A gripping, somewhat dark, tale from WWII -- Thief of Glory

Thief of Glory is a story inspired by Sigmund Brouwer's own parents and their experiences during WWII.

This was a book I couldn't completely like . . . but I couldn't really dislike.  It is a gripping tale, highlighting some of the difficult experiences from WWII in a setting I had not previously read about -- the Dutch East Indies.  Brouwer's detailed descriptions make the characters and their challenges come alive off the pages, causing you to feel like you're living their experiences with them.  There were times that I almost gave up on the book, but the quality of writing just wouldn't quite let me go.

Most of the story is written as a memoir, told from the perspective of a man looking back to his younger years, which made it a little hard for me to get into.  The fact that it was set mainly in a prison camp leads to dark details, although there are moments of light that shine through.  From the brief description I read of the book, I was expecting to see more of a Christian perspective and more romance.

I would recommend this book to readers prepared to handle dark historical details but would suggest that it not be read by immature or overly sensitive readers.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

About the book:

…A boy coming of age in a time of war

…the love that inspires him to survive

For ten year-old Jeremiah Prins, the life of privilege as the son of a school headmaster in the Dutch East Indies comes crashing to a halt in 1942 after the Japanese Imperialist invasion of the Southeast Pacific. Jeremiah takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings when his father and older stepbrothers are separated from the rest of the family, and he is surprised by what life in the camp reveals about a woman he barely knows his frail, troubled mother.

Amidst starvation, brutality, sacrifice and generosity, Jeremiah draws on all of his courage and cunning to fill in the gap for his mother. Life in the camps is made more tolerable as Jeremiah’s boyhood infatuation with his close friend Laura deepens into a friendship from which they both draw strength.

The darkest sides of humanity threaten to overwhelm Jeremiah and Laura, as time and war will test their fortitude. The only thing that will bring them safely to the other side is the most enduring bond of all.

About the author:

Sigmund is the best-selling author of nearly thirty novels, with close to 4 million books in print. Based on his inspiration for Thief of Glory, which Sigmund wrote as a way to learn and honor the his parent’s stories, especially of his father’s boyhood in a Japanese concentration camp, Sigmund leads The Chapters of Our Lives memoir seminars across the United States and Canada. (www.thechaptersofourlives.com). Sigmund is married to recording artist Cindy Morgan and has two daughters.

Find out more at sigmundbrouwer.com