret police); Changi, the notorious labour camp in Singapore in 1945; survival against the odds; liberation; Eric's undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Eric's eventually rehabilitation; an unlikely love story; and finally, acceptance, forgiveness, and friendship and reconciliation with one of his captors.
The writing is simple and accessible, the contents profound and memorable. An exceptional memoir.
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LibraryThing member DubaiReader
The book of the film.
I very nearly gave up on this book in the early stages. The true life of a train spotter is the absolute antithesis of my choice of read. I was encouraged to persevere by the members of my book group and the book certainly improved once Eric Lomax left his home and travelled as
Initially Eric and his friends are protected from the worst treatment by their knowledge of mechanics. They are put to work repairing the machinery used to construct the Burma/Siam railway. They have certain freedoms, being able to wander the island, from which there is no escape, and purchase fruit and veg to supplement their prison rations. Naturally they are desperate for news from the rest of the world and manage to construct a radio set from bits and pieces. Although it is dismantled after every use and the constituent parts hidden from sight, the Japanese somehow learn of its existence and the six mechanics are treated brutally. Two die from the beatings and Eric Lomax is so severely bruised that his whole body is black and both wrists are broken. Eric is also found to have a map of the area and this creates additional suspicions amongst the Japanese, who question him endlessly, with more beatings and semi drownings in an attempt to extract information that he does not have.
The survivors are taken to Outram prison, where they are fed just two bowls of rice a day. Disease is rife and many died. Eric survives by taking a chance and convincing the warders that he is severely ill. He is transferred to the hospital section of the notorious Changi prison, heaven in comparison to Outram.
After the war there was no treatment for sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, it was not known that the effects of torture could have long lasting consequences and survivors were expected to assimilate back into 'normal' life. Inevitably Eric suffers from nightmares, but also from an inability to express emotions and give of himself. He has survived by becoming very closed and withholding emotion and this has altered his personality. Fifty years later he receives the help he so desperately needed to deal with the effects of his abuse.
The final chapter sees Eric confronting the interpreter who had been present for the endless days of questioning. This man had been the centre of the hate he felt for the Japanese and the meeting of the two provides some closure for Eric Lomax's sufferings.
Not an easy read, not just for the train-spotting, but also for the harrowing abuse. It was, however, an eye-opener about life for the prisoners of war under the Japanese. The struggles of a survivor to readjust to life after war also made for interesting reading. A worthy contribution to WWII literature that will become part of the documentation for generations to come.
All respect to Eric Lomax.
I very nearly gave up on this book in the early stages. The true life of a train spotter is the absolute antithesis of my choice of read. I was encouraged to persevere by the members of my book group and the book certainly improved once Eric Lomax left his home and travelled as
Show More
a young signals officer to Malaya, where he is eventually taken prisoner by the Japanese.Initially Eric and his friends are protected from the worst treatment by their knowledge of mechanics. They are put to work repairing the machinery used to construct the Burma/Siam railway. They have certain freedoms, being able to wander the island, from which there is no escape, and purchase fruit and veg to supplement their prison rations. Naturally they are desperate for news from the rest of the world and manage to construct a radio set from bits and pieces. Although it is dismantled after every use and the constituent parts hidden from sight, the Japanese somehow learn of its existence and the six mechanics are treated brutally. Two die from the beatings and Eric Lomax is so severely bruised that his whole body is black and both wrists are broken. Eric is also found to have a map of the area and this creates additional suspicions amongst the Japanese, who question him endlessly, with more beatings and semi drownings in an attempt to extract information that he does not have.
The survivors are taken to Outram prison, where they are fed just two bowls of rice a day. Disease is rife and many died. Eric survives by taking a chance and convincing the warders that he is severely ill. He is transferred to the hospital section of the notorious Changi prison, heaven in comparison to Outram.
After the war there was no treatment for sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, it was not known that the effects of torture could have long lasting consequences and survivors were expected to assimilate back into 'normal' life. Inevitably Eric suffers from nightmares, but also from an inability to express emotions and give of himself. He has survived by becoming very closed and withholding emotion and this has altered his personality. Fifty years later he receives the help he so desperately needed to deal with the effects of his abuse.
