Absolutely brilliant book. Many books have been written about the horrors of the male Japanese POW camps but little about the female camps. Sisters Under the Rising Sun is extremely well written and really brings out the horrors but also the incredible friendships and caring that develops amongst the inmates. Though focused on the Australian Army nurses it recounts the horrors experienced by all. I loved the reference to Vegemite at the end, it put a delightful twist. Would I recommend this book without a doubt.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.75/5)

This book opened my eyes to another place I haven't even heard about. Even though the book is fiction, I now want to read non-fiction books of the time and learn just what exactly happened then. If you read this book, keep in mind it is fiction, even though it's based on a true telling.

I loved the dynamic between the main characters. They all felt so real and what they had to go through was probably even worse than what was told in the book. It must've taken so much bravery and strength to keep on to that small piece of hope of getting away.

The journey these people went through and the sufferings were immense. I can't even imagine the real depth on how they affected them. All of the characters felt real and their pain and joy I felt. I very much loved the community that got built so fast, even in these horrible situations the characters found themselves in. They looked after each other and went to great lengths to survive.

I had to take a lot of breaks during this book, as it was very heavy and I didn't have the mental capacity to take on too much at a time. But when I did it was worth it.

This book very much focuses on he characters and not on the evils of the time. I highly recommend on doing more research on the subject or read non-fiction books of the time as I'm about to do. The selflessness the characters have is wild and probably the reason they were able to keep on going. We all need a shoulder to lean on now and then.

I’ve read most of Heather Morris’ previous books, which, like this one, are fictionalised versions of stories of incredible people who lived through World War Two, and all of them have been moving, emotional and inspiring. Sisters Under the Rising Sun is no different. It tells a story that I haven’t heard of before (but I’m so glad I know of now) which is that of the women held in Japanese POW camps during the war, including British women, Dutch women and a group of stunningly brave Australian nurses. Sisters Under the Rising Sun is the harrowing, often brutal, yet ultimately inspirational story of their time in captivity and the way these women banded together and held each other up through unimaginable suffering and loss.

This is a work of fiction but is very closely based on the real individuals who lived through these terrifying circumstances, as is evident by the clear amount of research done by the author and the testimony of the women’s families. It is a remarkable tale that cannot fail to get under the skin of the reader. I know that people don’t really know how they would cope in a situation like the one in Sisters Under the Rising Sun, but I cannot comprehend just how incredibly brave and resilient these women were, in the face of starvation, disease, death and constant fear. Their stories deserve to be told and widely known – and this book is a testament to their courage. It is a story, ultimately, of sisterhood and female friendship which, at its best, is one of the most powerful forces imaginable. Highly recommended.

It’s 1942 and Norah, along with her sister and husband are being evacuated from Singapore, also on the ship are a band of Australian nurses, including the formidable Nesta. When the ship is sunk off the coast of Indonesia the survivors are rounded up by the Japanese, over the course of the next few years we follow them as they do what they can to find joy in such brutal conditions.

I was totally invested in the story of these incredible women and flew through the book in just a couple of days, knowing that it’s based on the story of real women make it even more inspiring, and loved the tributes and photos included at the end.

I’ve read all of the author’s heartbreaking books but would say this is my favourite, would highly recommend to all, especially if you’re a fan of A Town Called Alice and Tenko.

I have put off writing this review for quite a while. I have read and loved Morris’ previous books. I went out and bought the physical copies for my shelves. I tried really hard with this one and gave it so many chances, but I have given up at 44%. After the initial action, right at the beginning, nothing seems to have happened. I didn’t feel there was any emotion in this one - there was so much in the previous books. I was very interested in the POV as I have read a lot of WWII fiction, but none set in Singapore. That said, I am still looking forward to Morris’ next one.

