Little Exiles

<i>“Everyone must come out of his Exile in his own way.” </i><br /> <br /> ---Martin Buber, <i>an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher </i><br /><br />Robert Dinsdale, one of my favorite English authors, has woven a spectacular tale about illegal immigration of little children to Australia with or without the consent of their guardians, in his book, <i>Little Exiles </i>.<br /><br /><b>Synopsis: </b><br /><i>In Leeds in the year of 1948, a eight year old’s father doesn't return home, weeks later, that same boy is sent off to Chapeltown Boy’s Home of the Children’s Crusade by his mother and all the while the boy believed that it's just a short matter of time until he return backs to his own home with his mother and his twin elder sisters. But fate had stored something else for him. Two months later, that same boy along with his few friends that he managed to make in his two-months stay at the Children’s Crusade, are also on the same ship which is destined to reach the land of red-earth- Australia. Thus begins the story/journey of the little boy named Jon Heather, who happened to be forcefully sent off to an exile in an unknown land. He along with his friends, George and Pete, they fall, survive, and learn to accept their new lives in Australia. Read it to have a first-hand experience of a true, raw and very Kiwi tale which is packed with only adventures. </i><br /><br />The author has researched extensively to pen down his tale and after reading this story, I can only say that he has done full justice to this deeply moving and very provoking tale. The author has investigated the whole illegal and forceful adoption of aboriginal kids brought in from the United Kingdom’s to Australia. And narrating the story from the eyes of these little kids will only fill your heart with anger and sympathy. These kids are made to believe that their parents are dead and hence they are sent off to Australia for a better future, whereas they are sent off to a boy's hostel where they are taught to be a farmer and sometimes are forcefully adopted into some Australian families. Jon Heather is a fictional character but he sounds very much like some kid's painful life-story. This fictional Jon Heather is the epitome of many real Jon Heathers who are estranged from their family and are never ever found by their parents. <br /><br />The narration is perfect and very smooth, and from the very first page, I felt myself losing away into the core of the tale. The author has unfolded the whole journey of Jon and his friend's step-by-step and it mainly focuses on Jon's life, how a trauma can kill the whole opportunity for him to grow up as a man. It certainly left him with feeling of longing in his heart. The best vibe that I got from the book is that no matter what Jon never lost hope even for once to re-unite with his family. The characters apart from Jon can only make you love them more, especially Georgie Boy, the bed-wetter- his whole innocence about being naive to the whole situation of exile is quite heart-touching. Pete is another character to fall for, who is elder most in his group and he is the ultimate decision-maker. I’d like to hats off to the author for giving life to the story of a boy and his lost childhood with such brilliance. The plot is also packed with full of crazy adventures and some action scenes that will only make your adrenaline to rush.<br /><br /><b>Verdict: </b> <i>A compelling and enlightening book that will only touch your very soul and will make you see some hard-core truth behind those illegal immigration of little children and they are stripped away from their childhood. </i><br /><br /><b>Courtesy: </b> <i>Many many thanks to the author, Robert Dinsdale, for giving me the opportunity to read and review his incredible novel. </i>

Novel based on the historic movement of child in post war Britain to Australia where there was abuse and this novel is about jon heather and when he moves to Australia from the childrens home in chapeltown area of Leeds. this charts his journey. enjoyed this novel

I didn't know what rating between 3.5 and 4 to give this book, I didn't really like or engage with Jon Heather, but that is the point. Well done Mr Dinsdale for depicting one of the main characters as a strange disengaged boy with an unstable mind and an overwhelming and all consuming desire to return to England after he has spent years in a children's mission in Australia a victim of the cruel practice of shipping children out there when parents became ill or could no longer cope. They suffered such hardships and depravation and were devoid of such human emotions we so take for granted, just for having a normal upbringing. A return is not always the joyous encounter that has been dreamt of or hoped for either!

I liked the idea for this book more than the execution. Based on real stories /research my heart goes out to the vulnerable young boys who were told their parents were dead and then shipped from the UK to Australia, where they endured hardships from the system and the environment. However I found the pace of the novel too slow and the characters to be less well developed than I would have liked. I wasn't gripped to find out what happened to Jon, George and Peter and struggled to keep motivated to read to the end. There are some nice touches, such as revealing the history of the main 'man in black' who becomes the main nemesis of the children. Overall okay but not wow for me.

