The Officer's Daughter

by Zina Rohan

This is an epic wartime romance which sees a headstrong young woman face hardship, danger and dilemmas as the forces of history sweep her across continents, while two men compete to claim her heart. It is suitable for anyone who has ever missed a tube-stop while reading "Cold Mountain" or Captain Corelli's "Manddin"; those wanting something to tide them over until the next Sebastian Faulks; lastminute.com-ers in search of a book that will have them secretly hoping for a delayed flight...Sixteen-year-old Marta has always longed to follow her father and lead armies into battle. Instead, she finds herself leading her fellow girl-guides on a camping trip on the border between Poland and Germany on the very day in September 1939 that the Nazis invade. Immediately the girls are spirited across their Polish motherland to take refuge in a remote nunnery, but their safety is soon under threat...So begins a perilous adventure across thousands of miles - from the logging camps of frozen Siberia to the British field hospitals of Persia - during which Marta is forced to draw on reserves of courage she didn't think she had and make choices she never imagined she'd face, as her heart is torn between a fiery young Polish patriot and a charismatic Iranian doctor.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, War

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Judith Starkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Officer’s Daughter reminds me, oddly enough, of Huck Finn, if it’s possible to say that about a book set in World War II and crossing much of Poland, the USSR, and into Iran with a stop in England later on. It’s a tale of a young person’s epic journey and ongoing moral crises. No feuding between families, just nations, and plenty of slavery of one sort or other.

On the eve of the German invasion of Poland, Marta Dolniak, a headstrong, overly idealistic, naïve sixteen-year-old Polish girl and her fellow Girl Guides are separated by chance from their families and taken to a convent at the eastern edge of Poland. For the crime of having a father who is an officer in the Polish army, she is arrested by the Russians (at that moment, you’ll recall, Russia was allied with Germany) and taken to Siberia in a boxcar with a group of Jews. Marta has a great deal of growing up to do and she has to do it in the harshest of circumstances. She’s at her best when forced to rise to horrific challenges. She lets herself down with tragic consequences when she has a chance to make her own choices rather than responding to the requirements of war and abuse. As a detailed character study the book excels. The supporting characters are also persuasively and intimately developed. Rohan portrays moments of history with precision and intelligence.

Rohan depicts parts of the war that aren’t usually shown: the plight of Poles caught up as prisoners in the grinding “system” of the USSR and the mass evacuation into exotic places like Tehran of these starved souls once Russia changed its allegiance. Fortunately in the midst of such horrors, one of Rohan’s themes is the willingness of people to stand by each other, to risk themselves for the good of others. Interestingly, a character who vociferously voices the view that Marta should learn to put her own well being first, to act consistently out of self-interest, is the one who sacrifices the most and turns out not to believe his own advice.

The Officer’s Daughter portrays an epic span geographically and emotionally. Rohan employs fully her giant canvas, but the length, 576 pages, does drag the reader down at times, particularly when Marta is bringing self-inflicted misery on herself. I do recommend The Officer’s Daughter for an understanding of a less explored side of World War II and for an extended portrayal of a young woman you admire and want to strangle in turns.

[Alusha NotYourBusiness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, I liked how informative it was, how interesting the author made the girls journey, it was really great. The middle part has even got some romance in it and its very catchy from there. But the last 150 pages were very disappointing and the ending was terrible in my opinion!!!!
But if Zina Rohan will write a sequel.... to make the ending seem half as bad, I will give it 4 stars! AND read the sequel :D

[Margaret Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, until the end.

I'm getting this a lot recently, actually. In the last couple of years there have been a LOT of books I've read where I'm keen and interested and enjoying it and then, upon completion, want to drop-kick the book AND its author out a window for the totally anticlimactic letdown of an ending. I truly hope this isn't some sort of new post-postmodern trend.

I can't say more without spoilers, but I basically felt as though I'd been sucked into a vivid, incredibly well-described, moving world, where I understood the characters and the landscapes and the external pressures on them, and then the author just decided not to finish the book. I'm okay with unhappy or ambiguous endings, but this wasn't one - it just felt like the book was cut short, as though the author didn't quite know where to go next, and so she just decided to finish it there.

[Katie Mcsweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the writing and the story but as Alushs said I think the ending was a total let down, perhaps paving the way for a sequel. In that regard it reminded me of Belle by Leasley Pearse.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. An interesting story of life in a war torn country and a charming love story. But much more than that, it describes how strong Marta’s cultural identity is and how she felt lost without it and how in the end it was her came to her rescue.
It is a reminder that the very things that make us feel safe - home and family- can disappear in an moment and leave people displaced and fearful, it is a story of human resilience.

[Phyllida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoiler alert: I thought this book was about a Polish girl guide leading her friends to safety in WW2 but found it was more about her moving from one bad situation to another and needing different kinds of courage to deal with each one. It would have made up for it if she ever found happiness but she doesn't. I read this quickly just to get through it and move on to something less dreary.

[Lanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wciągająca i dość ciekawa, jednak całość psuje historia po opuszczeniu obozu i układaniu życia w nowej rzeczywistości. Jakież to było niepotrzebne i przeciągnięte do granic możliwości. Bez tego, książka warta uwagi.

[Liz Dalche · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story but can’t help being really disappointed with the ending - it felt like the author didn’t really know how to tie up all the loose threads and so it all ended abruptly without conclusions. It could have been so much better.

[Lizzie Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book which kept me hooked, but..... it rather petered out at the end which was a shame, and which is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars.

[Henni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hvis den sidste 1/3-1/4 del ikke havde været der havde den fået tre måske 4 stjerner.
Bogen starter rigtigt godt, med vores heltinde Marta på grænsen til Tyskland da 2. verdenskrig bryder ud, vi følger hendes rejse gennem Polen/Rusland/Iran som flygtning, krigsfange og fri og det er spændende og interessant fortalt ud fra en polsk teenagers syn. Men så knækker filmen desværre (i min verden) og bogen går fra at være en sød feelgood til en tragisk øv-historie - det er synd for det kunne have været en rigtig dejlig bog.

[Kerry Hallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched book;I found the detail about life in Poland, Siberian Labour Camps and Iranian Field Hospitals in World War II fascinating. Disappointingly I was less impressed by the heroine who I found somewhat unconvincing. Like other reviewers I found the last hundred or so pages rather weak and the story simply seemed to fizzle away.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the book provided interesting insights into life, attitudes and hardships suffered by the Poles in WW2 I could not warm to the main character at all, a disappointing read in the end which felt as if it was only half done.

[Barbara Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the Second World War in Poland. Only book I have ever read with an Agata as a character (name of Katie's best friend)! Definitely worth a read. Bit disappointing finish.

[Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I got a sense of the circumstances and history of the time. There was a good pace to the story, made me read on or stop and think.

[Chelsea Lulu]

Best read ever.