Humorous story of adjustments to life in Borneo, by a Californian.
Agnes Newton Keith Books
Agnes Keith was an American author whose writings were deeply informed by her personal experiences in British North Borneo. With sensitivity and humor, she captured the essence of life within an exotic colonial society, depicting local peoples with affection and sympathy. Her prose offered a unique perspective on cultural encounters and the resilience of the human spirit, particularly during the hardships of wartime internment. Keith's work provides readers with an intimate look at navigating the complexities of life in a foreign land, marked by keen observation and enduring strength.
When the Japanese swept through Borneo in 1942, Agnes Keith was captured with her two-year-old son. Even though keeping notes was a capital offence, she wrote a diary on the backs of labels and in the margins of old newspapers, which she buried in tins or sewed inside her sons home-made toys. Unlike many other narrators of camp life, Agnes Keith gives an honest and rounded description of her Japanese captors. The camp commander, Colonel Suga, was responsible for a forced march which killed all but three out of 2,970 prisoners; yet he regularly took children for joy-rides in his car, stuffing them with sweets, and sent them back to camp with armfuls of flowers from his garden
