What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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WWII - either about WWII (historical, but not dry) or set in WWII (especially books with heavy sci-fi, fantasy, or magical realism elements)
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Rachel
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Jan 31, 2017 09:42AM
I'm looking for books either about WWII (historical, but not dry) or set in WWII (especially books with heavy sci-fi, fantasy, or magical realitsm elements).
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These are some of my favorite WWII historical novels (though I'm afraid none of them are fantasy or sci-fi):Someone Named Eva
The Green Glass Sea (Actually, this one comes close to sci-fi)
Fair Stood the Wind for France
When My Name Was Keoko
And these are two great books about the art and posters of the war:
Propaganda: The Art of Persuasion, World War II
Cartoons for Victory
The Chronicles of Narnia are set DURING the war, but barely mention it.
My list is non-fiction moving into young adult historical fictionFlying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II
The White Rose
The Rape Of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust Of World War II
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment
The Moon Is Down
Code Name Verity
Between Shades of Gray
Salt to the Sea
Snow Falling on Cedars is set in the 1950s but has a lot of discussion about WWII particularly US-Japanese relationships during and after.Behind the Scenes at the Museum is also set postwar but has several flashbacks to the main character's families' experiences in wartime England. There are also some magic realism elements.
The Painted Bird is about a young boy travelling from Poland into Germany during the war, has some horrific elements that still stick with me 30+ years after reading itBitter Seeds is the first in a trilogy of nazi "Ubermench" battling British lovecraftian warlocks during WW2
Cryptonomicon tells two stories, one during WWII and the other in the modern world about people looking for gold looted during WWII. The WWII story is about a soldier who gets sent all over the damned place trying to keep the Nazis from learning that the Allies have cracked their codes. Basically he has to manufacture evidence of other ways information could have been learned. Good book, and my description doesn't do it justice.
Snow in AugustThe Woman Who Heard Color
Number the Stars
Anna and the Swallow Man
A Coming Evil
Lisette's List
Gone to Soldiers is a World War II historical fiction story. Covers the War from the point of view of characters in the United States. An excellent novel--I have read much historical fiction and this is near the top of my list.
Mod
He has several books set in that era, and that were then made into movies. Where Eagles Dare (starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton.)
The Guns of Navarone (starred Anthony Quinn, Gregory Peck and David Niven.)
I think that Hms " Ulysses " is a WWII book, but it's been a LOT of years since I read this one, so am not totally sure. (And no movie for this one.)
South by Java Head Again, no movie
Partisans
Force 10 From Navarone Again a movie starring Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford (this was made not too long after he starred in a little unknown film called Star Wars.
There might be one or two more in the multitude of books that Alistair MacLean wrote, but I can't remember their titles off the top of my head.
If you can find a copy of "Homing" by Elswyth Thane, it's the final book in a series of historical novels about an American/English family. It covers the first few years of WWII in England -- the London Blitz, blackouts and the Home Guard, etc. The connection between two of the main characters borders on reincarnation.
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian. It'll have you crying in one or two places in the book.
Life and Fate by Vasily GrossmanSuite Française by Irene Nemirovsky
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (magical realism elements)
All the Light We Cannot SeeCatch-22
The Night Watch
Slaughterhouse-Five
Someone Named Eva
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
Night
The Periodic Table
The Complete Maus
There are some great suggestions on this thread. One that I would add is Survivor by Lesley Pearse. It is part of a series but only so far as the protagonist is the daughter of the protagonist from the earlier books. It definitely works as a standalone
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Soon to be a movie called Ashes in the Snow. No fantasy, but it is incredibly accurate and interesting. Also Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. Alternate WWll history with shapshifters. ;)
I also second The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It is heartbreaking, beautiful, and inspiring.
Mod
Bernie Gunther series. He is a former German soldier, ex-cop, now a private eye. The series starts before the beginning of the war and continues into it, set in Berlin, and continues after it's over.
I'd strongly recommend 'The Bronze Horseman' it's a romance but not a fantasy book.
Mod
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis is partially set in WWII, although mostly in Victorian England. Time-travelers attempted to locate a Victorian MacGuffin that was apparently destroyed during a WWII bombing raid.
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky | Suite FrançaisePosthumous novel by a Jew living in German-occupied France during WWII. The first part is about how people tried to flee from the chaos of war while the second part touches on the actual occupation of France.
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf | Someone Named Eva
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen | The Devil's Arithmetic
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay | Sarah's Key
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...A Lady out of time. Time traveller to try and adjust the past. Think it was wwii.
The Keep is about nazi troops setting up camp in an ancient stone fortress and start experiencing supernatural occurrences. This is horror si-fi.
The Proteus Operation by James P. Hogan involves time travel to change the outcome of World War II when the fascists won. (Hey, it must have worked!)On a wider scale, Harry Turtledove has a series of World War II science fiction novels, starting with Worldwar: In the Balance, in which, at the height of World War II, earth is invaded by aliens! Publishers Weekly dubbed Turtledove "The Master of Alternate History".
Another possibility is The Iron Dream, by Norman Spinrad
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
Jackdaws (other topics)The Book Thief (other topics)
The Librarian of Auschwitz (other topics)
All the Light We Cannot See (other topics)
Code Name Verity (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
LaVyrle Spencer (other topics)Connie Willis (other topics)
Lesley Pearse (other topics)
Kate Atkinson (other topics)
Alistair MacLean (other topics)
