Under The Tenko Sun
Under The Tenko Sun
By
Darryl Martel
A sweeping World War II novel of survival, loss, and the fragile threads of hope-set against the brutal backdrop of Japanese occupation in Southeast Asia.
In February 1942, as Singapore collapses under invasion, a group of British, Australian, and Dutch women are torn from their families and thrust into captivity. Forced first onto a doomed evacuation ship and then marched deep into the jungle, they are delivered to a makeshift internment camp on a remote island in the Dutch East Indies-abandoned by empire and forgotten by the world.
Eleanor Whitmore, a colonel's wife, finds her quiet authority tested beyond imagination. Margaret Evans, a young nurse, watches her compassion collide with starvation, disease, and daily cruelty. Sally Harding, a grieving widow, forms a fragile bond with nurse Nell Dawson-a connection that blossoms into forbidden love. And Dorothy Clarke, sharp-tongued and resourceful, makes uneasy bargains with guards that blur the line between survival and betrayal.
As the war grinds on, the women are driven through a series of camps, each harsher than the last. Malnutrition, illness, and the constant shadow of violence strip away the last comforts of humanity. Rivalries flare, loyalties fracture, and desperation breeds dangerous choices. An informant trades secrets to curry favour. A failed escape attempt ends in tragedy. Hunger becomes a weapon.
Yet amid the despair, moments of resilience endure-a shared scrap of food, a whispered prayer, a Christmas carol sung softly in defiance.
Their greatest battle is not against their captors, but against hopelessness. And when liberation finally arrives, it brings not relief but reckoning. Husbands return changed. Friendships bear the scars of betrayal. And the haunting truth emerges: survival carries its own kind of guilt.
Atmospheric, harrowing, and profoundly moving, Under the Tenko Sun explores how ordinary women-erased by history yet bound by courage-discover extraordinary strength. It is a story of endurance at the edge of humanity, and of the unbreakable bonds forged in the darkest of times.
Under the Tenko Sun is a sweeping historical novel of survival, loss, and the fragile threads of hope, set against the brutal backdrop of World War II in Southeast Asia.
In February 1942, as Singapore falls to the Japanese, a group of British, Australian, and Dutch women are torn from their families and thrust into captivity. Herded first onto a doomed evacuation ship and then into the depths of the jungle, they find themselves in a makeshift internment camp on a remote island in the Dutch East Indies.
Among them is Eleanor Whitmore, the reluctant leader, a colonel's wife whose steel is tested beyond imagination; Margaret Evans, a young nurse whose compassion collides with the daily cruelty of starvation and disease; Sally Harding, a grieving widow whose fragile bond with nurse Nell Dawson blossoms into a forbidden love; and Dorothy Clarke, sharp-tongued and resourceful, whose bargains with guards blur the line between survival and betrayal.
As the war grinds on, the women are forced through a
Customer Reviews
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
