Beyond the Bukubuk Tree
Loretta Goldberg
MadeGlobal Publishing (2024)
ISBN: 978-8412 for Rea5)
Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: A World War II Novel of Love and Loss, by Loretta Goldberg, brings us a riveting work of literary historical fiction. Against this Aussie backdrop, you’ll find passion and betrayal, but it’s balanced by heroism and redemption. This wartime WWII drama will break your heart, give you hope, and place you directly into a pivotal, dangerous place in history.
The two main characters are from different walks of life, and both have secrets. Jake Friedman is a young Jewish doctor with a positive outlook on life, while Alex Whipple is a WWI veteran who carries inner battle scars. Both want to do what’s right in this world, but have different ways of going about it. They have secrets as they get ready for war, and their paths cross while stationed at Rabaul, a port town they need to defend. Soon, they realize there is an attraction between them, and they both fight for their lives during a Japanese invasion.
Goldberg paints a harrowingly detailed novel with many emotional layers born from the magnetic forces between these two leading men. They face adversity with different faces, and your emotions are engaged from the moment you meet these characters. It’s a love story of two men just trying to survive in a world that seems hellbent on tearing them down. Their love is illegal, so there is much at stake, and you turn pages wanting to know how it all turns out for the two of them.
The story opens with Dr. Jake Friedman treating children with polio, and you feel his frustration. The abundant details mark the author as a thorough, genuine researcher, but more than that, they mark a gifted storyteller. The facts underpin a sweeping story that manages to remain personal and intimate, thanks to the author’s skillful fiction-crafting. Good dialogue carries the story along on a breeze, and there is a good balance between it and exposition. Plot, settings, and dialogue are well-balanced. You’ll find multicultural elements, war scenes, and medical themes–wrapped in a story grounded in love.
This is a novel that unfolds in its own time, and in a way that leads you to trust the author to deliver on what she promises in the beginning. It’s an immersive read all the way through, never disappointing, non-exploitative, and has an ending that is completely satisfying and well-earned.
I love how it’s a survival story on multiple levels: physical survival, emotional survival, and romantic survival. Rich character development makes Jake and Alex come to life, and the originality of the plot is refreshing. If you like underdog stories where the odds are against the main characters and they have to fight for what they want, then you don’t want to miss the opportunity to read and enjoy Beyond the Bukubuk Tree, by Loretta Goldberg. This book is one that you’ll want to read more than once and recommend to your friends.
Beyond the Bukubuk Tree
Loretta Goldberg
MadeGlobal Publishing (2024)
ISBN: 978-8412232585
Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Reader Views (06/2025)
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