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A review by readwithacoffee
Sisters Under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris
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
3.5
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.