Sisters Under the Rising Sun
Heather Morris

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Thanks a million to Netgalley and the author Heather Morris for an ARC of Heathers latest book 'Sisters under the Rising Sun' prior to its publication date, in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this one the second it was put up on Netgalley so I was so excited to be approved a copy as I absolutely loved Heathers previous books - The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey and Three Sisters.

This latest one did not disappoint.

While I didnt love it quite as much as the first 3 - there is no denying that Heathers' writing style and raw honesty used to tell these stories (based on real events) is absolutely phenomenal.

This book is an account of the women internees (mainly Australian Nursing Sisters point of view) of the Japanese POW camps in Indonesia during WW11.

The Nursing sisters Bravery and Resilience was astounding.
The story is heartbreaking but also inspiring and beautiful in its ability to show that hope and compassion could still be found in the unlikliest of places in the midst of all the suffering encountered by the many many Men, Women and children in the Japanese Prisoner of War camps. It is very emotional when you stop and remind yourself that these were real people and real events and not just characters in a book.

Heathers ability to write so honestly about the suffering of these women and bringing this important part of History to many of us, like myself, that knew less about it than of other events during WW2 - I know my school history lessons consisted mainly stories from European Concentration Camps and Hitler, The story of Anne Frank, the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Nagasaki and Hiroshima to name just a few so I found it so interesting to read such a different perspective - life in a Japanese POW camp - that I didnt know as much about. The Nurses story was one of heartbreak, bravery, friendship and hope. Even through the horror they were living through with lack of food and medicines - they stayed resilient and brave and still cared for and helped their friends and fellow prisoners even throughout their own suffering. It was a lovely reminder that there are more good people than evil ones in this world and it is important to remember the good aswell as to learn about the bad.

Love will always win!

I will definately recommend this book and thought it was a great read. The writing flowed seamlessly and I read it in one sitting as I just couldnt put it down. I kept telling myself 'just one more chapter' but one chapter was never enough.

I look forward to seeing what Heather writes next.

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As usual, Heather Morris writes with dignity and enormous knowledge about an appalling situation, giving the stage to the personalities and treating them with the utmost respect. I hope that every story like this can be told by someone who so obviously cares about the people involved. I loved this book and I can't recommend it highly enough

“How can you be remembered if you’ve never been heard of?”

A devastating true story brought to life by Heather Morris. As a reader, we become intimately intertwined with the lives of interned prisoners of war in Indonesia during WWII. The story of the Australian nurses and (mostly) English women held prisoner by the Japanese was one I knew very little of, and as the quote I included above highlights, I think it’s an important story to be told.

There are many characters but the majority of the focus is on two sisters, Norah and Ena, whose sisterly bond as well as their focus on caring for their young charge June, keeps them going. The other main characters are the nurses, with their strength and determination to keep the prisoners not only alive but hopeful.

This book is undoubtedly well researched and I really appreciated the biographies and input from relatives of the women in the story at the end of the novel.

I suspect this book will be a hit, if Morris’ previous literary success is anything to go by! I (like many other millions of people) loved the Tattooist of Auschwitz and subsequent novels in that series, so had such high hopes for this book. However, as much as I found the story that it’s based on incredibly moving and an important one to be told, I found that I did not connect with the writing as much as I’d hoped. I found there to be too much dialogue and too many characters to become fully engaged in the story. I am glad, however, that I read this novel as I feel my eyes have opened to a part of WWII knowledge that I would otherwise have known very little of.

A big thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this book makes you smile, cry, all mixed emotions about the bravery of women in WW2. This gives a very small insight into the hardships faced by "normal ladies from Australia". The Australian nurses who gave so much to so many. A story about which not a lot is known.

Credit to Heather Morris for all the background work and for bringing this story to life,

A story that needs to be out in the open and not hidden away under the carpet.

Excellent writing and the detail is amazing.

