Based on a true story, this gripping WWII novel captures the resilience, hope, and courage of a Dutch family who is separated during the war when the Japanese occupy the Dutch East Indies.
Java Island, 1941.
Six-year-old Rita Vischer cowers in her family’s dug-out bomb shelter, listening to the sirens and waiting for a bomb to fall. Her charmed life on Java—living with other Dutch families—had always been peaceful, but when Holland declares war on Japan and the Japanese army invades Indonesia, Rita’s family is forced to relocate to a POW camp, and Rita must help care for her little brother, Georgie.
Mary Vischer is three months pregnant when she enters the Tjideng women’s camp with thousands of other women and children. Her husband, George, is somewhere on the Java Sea with the Dutch Navy, so she must care alone for her young children, Rita and Georgie, and her frail mother. The brutal conditions of the overcrowded camp make starvation, malaria, and dysentery a grim reality. Mary must do everything she can to keep her family alive.
George Vischer survives the bombing of his minesweeper but feels little hope floating on a small dinghy in the Java Sea. Reaching the northern tip of the Thousand Islands would be a miracle. Focusing on of the love of his life, Mary, and his two children, he battles against the sea and merciless sun. He’ll do whatever it takes to close the divide between him and his family, even if it means risking being captured by the Japanese.
Under the Java Moon highlights a little-known part of WWII history and the impact of war on Indonesia, its people, and the more than 100,000 Dutch men, women, and children who were funneled into prison camps and faced with the ultimate fight for survival.
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“Resonating with stories of the best and worst amidst the cruelties of war. Highlights an area less explored in WWII fiction. Excellent historical novel based on a true story will be eagerly consumed by readers interested in the era.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
“Illuminating…Does the valuable work of reviving the lesser-known stories of WWII’s Dutch internees through the story of a loving family that faces an unthinkable plight.”
— Foreword Reviews“This compelling novel will draw you in and won’t let you go.”
— Marriane Monson, author of Frontier Grit“A masterwork of historical fiction, set against the backdrop of a forgotten battlefield in World War II.”
— Jerry Borrowman, author of Compassionate SoldierBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Annette Lyon is a USA Today bestselling author. She has written in many different genres, but focuses on women’s fiction, with her target audience including members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Bianca Amato, winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the Audie Award for best narration, is an actress born and raised in South Africa. Trained at the University of Cape Town’s Drama school, she went on to work in theater and television in South Africa before moving to New York in 2002.