Book Review : The Purple Plain

The book is set in the Burma of 1945, the Japanese are meant to be in retreat, but they’re still firmly in the minds of the local population who are worried their enemy will return.

Squadron Leader Forrester is the commander at an air station on the “purple plain” of Burma, but gradually loses the will to live once he hears his young wife has been killed in the London Blitz. However, he meets a young Burmese woman, Anna, who has experienced wartime trauma too.

Forrester pilots a plane along with a young navigator called Carrington and an officer called Blore who is probably suffering from PTSD due to his active service in the region.

An engine on the plane has an oil leak that causes an engine fire and Forrester has to crash land in the unforgiving jungle. Blore has brought a lot of personal items which he manages to rescue, but Carrington is not so lucky and he is badly burned. Forrester carries Carrington on his back and they play a game of horse and jockey to help them get through the roasting hot conditions as they try to walk to safety. Blore gradually drifts away physically and mentally.

The ending shows how a positive attitude can help even in the direst situations