I just finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand a few days ago. I've been reading a lot of "fluff" books and YA fiction so I thought I should try a grown up book. And I really liked it. I was worried it was going to be super depressing and hard to get through, but Laura Hillenbrand really did a great job telling this heart wrenching story without making me feel too heavy or down while I was reading it.
Unbroken is the story of the Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini. While training for the 1940 Olympics WWII broke out and Louis joined the war. Serving as a bombardier his plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean leaving only 3 of them alive. After floating on the raft for 47 days, beating sharks, dehydration, and ocean storms they find themselves on a Japanese occupied island. They are then sent to endure years of torture and hard labor in POW camps.
This story really is what the cover says: a WWII story of survival, resilience, and redemption. One line that has stuck with me since I read it, was after the POWs were freed one said that if they knew they would have to go through the same ordeal again, they would rather die. It really is amazing the amount of suffering a person can live through, but it was so heartbreaking to hear of the broken men that returned to the USA after living through such an ordeal.
I know it sounds a bit depressing the way I describe it, but I really don't want to give everything away. It did leave me feeling inspired, if not a little emotional. I would recommend it as one of the most worth while things I've read in a while.
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