The Dark Side Of The Island (1980) - Plot & Excerpts
I think it’s a sign of Jack Higgins’s talent for storytelling that I blew through this book in three sittings. I’ve read several of his books over the last 20 years, but I hadn’t read this one yet. It tells the story of a former British commando who goes back to a small Greek island 17 years after his WWII mission there. He’s hoping to find himself again and look up some of his old friends. But instead of being reunited with old friends, everyone on the island thinks he squealed to the Germans and is responsible for most the village being sent to concentration camps. Several of them are still out for revenge. The story is told in three parts: Lomax coming back to the island and finding out that almost everyone there would like to kill him, a long flashback of the WWII mission (I know flashback sometimes are bad things, but this one is well-done), and then Lomax finding out what really happened. Lots of action, fun characters, some romance. Mostly clean (probably PG). It also sparked some thinking. During the WWII portion of the book, one of the characters, the village priest, asked Captain Lomax if the mission was really worth it. Would it change the course of the war? Was it worth the likely backlash from the Germans? The other villagers were willing to risk it, and Lomax said “If that argument were pursued to its logical end in every theatre of war, the ending might be different,” but the question stays with you throughout the book. Lomax’s mission was to destroy a radar-type station helping the German Navy wreck havoc with Allied shipping. It was significant, but so were the costs to the villagers. And Lomax’s quest to find the truth seventeen years later also came with a cost.Not perfect (probably more 4.5 stars than 5 stars), but enjoyable and worth your time if you like WWII commando novels or whodunit stories.
What do You think about The Dark Side Of The Island (1980)?
