Although the horrors of WWII are still alive in our daily historical memories, mostly the focus is on the European realm. In fiction or historical reports, the temptation is to rather cover geographical areas relatively familiar instead of exploring unknown territories.
I´ve read in the last years various accounts about the war fought and the horrors commited by the Japanese Army during WWII in the territories occupied in Asia, but there are not too many books of historical fiction covering the Philippines. Thus, my interestfor The Lotus House by British author of historical fiction Ann Bennett.
With a timeline going back and forth from the 1960s to the 1940s - the moment of the attack on Pearl Harbor - the story is built around the figure of Nancy, an American nurse who shortly after he fiancé was killed in the Pacific, decided to relocate to the Philippines to help the local war efforts.
A story of love and betrayal, it outlines the deep human connections that can be built during moments of deep human crisis, and the women´s solidarity that may come with it. The alternance between dialogues and the story structure creates a story that´s hard to leave until the very end. I also loved how the nature descriptions in various moments of the narrative resonate with the characters and the turns of the story.
The Lotus House is an insightful novel, recommended to any lover of contemporary historical fiction. A plus if you are interested in untold stories of the WWII. Personally, I am very much interested to read more by Ann Bennett, as I loved her writing style and the approach to very sensitive unique historical facts.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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