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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'd enjoyed Heather Morris's earlier novel "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" so was eager to get my hands on an upcoming new work from her... Unfortunately, I'm left perplexed as they feel like two different novels written by two different authors.
"Sisters Under the Rising Sun" takes a look into a forgotten aspect of WWII: the ex-pats living in Southeast Asia during the time of the war, many of whom are captured by the Japanese in their attempt to flee and held as Prisoners of War. The central characters include Norah Chambers, an English musician who is separated from her daughter Sally and as well as her husband John, who is weakened and still recovering from a bout with typhoid. She, John, sister Ena, and brother-in-law Ken are attacked on board the Vyner Brooke ship and captured by the Japanese once they make it to shore. The women and men are split up into different camps, so Norah and Ena eventualy meet the other imprisoned women, including Sister Nesta James, an Australian nurse; June, a young girl who is abandoned and alone; Betty Jeffrey and Vivian Bullwinkel, who are fellow Allied nurses... and a whole host of additional characters.
The premise of the story is fascinating and I enjoyed seeing how the women bonded together while imprisoned and made the best of their situation - forming their own impromptu medical unit and using their unneeded dresses and petticoats as gauze and bandages; making their own encoded newsletter so the Japanese soldiers wouldn't understand, etc. However, at least for me personally, a strong plot is not enough to overcome poor writing. There are just too many characters, from the beginning group of ex-pats, to the nurses, to additional POW who are introduced mid-way throughout the novel, to the Japanese soldiers and leaders, to keep track of. Because of that, there isn't sufficient time or depth devoted to any of them and I struggled to connect with or care about any one of them. The writing is another low point for me as well, with very basic and rudimentary sentence structures and descriptions, to the large chunks of quotes (speaking) and writing that are poorly integrated. I was also surprised at the number of grammatical errors in this ARC, especially given how close the publication date is.
This is definitely a disappointing review that I have to write, but unfortunately this is not a novel I'd recommend to other readers.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this novel!
"Sisters Under the Rising Sun" takes a look into a forgotten aspect of WWII: the ex-pats living in Southeast Asia during the time of the war, many of whom are captured by the Japanese in their attempt to flee and held as Prisoners of War. The central characters include Norah Chambers, an English musician who is separated from her daughter Sally and as well as her husband John, who is weakened and still recovering from a bout with typhoid. She, John, sister Ena, and brother-in-law Ken are attacked on board the Vyner Brooke ship and captured by the Japanese once they make it to shore. The women and men are split up into different camps, so Norah and Ena eventualy meet the other imprisoned women, including Sister Nesta James, an Australian nurse; June, a young girl who is abandoned and alone; Betty Jeffrey and Vivian Bullwinkel, who are fellow Allied nurses... and a whole host of additional characters.
The premise of the story is fascinating and I enjoyed seeing how the women bonded together while imprisoned and made the best of their situation - forming their own impromptu medical unit and using their unneeded dresses and petticoats as gauze and bandages; making their own encoded newsletter so the Japanese soldiers wouldn't understand, etc. However, at least for me personally, a strong plot is not enough to overcome poor writing. There are just too many characters, from the beginning group of ex-pats, to the nurses, to additional POW who are introduced mid-way throughout the novel, to the Japanese soldiers and leaders, to keep track of. Because of that, there isn't sufficient time or depth devoted to any of them and I struggled to connect with or care about any one of them. The writing is another low point for me as well, with very basic and rudimentary sentence structures and descriptions, to the large chunks of quotes (speaking) and writing that are poorly integrated. I was also surprised at the number of grammatical errors in this ARC, especially given how close the publication date is.
This is definitely a disappointing review that I have to write, but unfortunately this is not a novel I'd recommend to other readers.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this novel!
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
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:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I cried! So emotional!
The book had no sense of atmosphere or place; the characters were one dimensional; and the novel did not come close to doing justice to the people whose experiences in the WWII prisoner of war camps in Malaya.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Dit is het tweede boek dat ik lees van Heather Morris, en ik ben er niet weg van haar schrijfstijl. Ze schrijft over intense waargebeurde situaties en mensen, maar zonder de emotie en heftigheid over te brengen. De karakters zijn vlak, alles in het kamp gaat makkelijk (op hier-en-daar een klap na) en er is geen emotie. Zonde van de mooie historische onderwerpen, want dit maakt nu geen indruk.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A