There have been quite a few books recently around the subject of World War II, which I feel are important so that we never forget the atrocities that occurred.
I'd never before heard of "The Nine" so was looking forward to a new perspective. I'm not convinced I really got it though.
I feel that these books tend to work best when the stories come from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and the nine really weren't big on sharing their experiences. The result is a book that feels a little cobbled together from old written accounts and supposition. There was a feeling of "you could imagine that" about the accounts rather than a definitive/personal relating of how things were. For me that left a lack of peril and tension - and there can be absolutely no doubt that these women must have been terrified most of the time.
More sobering were the statistics relating to the wholesale rape of women (of all nationalities) by the forces that were rescuing them.
In summary I found it interesting in parts but not the best example of the genre.
I'd never before heard of "The Nine" so was looking forward to a new perspective. I'm not convinced I really got it though.
I feel that these books tend to work best when the stories come from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and the nine really weren't big on sharing their experiences. The result is a book that feels a little cobbled together from old written accounts and supposition. There was a feeling of "you could imagine that" about the accounts rather than a definitive/personal relating of how things were. For me that left a lack of peril and tension - and there can be absolutely no doubt that these women must have been terrified most of the time.
More sobering were the statistics relating to the wholesale rape of women (of all nationalities) by the forces that were rescuing them.
In summary I found it interesting in parts but not the best example of the genre.