I simply loved this book. It is very well written. It keeps your attention as you just want to find out what happens. The story begins with a flashback in time - our main character, Jeremiah Prins is an old man sitting in jail. His daughter asks him to tell his story. He realizes that "to tell our story makes us human and to be human is to tell our story." p. 275. His flashback is the story as he begins to journal it for his daughter to read after he is dead.
It is an amazing story --- the author's own father and grandmother survived the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Dutch East Indies. They ended up in an internment camp where they endured brutal treatment by the Japanese. The setting for The Thief of Glory is in such an internment camp. The author depicts the difficult struggles faced by those in the camp. It truly is a very good book. This is a story that needs to be told so that events like this can be prevented from ever happening again. It truly is horrific what the Japanese allowed to occur in the camps. Truly horrific.
The book highlights the struggles of a 10 year old boy --- boyhood rivalries, family dynamics and first loves. It is also about reconciliation and forgiveness for others and forgiving one's own actions.
A wonderful quote from the book ---
"I did not like him, but in that moment I could feel love for him. It would be wonderful if we could always see that what we have in common as humans outweighs our differences." p. 310
I highly recommend reading this book.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for a honest review.
