Wanderers No More

Wanderers No More is the sequel to Port Of No Return, but stands successfully as a historical novel in its own right. I hadn't read the first book and didn't find myself feeling as though I was missing information although, on the strength of Wanderers No More, I have now added Port Of No Return to my TBR list. The story begins with a poignant description of the Italian Saforo family coming into sight of the Australian coast, an entirely new land which they must make into their home. The phrase about this boat full of refugees 'holding their children's hands and not much else' really hit home to me the experience of these people. I was reminded that many thousands of displaced people are facing similar journeys now, some seventy years later, but often without the support of their families or their new nation.

My great-uncle emigrated to Australia as a Ten Pound Pom in the 1950s so I already knew about that wave of Australian immigration, but had no idea of the many our Europeans who undertook the same sea voyage a decade earlier. Saftich brings their lives into focus through the Saforos integration. I did sometimes feel that there were strange jumps in the narrative, events and decisions that weren't sufficiently explained, but I hadn't realised until the very end of the book that it is based on a true story. Conversations and the like have obviously been imagined, but most of the people we meet really did exist. I love the extra dimension this adds - and real life never does run as smoothly as a novel!