What a heart rending and emotional book. I’m not a book cryer but had more than a few tears during this book, mainly at the happy bits! A WWII historical novel based on facts and do read the author notes at the end to find out more about some of the main characters. Following the fall of Singapore to the Japanese those who could escaped by ship and our main characters were on board the Vyner Brooke when it was bombed from the air and sunk. The survivors came ashore on Sumatra and were eventually reunited in a Japanese POW camp.

Briefly, Sisters Norah and Ena Chambers ‘adopt’ 5 year old June whose mother was lost when the ship sank. Sister Nesta James is the most senior of the Australian Army nurses who make it to the camp. Norah and Nesta are the main narrators who lead us through the terrible trials and tribulations of the women and children in the various camps they live in over 3 years and 7 months.

I’m sure most people are aware of the dreadful treatment meted out by the Japanese to prisoners of war and some of it is quite upsetting to read. It’s not just the brutality but the starvation, the disease and the appalling living conditions. The author balanced this well with the generosity of spirit of the women, the kindness to each other and the uplifting concerts. Brilliantly researched and fast paced this was a book I couldn’t relinquish and I read it in a day. A great read.

Another very powerful book by Heather Morris based on a true story to remind us of the atrocities of WW2. Set in the Far East this begins with the fall of Singapore. Sisters Norah and Ena Chambers flee on the Vyner Brooke ship with Norah's sick husband John. Also on the ship are a group of Australian Naval nurses led by SIster Nesta James. The ship is bombed and sunk. Those who survive are captured by the Japanese and interned in the most inhumane and barbaric conditions. With barely enough food, the women set about surviving. They are looking after a 5 year old girl, June whose mother perished in the sinking. Separated from the men, Norah doesn't know if she will ever see John again, or her 8 year old daughter Sally, who they sent away earlier with their other sister. This is the story of the 3 years and 7 months these brave women were interned, the atrocities they witnessed and the amazing things they did to remain alive and keep their spirits up. Wonderful. #netgalley #sistersundertherisingsun

Thank you to @randomthingstours and @netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read two other books by Heather (still need to finish the Tattooist trilogy) but jumped at the chance to read this one.

Once again, we are with people at the worst possible time of their life - captured and held during wartime. What these women went through is absolutely unbelievable, described in the best way it possibly could be by not giving too much information but leaving a lot to your imagination to work out what happened. I think this is the best way to approach this kind of story, you want to know but at the same time you don’t. I did feel at times that some of the story was a little too simply written, but it didn’t spoil the overall experience.

The women featured are some of the bravest, strongest ladies I have ever read about. They deserve to be known, for what they went through and how they helped each other survive.

There’s something about the ease of Heather Morris’ writing that makes her books so engaging and easy to read whilst retaining the truly heartbreaking feel of the harrowing stories she tells and I just found this book very captivating.

I thought the characters in this book were the biggest strength of the story; I felt really connected to all of them and just found the fact they were so inspired by real people to add real weight to the story and my investment. Reading about the people who inspired this story at the end gave me goosebumps as I reflected on finding them in the pages. I think the amount of characters made this book feel a lot different to her other books but in a way that worked really well for me.

I love stories about strong women, and even more so when they are strong because of the other women around them and this story was full of that.

I liked the way that the story of these women were told in order to bring their story to the forefront and I do think this is the really important but it’s something that always makes me feel a bit nervous in books as without being the person at the centre of the story it’s hard to ascertain whether the story has been told well.

I did find the switching between characters perspective a little hard to follow at first but I’m not sure if that was the formatting of the arc as appose to the book itself; there were then a few times it caught me off guard throughout and pulled me out of the story briefly however it did this less as the book went on and the characters spent more time together.

Overall I thought this book was really engaging, heartbreaking and the characters very complex and real and despite there being times that I felt a little less connected or pulled out of the story itself because of the shifts it wasnt overwhelming and didn’t impact my overall reading experience.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and of course the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Sisters Under the Rising Sun is based on the true accounts of a group of women captured during WW2 and interred in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. We learn of a group of Australian nurses, serving with the Australian Army, and meet others who are also taken prisoner.

