Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: A World War II Novel of Love and Loss

Written by Loretta Goldberg
Review by Joanne Vickers

Goldberg writes this taut, dramatic novel to honor her childhood memory of an uncle who served in Australia’s World War II Lark Force. She has spent considerable effort in researching this widely forgotten, lamentable episode in military history to create a page-turning story.

Jake Friedman, the protagonist, is a naïve, young Jewish doctor who joins the military because of his guilt about a young colleague who was killed in an automobile accident when he was driving a car. It is 1941. Jake is sent to a remote post in Rabaul, New Guinea, where he works enthusiastically with the native population, even developing a novel treatment for helping young patients suffering from polio. Jake’s interactions with these people are developed with detailed energy.

Jake is gay though he has tried to hide his sexuality for the sake of his family in Melbourne who expect him to marry and have children. In Rabaul, he meets a man he falls in love with, though his background and experience are much different. In spite of various difficulties, including the necessity for keeping their love secret and the threatening war, they eke out a tender relationship that Goldberg portrays with care.

The Japanese invade New Guinea shortly after Pearl Harbor. The invasion is brutal. The Australians are confronted with the enemy in a jungle terrain with very few military defenses and overwhelming threats such as mosquitoes and polluted water. The author’s descriptions of this warfare are detailed, almost cinematic. This is not an easy novel to read, but it is a remarkable testimony to the human spirit.