I loved this book. Deeply compelling and at times quite hard to read it is the story of children sent to Australia for a "better life". Often told they are orphans and housed in poor accommodation the life they have to endure at times cannot be described as "good" by any stretch of the imagination. Focussing on three boys who are friends on the journey out it is fascinating to see the differing approaches to surviving the situation they find themselves in.<br /><br />Where do you belong when you feel you don't belong anywhere - highly recommended.

A highly moving and thought provoking story of the 'export' of children in the mid twentieth century, from children's homes in the uk to Australia. The story follows boys transported at the end of the second world war but draws in details from other 'crusades' Also touched upon is the shameful practice of the forced adoption of aboriginal children. Beautifully written with a compelling story and believable characters, this should do very well this year.

Leeds, Christmas 1948, and nine year old Jon Heather anxiously awaits his father’s return from the war, but times are hard for the Heather family, and even though Jon’s mother tries to hold her family together, she is in desperate circumstances. When she leaves Jon at the Chapeltown Boy’s Home of the Children’s Crusade, she promises to return for him in two months time, but as weeks pass with no news of his mother, Jon like all the other abandoned boys at the Children’s crusade must watch and wait and hope for a better future. What then follows, is a harrowing story of the forced migration of orphan and abandoned children, who were sent from England to Australia, ostensibly to a land filled with promise and great opportunity.<br />Based on fact, this fictional story is graphic in its depiction of what happened to the children once they reached Australia, and although at times it makes for uncomfortable reading, there is an overwhelming urge to continue with the story, in the hope that life will get better for them in this land of plenty. Jon is a spirited and reliable narrator, and throughout his story, I was reminded of Victorian Gothic novels, were orphans were exploited and used abominably, and then I had to forcibly remind myself that this story was far from Gothic, and had only happened within the last sixty or so years. <br /><br />Beautifully written, the author Robert Dinsdale has a real flair for storytelling and despite the burden of sadness which pervades in Little Exiles, there is also a story of friendship, loyalty and the eventual realisation that home is wherever you can find it.<br /><br />I am sure that this book will be featured on many a book group’s to be read list. Within it there is much to discuss, and more importantly, so much that remains with you long after the book is finished.<br />5 *****<br />My thanks to Newbooks for a review copy of this book.<br /><br /><br /><br />

The Little Exiles chiefly tells Jon Heather's story of how he was sent to the Chapeltown Boys' Home when his mother's health declines. Jon is convinced through the early weeks that his mother will come for him but it is not to be and instead he finds himself on a boat to Australia. Not long ago he had been an eight year old boy waiting for his father to return home from World War II, now he has lost his mother, his twin elder sisters and gained a group of boys, both friendly and unfriendly, for a long voyage.<br /><br />Jon's story has a real ring of authenticity about it; we all now know that historically many children's homes were not caring places. Cut adrift from all they have known Jon and his two closest friends, Peter and George, have to find their own way to survive. Ways to cope with the men in black who they know are child snatchers who don't need to wait until darkness to come. There are many characters in this book which covers more than fifteen years of Jon's life.<br /><br />Although this book is well told as well being a worthy story to tell it didn't grip me. It is a long book, 426 pages, and I didn't take to Jon's character. I think this was probably intentional, after all a boy separated from all he knows by thousands of miles is not going to be unscathed, but in all honesty I found the middle section a bit of a slog. I did however enjoy the last section, where the lessons the boys learnt early in life become crystallised.

This was an eye-opening read. With people focussing on the 'Stolen Generation' (aboriginal children) I often would think "What about all the kids taken from the UK; told their parents were dead and sent to Australia". Their story needs to be heard too, and Robert Dinsdale did a fine job. I found I wanted to know the characters better, and to find out how their lives turned out.<br /><br />I was left wanting more!

The story starts out well (horrible subject obviously) and it's very easy to get lost into the story until the shoehorned Aboriginal bit (also horrible subject). After that the narative gets too jumbled and jumps to much to keep a hold of it, the time pacing feels off like the Author only had a few chapters to go from boy to Man and he rushed it to finish the story. By the end I wasn't interested with the ending - disappointed.