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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
A beautifully written story sharing the bonds of a group of women who endured tremendous hardship during a very dark period. Yet, through it all, their deep ties, their enduring friendship, is what is most evident in this amazing book.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War
Moderate: Rape, Torture, Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An amazing and inspirational true story, which I'm very pleased to be made aware of. I found the writing a bit 'jolly hockey sticks ' and I didn't enjoy it as much as the author's other books. The characters weren't well developed and I felt it failed to convey the horrors of the camps.
I was interested in this book because I was not familiar with Japan's involvement with POW camps in the Pacific.
Sisters Under the Rising Sun took place in Singapore and Banka Island near Indonesia from 1942 through 1945. Australian Army Nursing Service, along with English and Dutch civilians flee on one of the last boats as they evacuate Singapore in 1942. When their boat is bombed, they are stranded in the sea, and later make it to Banka Island. The author describes the gruesome details of their captivity under the Japanese but also showcases the courage and strength the women embodied over the 3+ years they were imprisoned. In spite of the horrific circumstances, women formed strong friendships and frequently made severe personal sacrifices on behalf of the group. Additional themes in the book include: bravery; resilience; friendship; family; music and compassion.
The author did outstanding research for the book and at the end, describes how some of the main characters lived following the war. What I found frustrating were the large number of female characters, which were hard to keep track of. I also found much of the dialogue elementary in nature and somewhat unrealistic. At times, the language was so basic, it felt like I was reading a child’s primer.
I've read other reviewers comment that the audiobook version of this book was good with recordings of the music (performed by Norah and her inmates) mesmerizing.
I appreciate and value the historical nature of this book, but did not care for the writing.
Sisters Under the Rising Sun took place in Singapore and Banka Island near Indonesia from 1942 through 1945. Australian Army Nursing Service, along with English and Dutch civilians flee on one of the last boats as they evacuate Singapore in 1942. When their boat is bombed, they are stranded in the sea, and later make it to Banka Island. The author describes the gruesome details of their captivity under the Japanese but also showcases the courage and strength the women embodied over the 3+ years they were imprisoned. In spite of the horrific circumstances, women formed strong friendships and frequently made severe personal sacrifices on behalf of the group. Additional themes in the book include: bravery; resilience; friendship; family; music and compassion.
The author did outstanding research for the book and at the end, describes how some of the main characters lived following the war. What I found frustrating were the large number of female characters, which were hard to keep track of. I also found much of the dialogue elementary in nature and somewhat unrealistic. At times, the language was so basic, it felt like I was reading a child’s primer.
I've read other reviewers comment that the audiobook version of this book was good with recordings of the music (performed by Norah and her inmates) mesmerizing.
I appreciate and value the historical nature of this book, but did not care for the writing.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was pretty well written and the audiobook reader was great. I liked the addition of singing to the audiobook although the recording was not of good quality. I was surprised they went through all the effort of recording a choir and then it not be a good recording.
It was really slow in the middle, I almost didn't want to keep reading. I know that music played a big role and camp morale, but the same situation played out numerous times so it got boring.
It was really slow in the middle, I almost didn't want to keep reading. I know that music played a big role and camp morale, but the same situation played out numerous times so it got boring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I listened to the audio book version of this, so at first it was a little tricky to realize who was who and who was from where, but once that was established, I was blown away by how you feel for these women. The author did a fabulous job with making you feel like you’re right there with them and I was on the edge of my seat. It really does show how resilient women are even in a Japanese POW Camp, women just hunker down and do what needs to get done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Danger - don't read this on public transport! During the last few pages I was constantly in tears and had to hurriedly switch to a different book on my Kindle.
Heather Morris is rectifying a wrong: giving us the names of Australian nurses who volunteered to care for Allied forces. Some of them were killed in cold blood by their Japanese captors. Others survived three years and seven months of near starvation and brutality in Japanese POW camps. The diminutive Nurse Nesta James provided inspirational leadership to her team of nurses, putting herself between them and the brutal soldiers on occasion.
Morris's research also led her to some remarkable British women in the same camps, whose lives were intertwined with the nurses. Norah Chambers and her sister Ena find themselves separated from their husbands, and in Norah's case, her young daughter, sent away on an earlier ship to flee Singapore. Ena found herself caring for a young girl, June, whose mother had been killed.
Along with Margaret Dryburgh, Norah, a talented musician, helped keep morale high by getting the captives singing. Their concerts were so popular they were attended by Japanese senior officers. Norah created a voice orchestra, tackling difficult scores by Ravel and Beethoven, and writing them on tiny scraps of paper. The last few months of captivity took a heavy toll. The women were often moved to different camps in awful conditions on ships. Many died of starvation and fever: 76 in all.
During their captivity the women had to deal with flooding latrines, torrential rain, burning hot sun. When food was being severely rationed, they were given seeds to grow vegetables but weren't allowed to eat them. They had to bury their friends and put makeshift wooden crosses and mounds of flowers on the graves, equipped with just two machetes to dig the rock hard ground.
When liberation finally arrived, the nurses received a heroes' welcome when they arrived in Australia. By contrast there was no acknowledgement or welcome for the British women, who returned home on the same troopship as servicemen. Relatives were not told not to meet the ship when it docked. A remarkable book. This sisterhood will live on in my memory.
Heather Morris is rectifying a wrong: giving us the names of Australian nurses who volunteered to care for Allied forces. Some of them were killed in cold blood by their Japanese captors. Others survived three years and seven months of near starvation and brutality in Japanese POW camps. The diminutive Nurse Nesta James provided inspirational leadership to her team of nurses, putting herself between them and the brutal soldiers on occasion.
Morris's research also led her to some remarkable British women in the same camps, whose lives were intertwined with the nurses. Norah Chambers and her sister Ena find themselves separated from their husbands, and in Norah's case, her young daughter, sent away on an earlier ship to flee Singapore. Ena found herself caring for a young girl, June, whose mother had been killed.
Along with Margaret Dryburgh, Norah, a talented musician, helped keep morale high by getting the captives singing. Their concerts were so popular they were attended by Japanese senior officers. Norah created a voice orchestra, tackling difficult scores by Ravel and Beethoven, and writing them on tiny scraps of paper. The last few months of captivity took a heavy toll. The women were often moved to different camps in awful conditions on ships. Many died of starvation and fever: 76 in all.
During their captivity the women had to deal with flooding latrines, torrential rain, burning hot sun. When food was being severely rationed, they were given seeds to grow vegetables but weren't allowed to eat them. They had to bury their friends and put makeshift wooden crosses and mounds of flowers on the graves, equipped with just two machetes to dig the rock hard ground.
When liberation finally arrived, the nurses received a heroes' welcome when they arrived in Australia. By contrast there was no acknowledgement or welcome for the British women, who returned home on the same troopship as servicemen. Relatives were not told not to meet the ship when it docked. A remarkable book. This sisterhood will live on in my memory.
I was so excited to be given this ARC because I loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz but I just could not get into this one. The dialogue felt so unnatural & choppy. I trudged my way to 13% & decided to DNF.
Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
A moving story that is impeccably researched and thoughtfully written. It reads more like a screenplay than a book, which makes sense given that the author started out writing screenplays. I didn’t care much for the writing style for that reason, but I think I would’ve like it a lot more if I had listened to the audiobook instead.