Ann Bennett

Book Review………...The Orphan House by Ann Bennett

Baby born September 5th 1934 approximately.
Place of birth, unknown;
father, unknown;
mother unknown.

While going through a difficult divorce Sarah Jennings decides to go to her father's home. But when she arrives she finds him unwell and on a mission! In the crumbling halls of Cedar Hall, a local orphanage home are secrets about their family and he needs her help.

Sarah goes to speak to Connie Burroughs, the only person left alive who lived at Cedar Hall. But Connie has promised her dad to always protect his secrets.

Can Sarah convince Connie to open up to her & if she does what heartbreak and consequences will the truth bring?

This really was a great story! It's told from three different points of view & switches between the past & present & it moves smoothly! Connie's flashbacks were definitely a great add. It helps to give the reader an understanding of what actually happened when her father was alive. It's a story about family, mystery, a cover up that goes back decades & at times heartbreaking! Truly a wonderful story!

… (més)

Connie and Evie Burroughs were raised alongside many other children, her father ran what was known as The Orphan House. They never turned anyone away, and often her father found homes for the numerous babies left on their doorsteps. How a mother could do this, Connie had always questioned. It was a tough upbringing and the two girls eventually became teachers and then lived the rest of their lives out in Cedar Hall, the home behind where the orphanage used to reside. Her sister has passed and now she is the only left to keep the secrets.

Sarah’s life has abruptly changed course after finding out her husband was doing some shady business deals and cheating on her with another co-worker. She is wanting to start new and fresh and strengthen the relationship with her father. Her father has always struggled with the fact that he was an orphan and wants to find out who he really is before his time is up, so she decides to dive into the search as well.

After having exhausted various agencies and hitting brick walls with old records either being lost or unknown Sarah decides to try and confront the one person who might still have the knowledge of her fathers background – Connie Burroughs. Her father at one time did attempt to talk to the sisters but he was turned away and told to never reach out again. Now it’s only Connie and Sarah has a feeling that she knows more than she is letting on, will Connie be able to come to terms with the secrets she’s held all of these decades and finally tell someone the truth of the orphan house.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the free book. This was a really great historical read and loosely based on true places and events makes it that much more interesting. I love how the author brought the present and past all together in this one.… (més)

This third book in Ann Bennett’s Bamboo Trilogy complements the earlier books but can be read on its own. It tells the story of Sirinya, a young Thai girl who, with her family, helped some of the prisoners building the Burma railway during the Second World War. We meet Sirinya when she returns to Thailand in the 1970s after the death of her English husband. There had been dreadful consequences following from the family’s kind actions during wartime and now Sirinya seeks the person responsible for their betrayal.

The awful experiences of the British servicemen and the terrifying bravery of those involved in the Thai underground movement do not make easy reading but I had no idea that local aid had been given and the way they managed to deceive the Japanese soldiers is intriguing. Sirinya’s family are convincingly portrayed and I desperately hoped for a happy outcome.

The contrasting scenery in the countryside, in the rain forest and in Bangkok are vividly described and Sirinya’s feelings of love, despair and acceptance reflect events realistically. Other characters such as her determined, strong mother, Kitima, the quiet, reserved soldier, Johnny and the gentle, supportive Kasem flesh out this unusual tale with people I could imagine and would like to meet. A very thought-provoking novel which is well worth reading.… (més)