I was fascinated by the events in 'Sisters under the Rising Sun' - a war tale that I was not familiar with. The Australian nurses were so dedicated to their jobs and it is a tragedy that so many lost their lives in the initial attack on their ship. The mind boggles as to how many women and children did eventually survive the war in such difficult and harsh conditions in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp.

Heather Morris has researched this well and I am a big fan - her other books are similarly well researched.

I adore Heather's previous novels: The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey, and Three Sisters (otherwise known as the Auschwitz trilogy), plus her non-fiction book Stories of Hope. I think she is such a fabulous storyteller and so sensitive and warming.

This is slightly different to the Auschwitz trilogy. It is still set in the war, and it is still about families and strangers in dangerous times, trying to survive, but it's not set in the familiar surroundings of Auschwitz. We've travelled to the East to see how the war affected them, and I was really excited to see how Heather told their story.

It has a completely different tone to the Auschwitz series. It's hard to explain. Obviously it's still about the war and the horrors and torture and starvation etc. But the Auschwitz stories felt more...I don't want to say relatable because of course it isn't, but maybe more familiar, we all have some knowledge of what happened in those camps. Whereas this one was so shocking to me that I felt it was more heart twisting and heart-breaking because it was so raw and violent.

It is as full on and brutal as I've come to expect from her books. There's no dilly-dallying, it goes straight into the action and we're immediately bombarded with fear and injury and panic, and it really is very moving. It holds onto your heart strings from the off and doesn't let you go throughout.

What Heather has managed to do here, similarly to her previous books, is to find the joy and hope amongst the horror. No-one can say these people didn't endure some of the most horrific of circumstances at the hand of the enemy, whether it be in Auschwitz or otherwise, and it might have been incredibly difficult to find any sort of hope amongst their situation. But she's found it. And it's obvious that this is what helped the prisoners get through day to day. To hope it was one day closer to freedom. It also shows the importance of music. Music can heal so many mental and emotional ills, but we tend to take it for granted, some sort of hobby rather than something vital to our survival.

What I love about Heather' books is, not only are they good reading, they are informative. I knew nothing about the goings on in the East before I read this. These are things not taught at schools, and even if we're rapidly galloping towards a century since WW2, it's vital we remember all the atrocities and all the victims. The sheer amount of research she would have had to do in this book, on the punishments, the Prisoner of War camps, the nurses, the names, the history...everything is based on truth, and to find a way to include it all without it feeling bogged down is genius. Sadly I'm sure there are thousands of stories like this one, but I'm sure coping that Heather will continue to tell them.

Unsurprisingly, for such a moving book, I found myself reading it through tears. It is so sensitively written, it's like Heather knows and loves and cares for these characters as if they were her kin. I cried out of sadness, out of anger, and out of joy, because there are rays of sunshine, you just have to look for it.

Again, I love that Heather has added the true biographies of some of these women at the end of the book. It really brings them to life and reminds us that, whilst this may be a piece of fictional entertainment, these women were very real and they went through very real atrocities, and I think it's a beautiful touch that Heather has given thanks to each and every one of them.

Just over four decades ago, a joint collaboration between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC, brought a TV drama to our screens called Tenko. It was about the experiences of British, Australian and Dutch women who were captured and interned by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The TV series lasted about as long as the internment. The experience of series consultant the late Margaret Henderson Thomson MBE mirrors those of the chief characters in Sisters under the Rising Sun. Other than the capture and the final release of the women when the Japanese surrender, the majority of the book deals with life in the camps. A life of boredom, starvation, disease and death but with golden moments when music lifted the spirits of those wretched souls living in such desperate circumstances. The book is very well researched from numerous sources. I judge the book purely on its historical authenticity and in imparting to the reader what the internees endured.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun tells the story of Norah and Nesta and the incredible women and children who endured the Japanese Prisoner of War camps during World War II. I will forever be in awe of these women's courage, kindness and compassion. As with all of Heather Morris' books, I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend.

Thank you to Heather Morris,  NetGalley, and the publishers for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 28th September 2023.

This book explores the sometimes forgotten about prisoners of war in WW2. Based on fact it tells the remarkable story of woman captured by the Japanese and the everyday horrors they endured.

It amazes me that the human spirit can find strength when faced with such horrific situations but I loved how we got to know the characters which gave the subject a personal meaning.

A book exploring one of the aspects of war I knew very little of but one that demonstrated how friendship and bravery can prevail even in the most brutal situations.

Great writing by Heather Morris it is evident throughout the book the amount of research this novel entailed.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

A real heartbreaking, emotional read about the brave women struggling to survive the Prisoner of War camps in WW2.

The fact that this story is based on real events makes it even more harrowing.

Well-researched and sensitively written. I particularly liked the authors notes about the individual women at the end.

