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1960: Nancy Drayton, an American nurse living on Lake Sebu, is visited by a stranger who hands her some faded letters, given to her by a dying man. Reading them transports Nancy back to the terror of the war years.
1941: When Nancy’s world is blown apart by the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, she volunteers to travel to the Philippines to serve at the front. She soon finds herself working in a field hospital on the Bataan Peninsula in the thick of the fighting, experiencing the horrors of war first hand.
When tending to some wounded men, she meets Captain Robert Lambert, and they become close. But the Japanese are closing in on Bataan, and when the US surrenders, they are driven apart.
As Robert struggles to survive the horrors of the Bataan Death March and the brutality of captivity in a prison camp, Nancy too finds herself a captive, fighting for her life. Will they survive to find one another again or will the forces of war keep them apart? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
The Lotus House is an amazing period piece, and a stark reminder of the brave men and women who fought valiantly during World War II, against the toughest of odds. Nancy is a military nurse who volunteers to aid the frontline of injured soldiers, soon meeting Robert, captain of one of the infantry units there. Having already dealt with immense sadness and grief at losing a loved one, Nancy doesn’t want to develop any type of feelings for Robert other than mutual professionalism, but a bond forms between them, built on respect, love, and war.
The reader gets to see both Nancy’s and Robert’s perspectives as they navigate a budding romance amidst destruction. It was heartbreaking to read about the experiences they both live through, with continual attacks from Japanese fighters, a horizon that is blown to bits by bombs, and the wounded and dying soldiers and civilians who fight like mad to survive while nurses and medical professionals try everything they can to save the lives around them. There are also small glimmers of hope, particularly when the nurses spend time on the beach at night, trying to find some levity anywhere they can, or when Nancy and Robert spend alone time together, reveling in what could be. They all do their best to find a means of peace within destruction and chaos.
When Nancy and Robert are separated, I wondered if they’d find their way to each other again. There was no tell-tale answer, not with the backdrop of the war. Nancy is shipped off with the other nurses, and Robert finds himself in a prison camp, with both characters desperately wanting to see an end that leads them back to a future together. I wanted nothing more than a happy ending, particularly after all they’d endured, and it took some time in discovering if that would even be a possibility.
One of the worst antagonists ever in a book: Larry Lomax. I won’t go into too much detail about him, but yikes. And while I understand The Lotus House is historical fiction, the events and what occurred within it felt very realistic and true to life to what I would imagine it would have been like for everyone involved in the war, and with what went down at Pearl Harbor. It was beautifully written and riveting, a well-worthy five-star page turner!
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Ann is also the author of The Lake Pavilion, The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, both set in French Indochina. The Runaway Sisters, bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home, and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture.
Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK.
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