The story is mainly told by Nesta James, a nurse, and Norah Chambers, a musician from England. Once captured, the women are sent to a prisoner of war camp in Indonesia. Sisters Under the Rising Sun tells of their experiences in the 3 years and 7 months that they were incarcerated in the camps. The women were often split up and moved to different locations, and subjected to starvation, unsanitary conditions and hard labour. This is a hard-hitting read, but written in a style that somehow sets the reader away from the terrible things happening to the women. For me, it took a while to get used to the writing – I loved Morris’s previous books The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey immediately, but this wasn’t an instant connection. However, as I progressed through the book, the writing style took on a different meaning for me.

For me, I initially felt the writing style a little saccharine in the description of the nurses, a little lacking in depth – short paragraphs and a lack of detail beyond the dialogue. However, this began to evoke a sort of disconnection from the horrific experiences of the nurses during their incarceration in the camps. The nurses are stoic, practical and the deep camaraderie and sisterhood between the women is obviously a source of strength between the group, when conditions, supplies and willpower are slowly eroded away in the camps. It made me wonder that the lack of much emotion in the writing reflected the trauma and damage that these women must have experienced. The factual recounting of deaths as camp conditions deteriorated and illness took over, the brutal punishments endured by some of the women described in just a few sentences, and the way that hierarchy shaped the way they managed to survive in the camp – we are there, but not quite there. As I got used to this, and imagined this grim form of survival, the lack of emotion actually made it more real, somehow.

Having witnessed massacres of their colleagues and friends, a shipwreck and the loss of children and partners, the women find strength in hierarchy and assigning meaning to their days. The division of labour, the meaning given to certain tasks, the grim humour in the face of starvation. Sorting weevils from the rice rations, finding solace in song and music. The focus of the writing on the details of the connection between the women and the strength they found in each other, rather than the horrific experiences they were sharing, showcases the importance of the bond between the group. Kind words and support between each other are given precedence. Individual experiences and acts of solidarity are detailed, with the harrowing events of every day camp life being described in an almost factual way by the women. We glimpse the pain of death, the worry of tropical disease and the horrific violence from the camp guards, but the story carries on, and the women carry on, as they must.

Morris details the real-life stories of the women at the end of the book, and that reminder that these events happened to real people makes the book even more hard hitting. Their stories are truly important, and should not be forgotten. A difficult read, but one that is so worth it.

DNF

I feel terrible only getting 25% through this book but it felt like it was written by a 12 year old in history class.

Based upon the lives of the women who were in a Japanese POW camp, this book tells of their experiences. However, the characters were sickly sweet. Where there was huge life changing drama - it was briefly described without much emotion. Just a nod to a huge explosion and murder and horrific war crimes. It seemed Morris was far more caught up in the hierarchy of the nursing ladder to describe to us the pain amd trauma these characters were feeling.

Life is too short to keep on reading books that are just too twee.

Having read all of Heather Morris’ previous works I was so thrilled to be accepted for a @netgalley ARC. Thank you to Bonnier Books UK & Heather Morris.

Prior to reading this book I have little to no knowledge of the Japanese involvement in WW2. This novel is based on true facts with the main focus being on the women that were captured and held POW. These truly tragic stories really do capture the battle for survival within these camps.

By getting these stories out into the world they have been immortalised and documented in a way in which the reader can be immersed and read almost from a first hand point of view of these inspiring women.

I would wholeheartedly recommend.

This is the first book I have read by Heather Morris but it won’t be the last. The book tells the story of a group of women who were captured by the Japanese while trying to leave Singapore after it fell to the Japanese during World War Two.
Many years ago, I watched “Tenko” (literally roll call) about a group of women interned in a prisoner of war camp. However, this book, although similar to the BBC series is about women who actually existed. The story is fictionalised but the biographies of these brave women are at the end of the book.
The main characters are Nesta, an Australian nurse and Norah, a talented British musician who was separated, thanks to the war, both from her husband and their daughter. Music plays a big part in the book and helped the morale of these women and children as they moved from camp to camp starving and often very sick from tropical diseases. Many died but many survived showing the great resilience of women in prisoner of war camps whose stories, unlike those of the men, are not always told.
The book is an easy read but the subject matter is not always easy easy to read. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book ahead of publication.

