Only Birds Above

(Paperback)

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War doesn't happen just to the soldier- its effects and after-effects are felt down the generations. Only Birds Above by Portland Jones spans two wars and two generations, looking at the lasting impacts of war on the lives it touches. This is the story of Arthur Watkins, blacksmith, who leaves his beloved young wife Helen to serve with the 10th Light Horse Regiment in the Middle East in World War I. He returns without his horse, a man forever changed by what he has seen and suffered. Years later, Arthur's children, Ruth and Tom, are still feeling the effects of the first war when Tom is sent by his father to work in Sumatra. Tom is there in 1942 when the Japanese invade and is taken prisoner. This is the story of two wars that divide and unite a father and son, and all the years that lie in between.

Reviews

"This novel perfectly and poignantly takes you into battle with men and horses at war, and captures the pain and beauty, along with the slivers of hope, carried by the mothers, wives, sons and daughters left behind." --Jon Doust

Author Bio

Portland Jones is a writer, lecturer and horse trainer who lives and works in the Swan Valley. She has a PhD in Literature and her first novel, Seeing the Elephant, was shortlisted for the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. Only Birds Above is her second novel. She has also co-authored a non-fiction book, Horses Hate Surprise Parties. Portland is currently working on a third novel and another non-fiction book.