The final chapter sees Eric confronting the interpreter who had been present for the endless days of questioning. This man had been the centre of the hate he felt for the Japanese and the meeting of the two provides some closure for Eric Lomax's sufferings.
Not an easy read, not just for the train-spotting, but also for the harrowing abuse. It was, however, an eye-opener about life for the prisoners of war under the Japanese. The struggles of a survivor to readjust to life after war also made for interesting reading. A worthy contribution to WWII literature that will become part of the documentation for generations to come.
All respect to Eric Lomax.
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LibraryThing member SaraAnn05
I started this book some time ago and had to stop when I got to the chapters covering the torture. This time I went back to the beginning and read the whole book in a couple of days. It is one of the most moving books I've ever read.
The style of writing is straightforward, unfussy which somehow
The style of writing is straightforward, unfussy which somehow
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makes the content even more shocking. I was so glad that Eric Lomax was able to reconcile with Nagase. Although I did feel that he wouldn't have been able to do the same with one of the men who actually committed the horrendous physical assaults. Show Less
LibraryThing member MathewBridle
I read this when it came after hearing Eric Lomax in a radio interview. A must read for anyone who says 'you don't know what they did, I can't forgive them' tell them to read this then decide.
LibraryThing member Lukerik
I did an English course last year and we studied an extract of this book (pages 303-4), so when I saw it in a charity shop I snapped it up. An excellent book by a man who was so badly tortured during the war that he forgot how to read. Not just an important historical document but also an important
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statement on humanity Show Less
LibraryThing member zmagic69
This was an amazing book about the torture and abuse POW's suffered at the hands of the Japanese during WW 2, building the folly known as the Burma railway.
The author Eric Lomax suffered horrendous beatings and torture when a map of the railway was discovered in his kit bag. For the next 40 years
The author is actually rather restrained when detailing the torture and conditions they suffered, the book "The Narrow Road To The Deep North" while being a historical fiction book details the conditions far more vivid than Mr Lomax, the author of this book, does.
The hatred that the author holds towards the Japanese is understandable but after more than 40 years he manages to start to get the kind of medical treatment and therapy he truly has needed all along. At this time he finds out "the interpreter" a Japanese soldier he has particular hatred for, has written a book, and decides he needs to confront him.
As painful as this confrontation will be Mr Lomax goes through with it and finds a way to forgive.
This book also touches albeit lightly on the fact that the Japanese, were never made to own up/pay up for the atrocities they committed in Korea, China, and the building of the Burma railway. The mindset of the emperor and the military, the belief that they were superior to all other people, cultures, and countries and their blind devotion and belief that they would prevail, is another example, of why this portion of WW2 needed to come to an end as soon as possible. The author thankfully does not go into any analysis or give his opinion regarding the use of atomic weapons on Japan.
The author Eric Lomax suffered horrendous beatings and torture when a map of the railway was discovered in his kit bag. For the next 40 years
Show More
these men who suffered this abuse tried to go on and live life. This was before people were ever treated for PTSD, or anything else like it. What these men had to deal with is impossible to imagine. The author is actually rather restrained when detailing the torture and conditions they suffered, the book "The Narrow Road To The Deep North" while being a historical fiction book details the conditions far more vivid than Mr Lomax, the author of this book, does.
The hatred that the author holds towards the Japanese is understandable but after more than 40 years he manages to start to get the kind of medical treatment and therapy he truly has needed all along. At this time he finds out "the interpreter" a Japanese soldier he has particular hatred for, has written a book, and decides he needs to confront him.
As painful as this confrontation will be Mr Lomax goes through with it and finds a way to forgive.
This book also touches albeit lightly on the fact that the Japanese, were never made to own up/pay up for the atrocities they committed in Korea, China, and the building of the Burma railway. The mindset of the emperor and the military, the belief that they were superior to all other people, cultures, and countries and their blind devotion and belief that they would prevail, is another example, of why this portion of WW2 needed to come to an end as soon as possible. The author thankfully does not go into any analysis or give his opinion regarding the use of atomic weapons on Japan.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tommi180744
A sublime piece of writing on a theme that has spawned many novels, but very few matching Lomax's deep sensitivity for the supreme heights of humanity & depravity at the core of experience of those involved in World War Two and the personal affects in its aftermath.
