This book is an important contribution to understanding the intensity of the war against Japan. It becomes a record of the trauma suffered by, in this case, nurses captured in Singapore and subjected to imprisonment and humiliation. While this is an important book, I did not find it gripping like the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It goes into very considerable detail which can be laborious to read. It is thought we’ll worth reading and at times emotionally demanding .

Here is one of the best authors out there who covers Historical Fiction,
Fiction, World War II etc and she always writes from her heart.
Heather Morris's books are a master piece and I highly recommend. Her famous books are The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey.

So when Sisters under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris came out, I had to rearrange my day off, find a comfortable spot in my garden in the shade and open my kindle, This latest book did not disappoint it was another beautifully written book from start to finish that just took my breath away again.

Heather's books are just wonderful and always have a place on my book shelves to reread again in the future.

Big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I always feel terrible about giving a book a 1 star review but unfortunately there was no way I could give a higher score, even taking into account the true accounts and experiences that this novel was based on.
Fundamentally a fascinating premise, but the writing was completely insufferable. Twee, fluffy and almost painful at times, as were the overly saccharine characters. Was tempted to DNF the whole way through but persevered, wish I hadn't.

Heather Morris is well known as an accomplished dramatist of war time stories; this time the story is of the Vyner Brooke merchant ship, and its foundering during WWII. The ‘sisters’ of the title are Nesta and Norah, who both find themselves washed up on a beach, and soon held in a series of dehumanising and brutal Japanese POW camps; the two are caring and compassionate, and between them find a number of ways to keep spirits up amidst the inhumanity of their situation.

As ever with Heather Morris’s books, it is the truth behind the stories which is so powerful, and the added information at the end of the book about the real life Nesta and Norah is a bonus.

I haven't really heard of this story before! The book tells it very poignantly. I laughed but mostly cried. Very well written.

A really moving account of a horrific time. I have to admit, when first reading this, I thought it a 'saccharined' account of life in a Japanese prisoner of war camp - surely no-one could be that selfless to put others first (even at point of shipwreck!) Or make such joy in such dire conditions. Then I researched and found out the Australian Army Nursing Squadron and some of the individuals names here are all too real. I felt initially that the book didn't dwell on the negatives enough - I now feel the author was simply doing what these wonderful nurses had done - "Don't dwell on the negatives, do all the positives".
Absolutely astonishing account of heroism, courage, strength in adversity, and positivity. The horrors are only shown towards the end of the war, when disease and death became a daily occurrance. It's based on a diary kept secretly by one of those nurses (some of whom appeared on Eammon Andrews' "This is Your Life" back in the 60s or 70s - Google it!) Read this and feel humbled. Astonishing!

A fantastic book by a fantastic author!

If you have read any of her books, you will know and love the writing style and stories already. I literally could not put it down, it is heart wrenching and heart warming in equal measure. I rarely cry at books but a small minority get me. This one included.

Nesta, Norah and Ena will take you on their journeys and keep you gripped until the very last pages.

Singapore 1942 in all it's detail. Trying desperately to escape. Taking you to the islands and POW camps. Fabulous characters. Beautiful detail.

Initially I thought I would struggle with the style of this book but after a few pages I became absorbed.

A story of women captured and incarcerated by the Japanese, that shows comradeship, strength, fortitude, hope, despair and resourcefulness by the women, a mixture of Australian nurses and British mothers with their children.

It will be hard for any reader to remain dry eyed whilst reading this, as they re-live in their imagination, from the narrative, the horrors, trials, disease and desperation of those involved.

This book was absolutely phenomenal. I’ve told so many people about it already- I can tell it’s one of those stories which is really going to stay with me. Of course, what makes it all the more powerful is the fact that it’s based on truth and having that in the back of your mind while you read is really humbling.
The story of the nurses, and indeed all the women they’re with, was told beautifully. If I’m honest- I find some topics like this very heavy going which can make me nervous to read them (privileged I know- that I can choose to not read about such horrors!) but this was written so lovingly and the horrors of what they went through was made clear without there being a gratuitous nature to the horrible bits they went though. It’s hard to explain, but I basically think this book is perfect.

Sisters under the Rising Sun is a based on a true story of women in war: a novel ot sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances.
Nurses, and passengers on a merchant ship- including families, are bombarded from the air off of the coast of Indonesia. They spend over 24 hours in the ocean and when they finally get to land - are captured by Japanese soldiers and held in POW camps. What they endure is unbelievable; starvation, disease, and brutal treatment.
However, they also find friendship, courage, and determination.
"The fires burning along the shore compete with the brilliance of the setting sun over what what once a tropical paradise. Now, it resembles Armageddon...
"We're all scared sister, but we're scared together"
" United we stand, divided we fall; we will fall together,
United."
"I will never forget you as long as I live, and given l've managed to survive this, I'm planning on that being a long time.

The story of conflict is always hard to read but enthralling.
This is the story of one of the many groups of women who were captured by the Japanese as they fled Singapore in 1941.
Based on true stories of real people I found this a fascinating account.

Wow. What a stunning book. At first I found the writing style slightly stilted, but after a while it did become completely appropriate, as a tale telling of real people and the dreadful things that had happened to them.
I know of the fall of Singapore, and that ships full of civilians were sunk. But to have a story following those people, and what happened to them, was fascinating, captivating, and compelling..
I was stunned to read that [spoiler] some Australian nurses were used as comfort women. Of course, I knew of the practice, and what often happens to women in wartime, but it was a bit of a shock. Why didn't we know? The reasons were given.
The ending was a real tear-jerker, and both happy and so very sad. What a fantastic group of women, I salute them.