This is the first novel I've read by Heather Morris.

As Singapore is falling to the Japanese army in 1942, women and children were among thos desperate to get out. Norah Chambers, an English musician, gets her young daughter onto a ship leaving and prays that will keep her safe. As panic rises and the island burns Norah, along with Australian nurse Nesta James, manages to get aboard another ship only for it to be sunk two days later. As they reach the shores of Indonesia they find themselves prisoners of the Japanese; along with many others they are moved to camps and subjected to a cruel and punishing regime.

This is a well-written tale about a harrowing time in history, and is a true testament to the amazing strong will and resilience of many prisoners of war. I have read other accounts but this is the first time I've come across the story of the Australian Nurses and it is not an easy read. There has obviously been an immense amount of research and the author is to be congratulated for writing a book full of compassion. I know that the Japanese people are ashamed of what happened during the war - my son-in-law is Japanese, but this is a story which needs to be told. An excellent - but not an easy - read. 4.5* and my recommendation.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I am truly in awe of these women, their strength, compassion and courage. Heather Morris tells the story of Nesta and Norah and other incredible woman and child who endured Japanese war camps in world war 2. Thank you Netgalley and Heather Morris for sharing a truly inspiring story of how strong woman are

Sisters under the Rising Sun is an amazing book about what love, unity, determination and friendship can do when all these characteristics come together. I loved reading about WWII from the other side of the world and how Japan started to take over some countries and how the people that lived there tried to survive this difficult moment of their life. It is a sad book but in the same time it's full of hope and love.

Having read all of Heather Morris' previous books, I was of course excited and intrigued to pick this up.
This is a story of survival and courage.
Seeing the survivors families wanting the world to know women suffered the same horrific abuse as men but doing so with children as well was incredibly moving - they were determined to survive.
As you may expect, there are many upsetting and sad moments and outcomes but the subject matter is handled sensitively, as Heather Morris always does.
This is another story that will really stick with me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant novel about resilience and survival.
Norah Chambers, an English musician, puts her daughter on a ship leaving Singapore knowing she may never see her child again. And Sister Nesta Jones, Australian nurse who enlisted to help allied troops. They both board the Vyner Brooke with family and friends unbeknown two days later the ship is bombarded and sunk. They survive 24hrs in the sea only to be captured by the Japanese and taken to POW camps. Norah and Nesta fight side by side helping whoever they can for three long years.
A story about women in war, sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the most unimaginable of circumstances. It’s an heartbreaking, beautifully written and inspiring story, all based on true events.
Definitely recommend this one.
Thanks to #NetGallery @bonnierbooksuk @heathermorris for an arc of #SistersUnderTheRisingSun in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
Book publishes 28th September 2023.

I loved the Tattooist of Auschwitz and I really wanted to love this one too but unfortunately I was quite disappointed with the writing and the overall story . I think the author could have used the real life stories of these women as an inspiration and wrote something with a bit more depth .

Years ago I read a novel - Guests Of The Emperor - about the interment of women in Japanese camps during WWII which has stayed with me to this day ( I need to find a copy and re-read it) so I was really excited to get an #arc for Sisters In The Sun . But the book is unfortunately disappointing . The story is very basic - I couldn’t connect to any of the characters , the dialogue is meh ; and I’m not sure by characters are constantly referred to by their first and last name 🤷🏼‍♀️ there’s also a lot of telling instead of showing … what’s more disappointing is that this is based on real life stories - the only good thing about finishing the book was that there was information on the real life people featured in the book .