Having loved Heather Morris' previous books I was excited for this title. However I was slightly disappointed with this title compared to her previous 3. There is a wide breadth of characters and as such it was hard to keep track of who was who. There is also a large number of spelling and grammatical errors which didn't help matters! Overall this was well written but I don't feel like we really got to know anyone with much detail or depth like we have previously in the tattooist of Auschwitz etc. As such I found it hard to relate with Norah, Ena or Nesta who are the main characters in this novel.

I really enjoyed reading this book about the phenomenal attitude of these brave women.
I remember watching Tenko in the 1980's, and whilst reading this book, I could visualise it more.
There brave women fought to survive and thank you Heather Morris for bringing some of those ladies to light. I enjoyed reading the author's notes about the individual women and their history.

This is a remarkable story of British, Australian and Dutch women’s struggle to survive at the hands of the Japanese in WW2. Many of these women were on a vessel bombed by the Japanese, but successfully made it ashore only to be captured and held in a series of POW camps in Indonesia. Through their strength of character, ingenuity, comradeship and pure stubbornness they survived on morsels of food and beatings, they sacrificed so much in their fight to survive, burying many of their friends along the way. Extensive research is very evident as the author pulls together their stories; the result is an eye opening read of empathy and understanding of the situation. I did feel, however, that the novel was unnecessarily drawn out when the inevitable conclusion was easily reached. It is truly a “heartbreaking, inspirational uplifting story “. Not my usual genre, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it captured my attention throughout.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books the publishers for this advance copy.

Totally gripping and heartbreaking. Set during WWII, this book was based on fact and tells,the story of remarkable women and their focus to survive the horrors of being the Japanese prisoners of war. Highly recommend

This book deals with a very dark time in the Second World War with dignity and care. Wonderful characterisation, and sensitively described. I particularly enjoyed the end of the book where it told the reader what happened to the characters following repatriation. This author has written some amazing books about actual people and historical events, I hope she writes more.

I was so excited to see a new book available by Heather Morris, like many I devoured the heart-wrenching tattooist some years ago.

Sisters under the rising sun is another devastatingly, heart wrenching read which is set in the Japanese prisoner of war camps during the Second World War.
An emotional read that brought me to tears as I witnessed the cruel and despicable conditions they had to endure. Although it also demonstrated how strong and courageous women can be when faced with adversity. I’m in awe of these women whose inspirational story I genuinely knew nothing about.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre for early access to this phenomenal 5 ⭐️ novel.

Once again an amazing readable novel from Heather Morris, detailing the stories of the Australian nurses and English ex-pats who became Japanese prisoners of war in Indonesia. This tale was told with dignity and attention to detail and it was nice to read something around WW2 that is lesser known. I would love Heather Morris to tackle another story about either Mengele’s experiments or about the various female European resistance fighters, but that’s by and by.

Honestly, just a really good book.

I was so excited to see a new book by this phenomenal author. Set in Japanese prisoner of war camps, the subject is something I'm only vaguely familiar with so it was really interesting - and heartbreaking - to learn more. While at times it does feel that these women are spectacularly resourceful, it does show their determination and desperation. The conditions were very vividly described and many of the characters will remain with you. Yes, you'll be weeping by the end but mostly it's gripping and shocking, but not without optimism and hope. I really appreciated the extras at the end where we learn of the real people behind the story. I absolutely recommend this book. It's a story that needs and deserves to be told.

Singapore 1942, the Japanese invasion underway many men, women and children headed for the docks and were evacuated on the SS Vyner Brooke. It was attacked and sunk by Japanese aircraft as it headed for the Banka Strait. This novel is the story of the women who survived the attack, made it to land and were taken prisoner. Real women, real events and real trauma. The bravery and resilience of these women was an inspiring and humbling read.

The overlying theme was one of sisterhood, support and friendship and it was a heart wrenching read. That said, I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I wanted to be, possibly because there were so many of them and possibly because they were all just a little bit too nice.

Its an interesting read and its definitely recommended, I applaud the author for bringing the plight, suffering and heroism of these courageous women to a wider audience. For those interested in reading more on the subject I'd also recommend White Coolies by Betty Jeffrey.

Keep reading at the end, the authors note and afterword by relatives of some of the women is well worth reading.

This book dealt with an issue I knew very little about and again highlighted the suffering of women during world war 2.

This time Heather Morris highlights the suffering of a group of Australian nursing sister who are interned with other English and Dutch women and children by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942. They are moved between 5 camps before 1942 and 1945. More than half the sisters do not survive. They are led by Sister Nesta James and the story highlights the plight of the nursing sisters and the family of Norah, Ena and June.

You are given a vivid description of the deprivations they suffered and the cruelties inflicted upon them yet through it all they endure and even hope.

A novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of times.

One to be recommended - emotionally draining but so worth reading.

I was looking forward to reading this latest book by Heather Morris and oh boy, this did not disappoint. unlike her previous novels, this is based around a variety of women and children who were captured and kept in a Japanese camp. the atrocities and hardships they suffered but above all, the strength and love for each other that helped them survive. I would definitely recommend this book.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun
Heather Morris

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.