I loved the follow-up at the end telling us what had happened to the ladies featured in the book.

Another fascinating novel based on a true story I knew very little about. Such a harrowing ordeal. I really liked the fact that the real stories of the women featured in this fictionalised retelling were concluded in the afterword

My rating: 5 stars This is the 4th novel from Heather Morris and she didn't disappoint! The book reminded me so much of the movie, Paradise Road with Glenn Close. Close in telling but subtle differences. It wasn't until I got to the the Epilogue where I read that Betty wrote a story White Coolies that the movie was inspired from.

I had always heard about how the Japanese treated their POW's but having it told "up close and personal" was quite different. What moved me the most was the woman's choir and, of course, when they were rescued. I spent the last third of the book weeping for those brave woman who survived. Heather Morris's writing was exceptional ... you felt every emotion rolling of these woman

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

Wow! What an amazing book! If you read one historical novel this year then this should be it!
After reading the previous novels by Heather Morris I was really looking forward to this, though a bit apprehensive as it’s based in a different world to the previous books. But I didn’t need to be, yes, it’s a harrowing account once again that draws you into their world, but it is so well written it’s truely amazing! Heather Morris truly has a gift when it comes to writing.

I’ve read a lot of historical fiction books set around World War II, but I can’t think of one book I’ve read whose focus is the plight of woman Japanese prisoners of war. Based on true events, Sisters Under The Rising Sun is an astonishing story of sisterhood, bravery, friendship, and survival that will captivate readers. After the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the ship that holds refugees and nurses of the Australian army is bombed and sinks, with few survivors. Norah, a musician, and Nesta are two of the captured prisoners. This is their story.

Morris does a fabulous job in allowing the reader to feel the character’s emotions. As the reader, you sense their fear, despair, grief, and their hate for their captors. My heart ached for the horrific conditions the prisoners faced. Fear of starvation, the heat, with such chronic overcrowding, poor sanitation was the norm, and dysentery and typhus flourished. They subjected the women to constant brutality from their captors. Despite the terrible conditions, the women showed great courage, resourcefulness, and determination.. This book is based on personal stories of real people, which makes it all the more emotive.

Reading the biographies of some of the main characters at the end made for an emotional read. Sisters Under The Rising Sun is beautifully written, with the most amazing characters. Despite the horrors within its pages, this is ultimately a story that’s about courage and resilience of women and their ferocious will to survive against the odds.

Another amazing tale from heather morris, this time the tale of survival of Australian nurses in an internment camp in occupied Malaysia. We’ll written and compelling

Ever since a friend convinced me to read The Tattooist Of Auschwitz I've eagerly awaited every new book by Heather Morris. Her books led to me expanding my reading into survivor stories and historical fiction.

I still rate The Tattooist Of Auschwitz and Three Sisters as the very best so I couldn't wait to read this.

Sisters Under The Rising Sun recounts the stories of British civilians and Australian nurses who after surviving the sinking of their evacuation ship were interred in Japanese POW camps. From an English European perspective I had much less awareness of these camps than of the Holocaust.

Starvation rations, tropical diseases, the blazing sun, monsoons and storms. The resilience, hope and determination of these women was incredible.

I was frequently moved to tears, this is a very moving book. Bleak, heart wrenching, yet life affirming as this sisterhood of survivors hang onto hope.

Heather Morris's research included time spent with close relatives of these women, while this distances it slightly compared to the first hand recollections retold in The Tattooist Of Auschwitz and Three Sisters, this is a vitally important account of that time and these lives.

If you loved The Tattooist Trilogy this book is a must, if you've never read any biographical historical survivor stories, this book will move you to tears and leave you in awe of these women's hope and determination.

Thanks to Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre

I find books based on true stories very difficult to review. Safe to say this is a harrowing account of the cruelty and despicable conditions in the prisoner of war camps for women captured by the Japanese soldiers in World War 2. I am at a loss to know how they had the strength of spirit to survive.