Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.
Chargement... The War Nurses (édition 2023)par Anthea Hodgson (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreThe War Nurses par Anthea Hodgson
Aucun Chargement...
Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Inspired by the experiences of Australian nurses, including the author’s great aunt, in Singapore during WWII, The War Nurses is a remarkable and moving story of courage, tragedy and friendship from Anthea Hodgson. It’s 1941 when the Queen Mary sets sail carrying members of Australia’s armed forces overseas. Among them are volunteer enlisted nurses Margot, Beth, Lola, and Minnie, bunk mates who become friends on their journey. Stationed in Singapore, the women tend to the allied forces, proud to be of service, but they are forced to flee when the Japanese invade the island barely a year later. Herded onto the Vyner Brooke along with 60 other Australian nurses, over a hundred injured soldiers and dozens of expat evacuees, mostly women and children, the ship attempts an escape only to be strafed with bombs in the Bangka Strait. The fate of Hodgson’s four heroines, and their fellow survivors, illuminate those of their real-life counterparts. Around 150 people survived the sinking of the ship and made their way to the closest shore clinging to rafts and debris. Tragically around fifty met their death on Radji Beach, among them 22 Australian nurses, at the hands of a party of Japanese soldiers, except for one lucky escapee. The rest of the survivors were captured, separated by gender, and then interned in camps until the war ended in 1945. Not all lived to be released. I was already broadly familiar with the events on Bangka Island but the perspectives of the author’s characters create a sense of immersion in the ordeal. Written with genuine respect, compassion and empathy for the people on whom Hodgson’s characters are based, Margot, Beth, Lola, and Minnie are fully realised amalgamations. Hodgson relates how they endure their bleak circumstances with dignity, loyalty, wit, resourcefulness and determination. As Hodgson later notes, many of the incidents in the story that seem unbelievable or exaggerated, are actually true. It’s a harrowing tale that brought me to tears more than once. That anyone survived, not just physically, seems almost a miracle. Yet the horror is tempered by warm and inspiring moments of friendship and support, small rebellions, and even a touch of romance. A compelling novel, The War Nurses is a heartfelt and deserved tribute to the 65 members of the Australian Army Nursing Service who died and survived the sinking of Vyner Brooke. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
In 1941, country girls Minnie Hodgson and Margot McNee set sail from Perth, Australia for Singapore in search of adventure. The girls are full of excitement and keen to do their part working as nurses to the fallen soldiers in a time of war. What they encounter is an army of new friends and the terrors of a city under siege. When the Japanese attack and Singapore falls, they are forced to flee aboard the Vyner Brooke. The ship is bombed, resulting in utter devastation. Separated in the mayhem, one group of nurses finds themselves in prisoner-of-war camps for the duration of the war, surviving on their wits with humour, dignity, loyalty and determination. But another group of young Australian nurses are washed ashore on Bangka Island, where they will meet a fate that must never be forgotten. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucun
Google Books — Chargement... ÉvaluationMoyenne:
Est-ce vous ?Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing. |
The author's notes and acknowledgments at the end of the book let readers know important facts and how she pieced together the story. The mind boggles at what these women were forced to endure and at how they managed to use their wits and courage to survive in unbelievable circumstances. (One of the things that made the nurses' situation even worse was that they were not considered to be prisoners of war. They were merely "internees" and not given any of the paltry "extras" prisoners of war were allowed. This really put their creativity to the test.)
As sad and horrifying as The War Nurses could be, I also found it heartwarming to read how important and life-affirming friendship was to these women, and what they would do to endure, to live to tell others of what really happened. ( )