Manila, goodbye

Manila, goodbye by Prising, Robin. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780395204320.

This true story of a boyhood brings to life the elegant Far East of the thirties - and the sharply contrasting years of the Japanese occupation of Manila. Robin, the child, begins his voyages of discovery in the stately Empress of Japan and in the imperious limousine that sped his family in style straight to the gates of World War Two. Separated from his parents when war breaks out, Robin is forced into early independence. He confronts on his own the experiences of detention home and prison camp, culminating in the long starvation at Santo Tomas. Notable in his life are the magnificent black woman, Mrs. Sanders, who teaches him the ways of survival - the rowdy boys, his fellow prisoners, who find a hilarious way of dealing with an obstreperous lady acrobat - the kindly Mrs. Ohashi - the brutal Lieutenant Abiko. A book of tenderness and gaiety in the face of stark events, Manila, Goodbye celebrates the triumph of the human spirit. --- from books dustjacket