What do readers think of The Prisoner's Wife by Maggie Brookes? Write your own review.

I have to admit I had a hard time getting into this book. I thought the first few chapters of Izzy and Bill's relationship was silly and simplistic and some of the things that happened between them were unnecessary. Once the author got into the meat of the story and the meat of their relationship things changed. This is so much more than a story of two people who literally lived through hell to be with each other. It's also the story of the care and compassion and sacrifices that people made in the concentration camps despite the deplorable conditions and the the despicable treatments in order to save another person. It's a story of prisoners being so very human despite the awful inhumanity. It's the story of Izzy and Bill yes, but I found it to be more a story of Izzy. She lived as a mute man, denying her body, struggling with her menses and just the every day dilemma just to bathe or pee, constantly living with the fear of discovery. I loved her and her strength. I would love to know what happened to her after the war. That's how deeply she affected me.

I was caught up in this story inspired by true events. The author's thorough research about the prisoner of war and labor camps is evident. I could vividly see the overcrowded barracks, smell the stench of unwashed bodies and imagine the hunger of starving humans pushed to the brink. The brazen act of a woman hiding among all the male prisoners is hard to imagine but makes me think that there had to be a great love affair between husband and wife. I hope, with the publication of this book, someone will come forward and name the real prisoner and his wife and tell us their story.

The Prisoner's Wife is work of fiction based on a true story told to the author by a survivor of a POW camp in WWII of how a Czech woman survived as a POW along with her British husband. Intrigued by the story, the author researched WWII POW experiences to write this novel. She brilliantly creates a story that is spell-binding, realistic and captivating. You are carried along with as the woman, Izzy, and her husband, Bill, meet men who keep her secret safe and in so doing become her friends. The ending with the long march right before the end of WWII is particularly riveting as the characters experience extreme coldness and hunger that is unimaginable. I kept reading because I simply had to know how the story ended. Highly recommend.

World War II historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the most difficult of circumstances. It can inspire us and educate us in with details of little known events. The Prisoner's Wife is inspired by actual events. The story does educate us about circumstances in Lamsdorf POW camp in Poland, a quarry in occupied Czechoslovakia, and the Long March west. Unfortunately, I did not particularly enjoy most of the main characters. There were portions of their story that I just did not care about. Sadly, the story fell flat for me which was surprising to me. If you love WWII historical fiction, give it a try. However if it doesn't grab your attention in the first 100 pages, put it down for something else.

I enjoy any book that is based on a true story during this period of history. This one misses the mark for me. While there were highlights, well researched areas in the middle of the story, the beginning and ending were weak. A missed opportunity to have a very good book from a different view.

Can you imagine the events described in this book occurring to the two main characters? Probably not. The story is built on a story passed on by an elderly POW camp survivor. Due to the lack of historical documentation much of the story is a product of the authors imagination and much is the insertion of tales of the activities which may or may not have taken place in POW camps. While the author clearly states the story is a novel, the content stretches for acceptance. The are far too many fortuitous events to gain plausibility. Some judicious editing would result in a shorter more enjoyable read.

This book. based on true facts, could have been a riveting read. The plot is different, the characters well developed, the writing excellent. But it has a glaring fault: there is so much minutiae that the book becomes too long, too dragged out, and somewhat repetitive in its actions.
I kept thinking that frequently less is more, and less of this book with details and explanations, and more left to the intelligence/imagination of the reader would have made it a more compelling read.

This historic fiction is based on a true story. It is set in Czechoslovakia in 1944. A Czech farm girl (Izabela) and a British soldier (Billl) are on the run but are caught by Nazi soldiers and sent to a POW camp. I usually enjoy 1st person narrative books but found this one slow and drawn out. However, I think it would make an compelling movie.