A boy coming of age in a time of war…the love that inspires him to survive.
 
For ten year-old Jeremiah Prins, a life of privilege as the son of a school headmaster in the Dutch East Indies comes crashing to a halt in 1942. When the Japanese Imperialist army invades the Southeast Pacific, and his father and older stepbrothers are separated from the rest of the family, Jeremiah takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings. But he is surprised by what life in the camp reveals about his frail, troubled mother—a woman he barely knows.

Amidst starvation, brutality, sacrifice and generosity, Jeremiah draws on all of his courage and cunning to fill in the gap his father and brothers left behind. Life in the camps is made more tolerable as Jeremiah’s boyhood infatuation with his close friend Laura deepens into a friendship from which they both draw strength.

When the darkest sides of humanity threaten to overwhelm Jeremiah and Laura, they reach for God’s light and grace, shining through his people. Time and war will test their fortitude and the only thing that will bring them safely to the other side is the most enduring bond of all. Praise for Thief of Glory

“Emotionally riveting and exquisitely raw, Thief of Glory is an unforgettable
tale about survival, not just of the body, but of the heart and soul, with an ending
that will echo in your mind long after you’ve closed the book. Brouwer is a
master storyteller.”
—Susan Meissner, author of A Fall of Marigolds
 
“In Thief of Glory Sigmund Brouwer plunges readers into the mysterious embrace
of the Dutch East Indies during the convulsions of the Second World
War. Few authors have such an ability to immerse an audience in the sights,
sounds, smells…and horrors! Brouwer makes you live it…sharing each moment
of an exotic and terrifying time and place in a gripping, personal way.”
—Bodie and Brock Thoene, authors of Take This Cup
 
“Sigmund Brouwer’s Thief of Glory is a powerful story, richly told. Young Jeremiah
Prins is a complex and fascinating hero, blessed with great gifts and
challenged by choices to use them for good or evil. The details of life in a Japanese
civilian prison camp are revealed in unflinching but compassionate realism,
and the characters depict the human capacity for both great selfishness
and great heroism. This is truly one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
—Sarah Sundin, award-winning author of On Distant Shores and In Perfect Time
 
“I’ve been a fan of Sigmound Brower’s books for ages, but Thief of Glory cocooned
me in rich words, vivid descriptions, and true-to-life characters, making
this book hard to put down. A fan of World War II, I’ve read countless
tales, but World War II in the Dutch Indies was new to me, fresh and heartwrenching at the same time. A true glimpse of light amongst darkness, made even more special due to the inspiration of Sigmund’s parents’ story. Thief of
Glory is going on my keeper shelf!”
—Tricia Goyer, USA Today best-selling author of over forty books,
including Chasing Mona Lisa