A group of women including nurses attempt to leave Singapore by ship but end up washed up on an island controlled by Japanese soldiers in World War II. If you remember the TV series Tenko, this is a very similar story written from the New Zealander/Australian perspective.

It is a fascinating story, but it is not truly brought to life by the author. The characters are not particularly memorable and are all too pleasant to each other in the circumstances. I am not sure that writing dialogue is really the author's forte.

It is a pleasant enough read, but watching the original series would be more entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book. I’m pained to write a review like this but I pushed and pushed until I was over 50% in the hope it would get better but I just couldn’t get on with the writing style of this book. I absolutely loved the author’s previous novels but this did not have the same magic for me - I didn’t feel any connection to the characters, they felt very hollow and underdeveloped to me, I didn’t ‘care’ for them. I also just didn’t feel that the writing was up to scratch compared to the previous books I’ve read by the author.

What an amazing book, thank you for sharing your story with us and what incredible ladies you were able to meet. In a world of lip fillers and influencers how I wish the remarkable ladies in the book could give the girls of today a reality check so they understood what makes a real woman. Thank you for the privilege of reading your book.

I quite enjoyed reading Sisters Under The Rising Sun. I've not read anything from this author yet so I was happy to delve in to this story. I love when an author takes a certain part of history, perhaps one we haven't heard as much about before and tell its story.
Based on many true stories, it tells of women's survival, strength and bravery.
Singapore 1942, The Japanese are bombing boats trying to leave the port carrying people of different nationalities British, Australians and some Dutch to safety.Those who survive the blasts swim to shore exhausted, covered in oil and looking for their loved ones.
The story tells of the many women who survived their ordeal only to end up at the mercy of the Japanese soldiers in the prisoner of war camps.
While this read is fiction based on true facts, I loved the characters in this story. So many nurses all ready to help people in need sometimes whilst suffering very badly themselves.
We meet two sisters Norah and Ena in this story. A relationship between two woman I enjoyed immensely. They helped and encouraged each other so often.
They brought much calm to other people too in their suffering while each of them nursing their own hopes at meeting their families once again..
And oh my god how these women suffered.
What was so amazing was the hope the women brought to many around them, their resilience at a time when it was hard to do so. I admired them greatly for this and it brought many feelings of sadness for me.
I made so many notes while reading, places to look up, people to research, history to find out about. A project in itself really.
Horrific, implorable, brutal and a sadness that is hard to look beyond but a beautiful story that needed to be told.
Well worth your time..

I loved this book! I spent quite some time after researching the story and the incredible women and nurses in the book. A truly inspiring and remarkable read.

"Sisters under the Rising Sun" is a novel about a group of women and children captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. Amongst the women are actual sisters Norah and Ena, married English women who are separated from their husbands. However, by the end of the war all of the women feel like sisters after what they have had to endure to survive.

This is a powerful novel about the result of working together when times are tough, and it is based on real people and events.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

A story of both strength and depravity, this is a fictionalised account of the women who spent the latter years of the Second World War in Japanese POW camps in the most appalling conditions imaginable. Heather Morris has taken the stories of several of the women and researched their stories and lives through the eyes of their surviving relatives - several were Australian army nurses and others also compassionate and determined women who survived their capture and the brutality of the Japanese guards, and made sure that as many of their fellow internees as possible survived their ordeal. Of course many didn’t survive, and their stories are even more harrowing. The cast of characters in the book is realistically described, from the nurses, to the Japanese translator Ah Fat, to the missionary Margaret, all of whom are brought to life in the story. The writing style felt a little sentimental at times, somewhat at odds with the devastating subject matter, but this is still a book to savour and reflect upon in our troubled 21st century world.

This is a sad but inspiring story of a group of women in the POW camps in south east Asia under the control of the Japanese during the Second World War. Novels such as Nevil Shute's 'A Town like Alice' touch on the story of these camps but I have never read an account that gives so much detail of this horrific episode in human history. Japanese occupation is not talked about in the UK in my experience. I had a neighbour as a child who could be sharp spoken and I remember being told, in tones of dread, that they had been a prisoner of the Japanese but no details were given.
It is important that this story is told, from the chaos and suddenness of the Japanese invasion of Singapore to the rescue four long years later after peace had been declared. What these women endured and the bravery of the Australian nurses in facing the many challenges of their situation is worth recording.
I found the book difficult to read. Although the story is told in an upbeat way, the hardship and the cruelty are overwhelming. I admire Heather Morris for having the strength to delve into these difficult stories and to research the background to the novel so thoroughly. It was also helpful in a complex and constantly changing situation to have the focus on a few strong characters.
I would have liked more background on the historical context of the Japanese invasion and the pressures being brought to bear on the commandants of the prison camps but perhaps this is an angle that will take more time to surface, there is so much pain on both sides, given the final ending of the war with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Congratulations to Heather for researching these accounts and turning them into a story. As many others have done, I honour the work of the Australian nurses, and the courage and bravery of those imprisoned with them. The story is a tribute to those who hold onto hope in the face of fear and defeat.