The Rape of Nankingby Iris Chang

The rape of Nanking is a story showing the courage of a small group of foreign residents helped in rescuing more than 100,000 individuals by creating a Nanking Safety zone by putting their own lives in danger. The story brings to light a horrible episode which is rightly described by many critics as a ‘forgotten holocaust’.

Chang has vividly described the plight of Nanking on the basis of the stories heard from her immigrant parents about the Japanese atrocities. Her account of the barbaric episode is presented in such a detailed manner that it can send cold sensation in anyone’s body who has emotions for others. It is a graphic tale of an unparalleled atrocity which thousands of men, women and even children were machine gunned, beheaded, crushed by tanks and burned alive. The novel bares the inhuman act in which thousands of women of all age groups were raped by Japanese troops and their respect and identity was crushed under those cruel feet.

Rajesh B.