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There are currently 35 member reviews
for The Prisoner's Wife
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Annette S. (Duluth, GA)
The Prisoner's Wife
I selected to review this book because it takes place in World War II and the location is where my grandparents emigrated from. I was not disappointed.
It is a page-turning story of love and survival that takes place in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The main characters escape capture while searching for Izzy's father and brother in order to join them in the resistance fighters. But when their luck runs out, they are delivered into the hands of the occupying enemy, the German army. Izzy is disguised as young man and pretends to be unable to speak. They are transported to a POW camp and Izzy is assumed to be a mute young British soldier. The book is based on a true story and takes the reader deep into a rarely seen side of World War II.
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Susan L. (Alexandria, VA)
The Prisoner's Wife Captured Me
This book tossed me into Izabel's life with all its risks and stress and held me captive. It was an amazing tale made even more so by the fact that it was based on a true story. The characters had such courage and determination. It is a story that reveals both the horrors man is capable of and the perseverance, faith and love. The Prisoner's Wife is a must read for anyone interested in historic novels or World War II, but also for anyone who wants to read about a strong woman who would face horrors to be with the one she loves.
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Linda Z. (Melville, NY)
Desperate Measures
Maggie Brookes, author of "The Prisoner's Wife" has written a unique, memorable, poignant, intense, captivating, and riveting novel. The Genres for this Novel are Historical Fiction and Fiction. The author is basing this novel on a true story, and using poetic license, filling in certain fictional details. The timeline for this story is during World War Two. The story begins in Czechoslovakia and goes to surrounding areas. The author describes her characters as complex, and complicated. Some are courageous, moral and brave. Others are mean spirited and evil. There is loyalty and betrayal.
Bill is an English soldier, that has been captured and is a Prisoner of War and being used with the other men on farms in Czechoslovakia to do the heavy work. Izzy is a young woman helping her mother run the farm and falls in love with Bill. Izzy's mother is concerned about the War and has mentioned to Izzy, that it would be a good idea for Izzy to cut her hair and dress like a boy, so hopefully, any soldiers would leave her alone.
Izzy and Bill marry and are planning to run away together. They are both captured by the Germans. Izzy decides to pass herself off as a young man. Bill realizes that he is going to have to trust some of the other male prisoners to protect her. Some of these prisoners are risking their own lives to protect Izzy's identity. If Izzy is found, she will be shot. Not everyone can be trusted. These are German soldiers, and this is set during World War Two.
The author vividly describes the events and the characters. This is a very edgy and tense read. I would highly recommend this book for readers who like World War Two Historical Fiction.
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Martha S. (Mentor, OH)
The Prisoner's Wife
What a good book this is! The book is based on a story a WWII prisoner told to the author and fleshed out with much research. The story features a farm girl and the prisoner who was sent to her family farm by the Nazis to help with the farm. I have read quite a few WWII books in the past year and this one not only was so interesting, it also stole my heart. The pace of the story keeps you reading and the character development is wonderful. I loved how the author developed her characters and what characters they were. The surprise is how these characters supported the woman, her privacy and marriage. As the story develops, Izzy matures and becomes more resilient to the harshness of her captivity, and of her reaction to her dreams of her life; past, present and future. I highly recommend this book, not only to WWII readers but to all readers who love a good story.
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Arlene I. (Johnston, RI)
WOW!
The prisoner's wife is a riveting and page turning story about two young lovers starting their life together in a most extraordinary way, a POW camp. The author's research is very apparent throughout the book. As a result, the visual description and imagery are key to the story. The long march through the ice and snow, the camp conditions, the guards ruthlessness, the group of protective prisoners, will have the readers feeling they are part of this unbelievable tale. A good book makes the reader a watcher of the story being told; and excellent book has the reader experiencing the book with the characters. The writer has you feeling the despair of almost giving up, the one square of chocolate melting in your mouth, the thirst and hunger of each prisoner, The Prisoner's Wife is that excellent book!
Maggie's Brooke's set up her chapters in alternating voices which actually makes a smoother reading of the story. This true tale is an historian's delight. Whether you read this book for for the historical value or for the love story, you will find yourself immersed in the many unfolding characters. Kudos to Ms. Brooke for letting the reader experience both the sadness and joy of these special characters. Definitely a best seller!!
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Ariel F. (Madison, WI)
Faith, courage, bravery in WWII
This novel, based on a true story, was one that kept my attention throughout the book. A Czech prisoner farm girl who falls in love with a British soldier. With faith, love, bravery, and courage they escape and marry. Her escape was a dangerous one where at any point they could have been captured.As I was reading, I kept wondering what happened to the people that the novel was based on.
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Stephanie M. (Mount Vernon, IL)
The Prisoner's Wife
In The Prisoner's Wife, Izabel falls deeply in love with Bill, a POW in a WWII prison camp. Izabel and Bill plot to get Bill out of the prison camp and get married. The two begin a multi day escape from the Czech farm and POW camp. For the escape, Izzy transforms herself, via hair and clothes, into a boy to make traveling easier while on the run. After many days of night travel and day sleeping, the two are captured and the story really begins. Based on a story told to the author, Izzy and Bill are taken to another POW camp where the fellow prisoners help to keep her secret hidden.
I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. I enjoyed reading the story from Izzy's point of view. I could not stop turning pages. I was captivated by the history story and the historical story that it told about the conditions the POWs lived in. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves historical fiction.
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