The Amber Road by Boyd Anderson tells the story of the Khoo family who lived in luxury in colonial Singapore.  Albert Khoo was a wealthy businessman who had more than one wife but his first wife and their children never talked of another family.  Albert Khoo had a son and three daughters by Molly his wife.  Their lives were very connected with a British family, the Bousteads. The Boustead family were also wealthy business owners and lived nearby. They lived near the sea.

The Japanese invaded Singapore and life changed dramatically.  Albert Khoo evacuated the family after the sea wall was demolished by a bomb in an air raid.

To me the book was an interesting point on how a family or a few families coped during an occupation. Some family members coped better than others. Of course they had a drastic change in their lifestyle.  Life was an uncertain time and frightening for the younger members of the families.  Then following the occupation difficulties existed trying to sort life out again and it was the end of an Era.

Carolyn Nicolau

Book Group 2, November 30, 2016