LibraryThing member Carol420
[The Railway Man: A POW's Searing Account of War, Brutality and Forgiveness] by Eric Lomax
3.5★'s
What's It About?
It's a remarkable memoir of forgiveness―a tremendous testament to the courage that propels one toward remembrance, and finally, peace with the past. Eric Lomax, sent to Malaya in
What Did I Think?
Actually I never set out to read the book. I picked it up and started skimming through it and found myself stopping an reading whole passages which soon advanced to entire pages. So I said to myself..."self..why in the world don't you just start at the front and read this thing."
The book is told from a personal perspective. This is not fiction in any stretch of the imagination. This is the memories and nightmares of a man that faced the horrors and madness of war while a prisoner of a ruthless enemy and lived to tell of it. Ultimately it tells the message of forgiveness and reconciliation. In this day and age the author probably would have been said to have autism. The man is remarkable when you consider the huge suffering that being a prisoner of war would impose on anyone...but a person with that condition would find their situation unbearable at it's best. It is astonishing testimony to this man's spirit that he survived to be such a courageous and insightful man. This has been made into a film by the same title that is available on DVD. I haven't watched it but I understand that the film makers took a great deal of liberties with the facts.
3.5★'s
What's It About?
It's a remarkable memoir of forgiveness―a tremendous testament to the courage that propels one toward remembrance, and finally, peace with the past. Eric Lomax, sent to Malaya in
Show More
World War II, was taken prisoner by the Japanese and put to punishing work on the notorious Burma-Siam railway. After the radio he illicitly helped to build in order to follow war news was discovered, he was subjected to two years of starvation and torture. He would never forget the interpreter at these brutal sessions. Fifty years after returning home from the war, marrying, and gaining the strength from his wife Patti to fight his demons, he learned the interpreter was alive. Through letters and meeting with his former torturer, Lomax bravely moved beyond bitterness drawing on an extraordinary will to extend forgiveness.What Did I Think?
Actually I never set out to read the book. I picked it up and started skimming through it and found myself stopping an reading whole passages which soon advanced to entire pages. So I said to myself..."self..why in the world don't you just start at the front and read this thing."
The book is told from a personal perspective. This is not fiction in any stretch of the imagination. This is the memories and nightmares of a man that faced the horrors and madness of war while a prisoner of a ruthless enemy and lived to tell of it. Ultimately it tells the message of forgiveness and reconciliation. In this day and age the author probably would have been said to have autism. The man is remarkable when you consider the huge suffering that being a prisoner of war would impose on anyone...but a person with that condition would find their situation unbearable at it's best. It is astonishing testimony to this man's spirit that he survived to be such a courageous and insightful man. This has been made into a film by the same title that is available on DVD. I haven't watched it but I understand that the film makers took a great deal of liberties with the facts.
Show Less
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is an account by a former Far Eastern Prisoner of War of: his early life; his wartime experiences working on the notorious Burma Siam railway, including savage beatings and other tortures; and his post war attempts to process his anger and desire for revenge, his nightmares and what we would
Lomax was keen on trains from an early age but followed his father into the Post Office in Edinburgh when he finished his education. Born in 1919, he was of the generation that went straight into the war, and was taken prisoner when in February 1942 the Japanese stunningly captured Singapore, the centre of the British Empire in the Far East. He writes clearly and non-dramatically about the horrific deprivations, the near starvation, dirt, beatings, water torture that came with being a prisoner of war, especially after he was arrested for being one of a party in possession of a radio. More than these even, was the uncertainty even about the immediate future and the sense of sheer arbitrariness of knowing that your entire future life was out of your hands - so the complete depersonalisation and deprivation of personal agency was almost the hardest thing to deal with. In his post-war career, Lomax worked in the last colonial administration of Ghana. It was only later in his 50s and 60s that he started to be able to talk about his experiences, initially only to fellow ex-POWs, then later on to those campaigning to support the victims of torture. His personal wish to gain closure as to whether he and his fellow sufferers had been betrayed or whether the discovery of the radio was pure chance, led to discover Nagase in the end. The last couple of chapters of the book are a moving account of the transition between a desire for understanding and revenge through cycles of grief to acceptance, friendship and forgiveness. This was a great read.
