Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: A World War II Novel of Love and Loss

From the award-winning author of The Reversible Mask: An Elizabethan Spy Novel comes an International Firebird Book Award-winning searing tale of passion, redemption, betrayal, and heroism.

New Guinea, 1941. Heroism, sacrifice and ultimately, hope, transcend the terrifying war.

Two men preparing for war, both with secrets they are determined to keep. Jake Friedman, an idealistic young Jewish doctor from Melbourne, is haunted by the death of a colleague he thinks he caused. Alex Whipple, a Catholic known as Wip, is a soul-scarred veteran of the First World War. Wip is an enigma who fights bullies on behalf of their victims yet has a chequered past in the wild side of post-war Paris that he is determined to forget.

Both are posted to Lark Force, a lone and under-resourced battalion defending the port town of Rabaul. It’s not long before Jake and Wip feel a deep pull of attraction. When the Japanese invade Rabaul, their battalion is abandoned by its government. Improvising a desperate jungle retreat, fighting rain, insects, disease, and vengeful Japanese pursuers, Jake will face the ultimate trials of his courage as Wip struggles to find the will to live.

***

This meticulously researched and richly textured novel is set in a lesser-known battle of the Pacific War. The strength of the human spirit, the bonds of love, and the resilience of diverse communities are tested against the backdrop of these battles. “Beyond the Bukubuk Tree” is a gripping saga of courage, love, and survival in the face of overwhelming adversity.

PRAISE FOR BEYOND THE BUKUBUK TREE

This is a war novel like no other, an aching love-story of two people trying to do right when everything around them has gone wrong. With incredibly rich detail in her characters and their struggles, treating childhood polio, indigenous Tolai beliefs, the Aussie army during World War II and much more. Central to the story is a Jewish physician fighting his affection for a fellow officer, and a captivating, widely diverse supporting cast. With lyrical descriptions, the reader is absorbed into a time and place that history has forgotten, the tropical paradise of Rabaul on the deadly Pacific front line.
Nev March, author of award-winning Murder in Old Bombay

“Exquisite battle sequences of utter chaos. Readers can taste the feel of being outnumbered with antique WWI ordnance, all communications cut off, and no place to go. Homage to James Michener, Herman Wouk, and James Jones.”
Roger Crossland, retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer and author of The Abalone Ukulele

“You convey so well in your writing that Tolia people while very respectful are also a very proud lot.”
Tolai researcher Angelique Guranah, Director, Niugini Sindauk Ltd.

“Gripping and sensual love story between two Australian officers during World War Two New Guinea, one a doctor driven to heal, the other an officer with a past he is determined to forget. Amid the worlds of army camp and hospital, the native Tolai, and the fight against fungus sores, malaria, and polio, Jake falls in love with the enigmatic Wip, love which was then against the law. The two men’s spiritual and physical bond will face even dire challenges as the first enemy bombs fall. BEYOND is an utterly fascinating nove. lMagically done. Very hard to put down, impossible to forget.”
Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude & Camille and The Boy in the Rain, American Book Award