Letters to a distant cousin

Memoirs in response to a distant cousin's request for help with family history: "Descriptions of his impoverished childhood in Timaru and Christchurch give way to details of life in the Japanese occupation force, near-death in the Caribbeans, poaching in Surrey, penniless wandering through France and a search for his ancestors in Germany. But equally compelling are the less dramatic episodes in his life: his description of New Zealand society during the Great Depression and the Second World War, his friendship with Frank Sargeson, his love of the land, his constant wandering, and his search for his own ancestral roots make up the latter part of this narrative. Infused with a strongly autobiographical flavour, this narrative is a penetrating and often insightful story, not just of one man's life and the experience that shaped him, but of the make-up of the society in which he lived."--Back cover.