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Escape to Pagan

The True Story of One Family's Fight to Survive in World War II Occupied Asia

By (author) Brian Devereux
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Casemate Publishers, United States
Published: 30th Apr 2016
Dimensions: w 152mm h 238mm d 39mm
Weight: 620g
ISBN-10: 1612003737
ISBN-13: 9781612003733
Barcode No: 9781612003733
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Synopsis
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.

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4.5/5 stars

This pulse-pounding Hong Kong war memoir hinges on a stunning event: the felling of the protagonist, Royal Scots Regiment sergeant Jack Devereux, shot in the head after leading an attack against the Japanese on Golden Hill in 1941. ... The Devereux saga is tremendously gripping and gory. * South China Morning Post 01/04/2016 * Beautiful, battle-scarred and deadly landscapes ranging from Burma to Japan are the backdrop for the Devereux family's trials and tribulations. This riveting book reads more like a work of fiction than an incredible but true story. * Toy Soldier and Model Figure magazine *