Angels of the Pacific: A Novel of World War II
This is a fast-paced and well researched historical account surrounding the military nurses held by the Japanese as prisoners of war in Manila, who have come to be known as the “Angels of Bataan.” While fictionalized before, the story is told here by an authoritative author in a refreshingly authentic female voice and perspective.
Two women are at the heart of the story. Flor Dalisay is a Filipina former math student turned wartime accountant. Supported by her local network in occupied Manila, including her sister Iris, Flor pursues creative and often daring plans to support the women of the U. S. Army nurse corps confined in a former convent. This includes American army nurse Tess Abbott. Unlike Filipina girls like Flor, whose dreams and self-respect are being slowly crushed by Japanese occupation, the war at first presented Tess a welcome opportunity to serve in her profession and see the world beyond her rural Depression upbringing. The overwhelming Japanese invasion and subsequent brutality of the Bataan death march joined the two women’s fates. The women face both different and similar challenges. Shame and moral erosion dog Flor’s efforts to overcome the economic deprivation that is slowly grinding Manila’s once vibrant economy. Despite this, with an often-desperate audacity, she is driven to help the western nurses held prisoner and undermine the occupying forces any way she can.
The style is vivid and highly readable, shedding light on many previously little-known aspects of what day-to-day life must have been like for these remarkable warriors. Recommended reading for fans of the era.
