The story of Manila and the Philippines from 1941-1945 under Japanese occupation. Specifically, it is the story of two women and how they lived trying to get supplies, protecting their children, and yes, even aiding the guerillas. Although a work of historical fiction, I found it to be very accurate, even if glossed over for the sake of brevity. Nicely done, Ms. Solomon! 398 pages ( )

Philippines in December 1941. What could possibly go wrong? Along the Broken Bay does a good job of highlighting just what did go wrong. I had friends who lived through the horrors of Santo Tomas and the Japanese administration of the Philippines. I heard many stories growing up about the atrocities and the resistance of the people so I had a good grounding in the basic story line of this book.

Ms. Solomon does a good job of introducing what went on to anyone who has an interest in the War in the Pacific. Because of the time compression of the story, some things are brushed over, but the ground work is there for further exploration if one so desires. As a novel I found the main characters engaging and the plot line moved along well.

I would gladly recommend this book to others who have an interest in WWII and what happened in the Philippines. ( )

Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon is a historical novel about the Philippine Islands during World War II. It opens just before the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and introduces Gina Capelli Thorpe, an American expat who lives in Manila with her engineer husband and small daughter, Cheryl. Gina’s husband has been called to help the army on the island of Corregidor, and when the Japanese attack Manila, just 10 hours after Pearl Harbor, he is trapped there. Gina and her daughter escape to the Zambales Mountains along with her best friend and her two daughters. Soon a small camp of Americans are living in the mountains and forming themselves into a resistance group. Gina is dispatched back to Manila in order to help supply the group with money, medicine and guns.

Gina reinvents herself as an Italian expat and before long is running a nightclub that caters to the wealthy Japanese. She delights in the fact that the Japanese are both paying for the guerrillas and supplying information that she is able to pass on. Gina struggles to stay one step ahead of the Japanese, she worries about her husband, a captive of the Japanese and her daughter who she left in the mountains in the care of her friend.

This author has a background of working in research and she did an excellent job of inserting her facts into the story in an interesting way that helped to move the story along. The story was engaging and overall the book was very good. I felt that the characters could have been developed a little more as at times I felt we were only getting a surface look at these people. Overall, I enjoyed Along the Broken Bay and would recommend it to anyone who wishes to read about the invasion of the Philippines during World War II. ( )