Singapore set Journey to Paradise by Paula Greenlees

Submitted: 8th March 2021

Sail to Singapore with Paula Greenlees

Singapore set Journey to Paradise by Paula Greenlees – When Miranda moves to the Alexandra Quarter with husband Gerry, she hopes it will bring the fresh start they need. Their life in ex-pat society is one of luxury, however there is something wrong, something missing and Miranda feels abandoned and lost as she is not allowed to work and her husband is never at home.

Things start to improve when Nick, a doctor, encourages her to work within the local community helping children in the local hospital.

However, Singapore is not the place to be right now – riots are erupting across the region and danger is getting ever closer…

Booktrail the locations in Journey to Paradise

Singapore set Journey to Paradise by Paula Greenlees

Setting: Singapore – the houses and the lush gardens

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Journey to Paradise

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Sail to Singapore with the expats in Journey to Paradise

I have just spent the most luscious and vividly described time in Singapore. Miranda is out there with her husband Gregg, but she feels lost in her new home. She’s there to support him but soon finds that he is always out and doesn’t understand why she is unhappy. She spends time walking, exploring her new home, wanders the streets into the markets and getting to know the locals.

In BookTrail terms, this is exquisite – we get driven around the city in the novel in an expat car, visit posh homes, wander and explore as the characters do in the novel. The descriptions of the setting, the smells, noises, colours is wonderful. You can tell the author has spent some time here and that there are some very fond memories of it. I think she channels that magic feeling of discovering something for the first time via Miranda and it’s lovely to read. You get all the feels here – the scent of the flowers, the food, the scent of the air and oh, those sunsets….

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Journey to Paradise

The novel is not all lush description however. There’s obviously a dangerous political situation unfolding as the story develops. Much of this happens ‘ off stage’ but the characters react and talk about the situation and analyse their role in their host country. I felt the women were desperate to do more than have coffee and look after their babies but were restricted from doing so,. The focus was on them, their men seemed distant and disconnected from their wives experiences in this new land. No wonder Miranda starts to explore and want something more. When Nick offers her the chance to help in the local community, she jumps at the chance. Guess who objects though?

I really felt for Miranda. Alone in a foreign and very different country. Your husband might be there, but he’s distant. Nick and Miranda get close. Gerry her husband starts to stay out later. Marriages break down here. There’s not much mixing between the locals and the expats and that is very sad to see.

There’s plenty of scene setting and you learn quite a bit about the battles, troubles and the difficult relationships between the authorities and the people. There is trouble brewing and a great sense of unease throughout.

A nice ending, a just ending and it was the most wonderfully scenic journey getting there.