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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As with other Heather Morris books, (Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cika's Journey) this is historical fiction based on true events and real people.
In the midst of WW2, the story follows the lives of Norah and Nesta. Norah is an English musician and Nesta, a Welsh Austrailian nurse in the army. Both are fleeing Singapore as the Japanese tear through the Pacific. When their ship sinks and they spend a horrific 24 hours in the sea, they think things can't get any worse. That is until they are taken by the Japanese, separated from the men and put into Japanese prisoner of war camps.
I flew through this book. The characters are so resilient, resourceful, wilfull, courageous, brave and any other adjective I can think of along those lines. Reading what these women went through and the shear brutality of the events was horrific. However, it read in a very matter of fact and hopeful way. The amount of hope and ambition in this story is unbelievable. The women pulled together in the hardest of times and found the loveliest way to keep each other hopeful: music.
There wasn't much description of the setting, which I think might be on purpose? Or Heather Morris' style of writing? Another member of Book Club and i were discussing this as she felt the same. I mean, these places were clearly horrific to visualise and it is more character based but sometimes it was hard to visualise where the women were, the layout, the proximity etc when certain events were happening. However, having read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cika's Journey, I think it is the style of the author, or done on purpose because they were the same, but because they were based on places that I know more about, I visualised them more clearly. There were a couple of other things I didn't enjoy about the writing style but the actual story of these women and what happened is horrific and incredible at the same time.
I mean, with that being said, I blubbed like a baby at the end as I felt so much for these women.
In the midst of WW2, the story follows the lives of Norah and Nesta. Norah is an English musician and Nesta, a Welsh Austrailian nurse in the army. Both are fleeing Singapore as the Japanese tear through the Pacific. When their ship sinks and they spend a horrific 24 hours in the sea, they think things can't get any worse. That is until they are taken by the Japanese, separated from the men and put into Japanese prisoner of war camps.
I flew through this book. The characters are so resilient, resourceful, wilfull, courageous, brave and any other adjective I can think of along those lines. Reading what these women went through and the shear brutality of the events was horrific. However, it read in a very matter of fact and hopeful way. The amount of hope and ambition in this story is unbelievable. The women pulled together in the hardest of times and found the loveliest way to keep each other hopeful: music.
There wasn't much description of the setting, which I think might be on purpose? Or Heather Morris' style of writing? Another member of Book Club and i were discussing this as she felt the same. I mean, these places were clearly horrific to visualise and it is more character based but sometimes it was hard to visualise where the women were, the layout, the proximity etc when certain events were happening. However, having read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cika's Journey, I think it is the style of the author, or done on purpose because they were the same, but because they were based on places that I know more about, I visualised them more clearly. There were a couple of other things I didn't enjoy about the writing style but the actual story of these women and what happened is horrific and incredible at the same time.
I mean, with that being said, I blubbed like a baby at the end as I felt so much for these women.
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The passengers of the Vyner Brooke are pitched from the frying pan to the fire when the ship upon which they have been fleeing the Japanese invasion of Singapore is sunk off the shores of Indonesia. The women and children, musician Norah Chambers and nurse Nesta James among them, must survive in jungle camps until the end of the war.
I am continuing my informal journey through the Pacific theatre of World War 2 with Sisters Under the Rising Sun, which chronicles the lives of a group of British, Australian, and Dutch women living as internees during World War Two. The author is Heather Morris, who I did not realize until later is the writer of those bestselling (and somewhat infamous) chronicles of life at Auschwitz.
It wasn't until I started reading the book that I realized how heavily the author was drawing on history - all the women were real people, and pretty much all the incidents that happened to them were true. Considering I'd never heard of Norah, Nesta, Margaret, or the others, it was amazing to learn about this little corner of WW2 history. I also appreciated the author's notes in which we learned more about the broader situation the women were in, and what happened to them afterward.
However, I did feel like the writing was a little emotionally shallow, which made it hard to really get invested. The narration takes a third-person omniscient perspective, which might be why I felt unable to get inside the heads of the characters or really feel their suffering and their triumphs. I also wished we got more of the perspective of the Dutch and Chinese women who were being interned at the camp too, to get a broader feel for the camps.
I read the audiobook version of this book, which is narrated by Laura Carmichael. She did an excellent job, making it easy to distinguish between the voices of the simply enormous cast of women, and adding emotion and levity to her narration where the book calls for it. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of performances by the Sydney Women's Vocal Orchestra throughout the book. With music being such an important component of the story, to be able to hear what the women might have all those years ago at the camp concerts really immersed me in the book.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Disrespectful dross that is badly written and is borderline offensive to the women whose story it’s supposed to be telling. Easily the worst book I have ever read. Would’ve DNFed if not for book club but do not waste your time. Plenty of other incredible books that tell the actual truth of these horrific events.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reading about Singapore in WWII in this book was a first for me. I found it intriguing to see how the Japanese army treated prisoners. I also have never read about Australian women in the war. Nesta and Norah are two incredibly strong women. Whether it’s Sister Nesta leading her nurses and doing everything to help the injured and sick, or Norah, doing everything she can to take care of her family, they will do anything they can to survive.
Heather’s stories always suck me in, and this story definitely did. Even though her books involve war camps, which I usually steer away from, I can’t do that when she writes them.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC of this book.