Those I Have Lost by Sharon Maas ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A secret love affair on a faraway island. Seas crawling with Japanese spies. A terrible war creeping ever closer…

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I read a lot of WWII historical fiction but it's almost always about the war in Europe. Those I Have Lost takes place in Ceylon and India and about how they were affected by the war with Japan.  

July 2021; Bookouture; 978-1800196216
audio, ebook, print (392 pages); historical fiction

In 1933 when Rosie was 10, her beloved mother died.  The family lived in India where the father was a professor of languages and her mother took care of the house and Rosie.  She and her father were distraught at the death and when her mom's best friend came from Ceylon, she had a letter that her mom had written several years earlier that asked her to raise Rosie if anything happened to her.  Rosie and her father both realized that this was the best solution so she moved to Ceylon with her Aunt Silvia and became part of the family with two boys near her age and an older boy in college in England.  Her life is happy and carefree until the threat of war gets stronger.  All three of the brothers sign up for the military much to Aunt Silvia's dismay.  Rosie decides that she needs to do more for the war effort so she starts working as a typist for the government.  As the losses to her family start to happen, Rosie wonders if she'll ever find love and happiness.  When the war is finally over, Rosie waits to see if any of the men in her life return home.

This coming of age story is told by Rosie and is written as a memoir later in her life.  She is a brave girl, true to her friends and family but is often stubborn and set in her ways.  The author does a fantastic job of making the story come alive with her descriptions of the scenery as well as the food.  It was very interesting to read about the effect of the war that is not often written about.  My only complaint about this book is that it starts off very slowly.  My advice is to keep reading because when it picks up, it's a fantastic look at how the war affected both the military and their families in this war.

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Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. Since her travel plans had to be canceled for this year, she is starting to make plans for travel in 2021. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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