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now called PTSD affecting his life and relationships, until he was able to come to terms with it eventually by tracking down and meeting one of his Japanese interrogators (Takashi Nagase, an interpreter, in fact) and their being reconciled with each other, Nagase having spent decades of his post-war life trying to bring about reconciliation between the bitter war-time enemies. This encounter was the subject of an award-winning TV documentary.Lomax was keen on trains from an early age but followed his father into the Post Office in Edinburgh when he finished his education. Born in 1919, he was of the generation that went straight into the war, and was taken prisoner when in February 1942 the Japanese stunningly captured Singapore, the centre of the British Empire in the Far East. He writes clearly and non-dramatically about the horrific deprivations, the near starvation, dirt, beatings, water torture that came with being a prisoner of war, especially after he was arrested for being one of a party in possession of a radio. More than these even, was the uncertainty even about the immediate future and the sense of sheer arbitrariness of knowing that your entire future life was out of your hands - so the complete depersonalisation and deprivation of personal agency was almost the hardest thing to deal with. In his post-war career, Lomax worked in the last colonial administration of Ghana. It was only later in his 50s and 60s that he started to be able to talk about his experiences, initially only to fellow ex-POWs, then later on to those campaigning to support the victims of torture. His personal wish to gain closure as to whether he and his fellow sufferers had been betrayed or whether the discovery of the radio was pure chance, led to discover Nagase in the end. The last couple of chapters of the book are a moving account of the transition between a desire for understanding and revenge through cycles of grief to acceptance, friendship and forgiveness. This was a great read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member zmagic69
This was an amazing book about the torture and abuse POW's suffered at the hands of the Japanese during WW 2, building the folly known as the Burma railway.
The author Eric Lomax suffered horrendous beatings and torture when a map of the railway was discovered in his kit bag. For the next 40 years
The author is actually rather restrained when detailing the torture and conditions they suffered, the book "The Narrow Road To The Deep North" while being a historical fiction book details the conditions far more vivid than Mr Lomax, the author of this book, does.
The hatred that the author holds towards the Japanese is understandable but after more than 40 years he manages to start to get the kind of medical treatment and therapy he truly has needed all along. At this time he finds out "the interpreter" a Japanese soldier he has particular hatred for, has written a book, and decides he needs to confront him.
As painful as this confrontation will be Mr Lomax goes through with it and finds a way to forgive.
This book also touches albeit lightly on the fact that the Japanese, were never made to own up/pay up for the atrocities they committed in Korea, China, and the building of the Burma railway. The mindset of the emperor and the military, the belief that they were superior to all other people, cultures, and countries and their blind devotion and belief that they would prevail, is another example, of why this portion of WW2 needed to come to an end as soon as possible. The author thankfully does not go into any analysis or give his opinion regarding the use of atomic weapons on Japan.
The author Eric Lomax suffered horrendous beatings and torture when a map of the railway was discovered in his kit bag. For the next 40 years
Show More
these men who suffered this abuse tried to go on and live life. This was before people were ever treated for PTSD, or anything else like it. What these men had to deal with is impossible to imagine. The author is actually rather restrained when detailing the torture and conditions they suffered, the book "The Narrow Road To The Deep North" while being a historical fiction book details the conditions far more vivid than Mr Lomax, the author of this book, does.
The hatred that the author holds towards the Japanese is understandable but after more than 40 years he manages to start to get the kind of medical treatment and therapy he truly has needed all along. At this time he finds out "the interpreter" a Japanese soldier he has particular hatred for, has written a book, and decides he needs to confront him.
As painful as this confrontation will be Mr Lomax goes through with it and finds a way to forgive.
This book also touches albeit lightly on the fact that the Japanese, were never made to own up/pay up for the atrocities they committed in Korea, China, and the building of the Burma railway. The mindset of the emperor and the military, the belief that they were superior to all other people, cultures, and countries and their blind devotion and belief that they would prevail, is another example, of why this portion of WW2 needed to come to an end as soon as possible. The author thankfully does not go into any analysis or give his opinion regarding the use of atomic weapons on Japan.
Show Less
Awards
Ackerley Prize (Winner — 1996)
NCR Book Award (Winner — 1996)