''The White Pearl'' is a 2011 novel by

Kate Furnivall Kate Furnivall is a British historical novelist who is well known for the debut novel, '' The Russian Concubine''. Early life Furnivall was born to an English father and White Russian mother. She grew up with a twin sister, an older brother an ...

set during the Japanese occupation of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in the early 1940s. ''The White Pearl's'' initially takes place on a rubber plantation, later moving onto the yacht from which the novel takes its name.

Plot

The novel's

main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, Constance "Connie" Hadley, accidentally kills a Malay woman who places a

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

upon Hadley and her family several minutes before passing away. The killed woman is the mother of teenage twins, Maya and Razak, and Hadley endeavours to meet with the pair after a troubling guilt affects her already fragile marriage to Nigel. Despite her husband's protests, Hadley decides to meet the sixteen-year-old twins, who in turn seek revenge against Hadley, and the brother and sister proceed to instead

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

with Hadley's son, Teddy. It is December 1941 and, following their

attack Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, Japanese forces are seeking to occupy Malaya. The

British forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

stationed in Malaya are

overpowered ''Overpowered'' is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy. It was released on 15 October 2007 by EMI Records. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its predece ...

and the Hadleys are forced to sail to Singapore in their yacht, ''The White Pearl''. Connie subsequently struggles for survival with her family as, along with numerous other passengers the couple have assisted to flee, they seek shelter on an island after Singapore also loses its status as an option for safety.

Characters

* Constance "Connie" Hadley (née Thornton): Wife of a plantation owner whose painful past involved an affair with a Japanese man, Shohei Takehashi. * Fitzpayne: A mysterious man whom Connie hires to skipper her yacht ''The White Pearl'' and sworn brother of Sho after he was orphaned at the age of 12. * Shohei Takehashi: A Japanese spy and Connie's former lover who accidentally falls on his knife in a struggle with Connie. * Nigel Hadley: Connie's husband and a rubber plantation owner who is fond of Razak. * Teddy Hadley: Connie's seven-year-old son. * Morgan Madoc: Main villain who colludes with the Japanese. * Kitty: Madoc's spunky wife. * Harriet: Connie's friend who dies after being poisoned. * Johnnie Blake: Nigel's best friend, and a wounded British war pilot. * Henry: Harriet's husband. * Maya: Razak's sister, who holds a grudge against Connie because she accidentally killed her mother with her car. * Razak: Maya's brother who is treated by Nigel like a son. * Hakim: Maya's pimp at the "Purple Pussy". * Chala: Teddy's nanny. * Japanese Pilot: rescued by folks on the White Pearl, against his will. * Nurrul: Malaysian sailor who has lost his wife and child, friend of Fitzpayne. * General Takehashi: Sho's father.

Reception

Reception for ''The White Pearl'' has been mostly positive.

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

and the Lytham St Annes Express gave a positive review for the book, with Kirkus calling the book a "ripping yarn".

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

wrote that the ending of the book was "somewhat implausible" but that the overall book was "engrossing".

References

External links

Official author site
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Pearl British romance novels 2011 British novels Novels by Kate Furnivall Novels set in Malaysia Novels set during World War II Sphere Books books