D'alpuget, Blanche

New York. 1983. Simon & Schuster. 1st Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0671492411. 288 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Fred Marcellino. keywords: Literature Australia Women. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Moving through the landscape of postcolonial Southeast Asia, from the green cricket lawns of an old British men's club now peopled with the new colonials - Chinese businessmen, Indian doctors, and assorted Westerners - to the squalid, disease-ridden camps of the boat people, TURTLE BEACH is a masterful portrayal of the clash of cultures - East and West. The stunning American debut of a highly acclaimed young Australian writer, this award-winning novel, set in Australia and Malaysia, is the story of Judith Wilkes, a journalist who goes to Kuala Lumpur to report on the plight of the boat people. Through a narrative that is sensuous and richly textured, the novel chronicles Judith's journey of discovery - of the mysterious and turbulent Southeast Asian land and its people, a racial and ethnic stew threatening to boil over, and of herself. In Kuala Lumpur Judith encounters a variety of characters: Minou, the quixotic, seductive French Vietnamese wife of the Australian ambassador, who fascinates Judith and lures her into her game; Kanan, the magnetic Indian physician who becomes the object of Judith's infatuation; and Ralph Hamilton, the pale, ambitious diplomat who equivocates in the face of the appalling horror of the refugee camps. Through a skein of imagery and description that is powerful and evocative. d'Alpuget creates an almost palpable Malaysia - steamy, languorous, sensual, with a vibrant and colorful landscape and culture. She traces Judith's confrontations with her cultural heritage, her sexuality and her freedom as a woman as the novel moves inexorably to its tragic climax on the coast of East Malaysia. TURTLE BEACH is an extraordinary novel, a compelling tale of passion, and a personal odyssey as well as a beautiful rendering of a culture in turmoil. inventory #2324 ISBN: 0671492411.