Customer Reviews

Purple Plain

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Bates never wastes words, and this is one of his longer works, but it moves briskly.
Bates's perennially popular World War II novel tells the story of three very different men who, after their aircraft crashes, are forced to trek miles across the Burmese wilderness to safety. The names of the three are Carrington, Blore, and Forrester. The story is told through the eyes of Forrester, the leader whom the other two don't trust.
After his young wife has been killed during the Blitz, Forrester wishes to die in combat as a pilot. But when his plane crash-lands in enemy territory in Burma, he realizes that he must save himself in order to guide his two injured companions to safety. As they cross the Burmese desert with no food and little water Forrester's will to live grows stronger than ever.

This could be a Humphrey Bogart movie - the embittered pilot posted to a far away place in wartime, finding solace interacting with the locals only to find himself fighting to survive in the jungle after his plane crashes. But it is better than a movie, especially the jungle episode and the believable dialog of the various characters.