Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From Heather Morris, the New York Times bestselling author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey: a story of family, courage, and resilience, inspired by a true story.
On February 14, 1942, the Vyner Brooke, a merchant ship carrying a desperate group of expats fleeing Singapore as it became clear that it would soon fall to the Japanese, was sunk by Japanese dive bombers. Nesta James was one of 65 Australian nurses on board; Norah and John Chambers among 150 civilians and military personnel.
Though many of the passengers drowned straight away, Nesta and Norah miraculously survived and reached the beaches of Bangka Island, then controlled by the Japanese. They were immediately taken as prisoners of war, and separated from the men. Norah was uncertain of John's fate.
For nearly four years, Norah and Nesta fought for survival as their fellow prisoners, friends and comrades, died. Moved from one camp to another, they finally settled in the notorious Camp Palembang, deep in the jungle of Sumatra. There, women and children battled disease, starvation, and unthinkable brutality meted out by the Japanese soldiers: less than half of the inmates in their camp lived to see the Japanese defeated. Yet these women found, in themselves and in each other, an extraordinary courage and resourcefulness.
This is a story of sisterhood: the unbreakable bonds women forge in the face of adversity. At the heart of Sisters Under the Rising Sun is the story of how the Second World War was fought and won by women the world over, in different ways, as much as it was by men.
Synopsis
The phenomenal new novel of resilience and survival from bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris.
In the midst of WWII, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.
Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed.
After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.
Sisters under the Rising Sun is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances, from the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey and Three Sisters.
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz comes a story of sisterhood and survival, inspired by a true story.
A phenomenal novel of resilience and survival from bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris.
In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.
Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed.
After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.
Sisters under the Rising Sun is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances, from the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey and Three Sisters.