The Railway Man by Eric Lomax

I expected to love this book about a WWII prisoner of war and his journey toward forgiving his captors. Other powerful books I’ve read on the subject have been Jacob DeShazer’s biography and Ernest Gordon’s Miracle on the River Kwai.

Lomax is a good writer with an amazing memory for details. The book is called The Railway Man because of his lifelong obsession with railroads and trains. Although he did not work on the infamous River Kwai Railroad, he was housed in the concentration camp that supplied workers for that project.

He and several officers constructed a radio in their hut and after it was found, they were routinely tortured. According to his account they were beaten to a pulp, sent to the hospital to recover, only to be returned to the camp for further torment. After the war he harbored a bitter hatred for his captors, especially for the man who had been the interpreter during the torture sessions. For many years he fantasized about finding the man in order to kill him.

Finally, by corresponding with former POWs and coming across chance of bits of information he discovered the name of the man on whom he hoped to wreak revenge. He even obtained a book the man had written about his war experiences. Surprisingly, it detailed his regret at having participated in brutality toward allied prisoners.

Lomax and the interpreter begin a stilted correspondence and finally meet when Lomax is 70. He “forgives” Nagase and returns to England. Lomax basically ceased to feel resentment toward the man as he got to know him better. I know it was an amazing response to his long-time enemy, but I was hoping for a more decisive turning point in which his faith played a part in the act of pardoning. With that element missing, the forgiveness seemed a bit wishy-washy.

Any thoughts on what constitutes real forgiveness?