Historical Fictionistas discussion
Recommendations?
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In need of a new WWII book.
Catriona wrote: "C.P. wrote: "For an unusual perspective, you might try The Circumstantial Enemy: An astounding, based-on-true-events WW2 thriller by John Richard Bell. The hero is ..."I recently read several books about WWII. My two favorites are "Daughters of the Night Sky" by Aimie K. Runyan, written from the perspective of women flyers during the war. These women flew for Russia, though, not the USA or Britain! This novel offered a whole new perspective I've never read before. Also enjoyed "The Silver Music Box" by Mina Baites. Some plots are predictable. This one was not. Be forewarned: It has its sad parts. I also love "All the Light We Cannot See."
The Nightengale, by Kristen HannahI also read A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm (non-fiction).
Both of these were amazing books!
Another fiction one that I loved was A Woman's Place by Lynn Austin. It's about the women surviving WWII while their loved ones were fighting.
Are we limited to fiction? If not, read When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II. What a fascinating slice of history that I never knew about.
If you haven’t already read it, I suggest picking up a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
I agree with Alicia - I also loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. Also loved The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. Am now reading The Chilbury Ladies' choir. If you like nonfiction that reads like fiction: Operation Mincemeat.
Oh, you have such fun ahead of you!!
Me too. Both the Potato Peel Society and the Alice Network were thoroughly enjoyable, as was the Chilbury Ladies' Choir which I have just finished. Then there's The Book Thief, and All the Light You Cannot See ... so many books, so little time.
I loved Sarah's Key. It follows a modern day journalist and the story of a little jewish girl in 1942. Its heart wrenching but a great read.
I enjoyed All the Light You Cannot See and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and found The Girls of Atomic City and Wives of Los Alamos to be enlightening
I have read Corelli's Mandolin. It is a wonderful book. I cannot recommend it enough. I think I may do a reread.
Oh I think I may need to broaden my search. I had not thought about Canada in WW II, I will look for one of those.Peggy wrote: "Ginbquik wrote: "One ofmy all time favorites and I believe too litte known.
Gone to Soldiers
An ensemble cast which is more than half women, provides unique perspective on multiple ..."
This is probably right on topic but I can only find it in Greek.Mary wrote: "Have you tried the Sφαγείο Sαλονίκης?
Also another good choice is
"
This does sound perfect. I am putting it on hold thank youCatriona wrote: "A wonderful love story & also very interesting as it focuses on a little written about point of view (Italy in WWII) & from one of my new favourite authors (she’s brill, I savour every word) - [boo..."
If you like nonfiction that reads like fiction, Victor Klemperer's diary (in two volumes, I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years and I Will Bear Witness 1942-45 A Diary of the Nazi Years) is excellent.I don't know if anyone has mentioned Suite Française yet -- it's set in France during WWII and is wonderful.
Hi. There are a few books by Frances Faviell that might suit you. She wrote a memoir of the Blitz in London, A Chelsea Concerto, and The Dancing Bear Set in Berlin, after the bombing. these are both non fiction. She wrote 3 novels I think they were all set after the war, but the only one that I have actually read was The Fledgeling
which was about a young lad who goes AWOL during his National Setvice. I loved it. Brings up some very interesting questions about that time.
I have just noticed that some of these books are free on kindle until Friday.
If you need some comic relief after all these serious books, you might try To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (yes, part of it takes place during WWII, although not all). The same author has a two-parter more focused on the war, although not as much fun: Blackout and All Clear.
If not, I just read The Soul of a Thief by Steven Hartov. I certainly had not realized before that some men of Jewish heritage fought for the Third Reich....
Just finished The Constant Soldier and really enjoyed it. In non-fiction, I can recommend Voyage of the Damned.
Just finished Clara Clara by Kurt Palka telling a WW2 story from the point of view of students in Vienna in the 1930s, and their lives throughout the pre-war years and the war years. Interesting and helpful to see things from the other side, as it were. Good stuff too about the German military, the non-political officers.
So I love reading about this time period. I work at a library and just wrote my first blog post. I thought I'd share it here as there are some great recommendations, if I don't say so myself. :) Leave a comment if you would like. I'm excited to start contributing more to our blog. Thanks
http://edwardsvillelibrary.blogspot.c...
Vicky - a sequel to The Silver Music Box is soon to be published. I also love bed this book.Another new book I just finished was very good although the ending was really sad. The book is The Room on Amelie Street by Ella Carey.
Two must reads about WWII and the Holocaust are The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk. Although they feature the same people, the author said the books can also be read as stand alones.
My favorite book is about the War but more about the state of Israel and its creation. This title is Exodus by Leon Uris who also wrote Mila 18 about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
I have just finished The Village
set in the aftermath of WW2, about changing social attitudes in a village. A 5* read for me. It's not historical fiction, as it was written in the 50's. About to start Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
short stories written as letters to a news paper during the war, (so also not hist fic), they do give you a really good feel for the time.
Madelynn wrote: "My favorite book is The Auschwitz Escape . I'm looking for more books to read. I loved The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Book Thief . Recommendations ..."
Sarah's Key
Jennifer wrote: "I read a lot of these when writing my own novel, and these are the ones I especially liked:Life After Life
We Were the Lucky Ones
Mr. Churchill's Secretary
Michael Dobbs (House of Cards author) wrote a really good fiction series about Winston Churchill during WWII
Moondrop to Gascony by Anne-Marie Waters or Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
If you are looking for more masculine and realistc read, try Schellendorf series by Lyn Alexander. They follow Eric from the beginning of WW1, and up to the end of WW2. I really liked them as they portray the war the hard way, where Germans also have a voice, a reason, a struggle. The world, in which the line between the right and wrong is blurred. Great read, IMHO This one in series are about WW2
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Wow there are a ton of great recommendations. Did you read any of them? There is a year of good WWII reading recommendations in this thread.All the Light We Cannot See was a great recommendation.
It was incredibly lyrical. That is an odd writing style when writing about Nazis. Beautiful book. I believe it won the Pulitzer.
Painted Bird by Kozinsky is just gritty. I have never seen it mentioned as historical fiction. 10 year old kid wandering Nazi occupied territory and survives. I thought it was a stunning book.
Alan Furst's Night Soldier series is well respected but I didn't see it mentioned. There are about 12 in the series. Most get a 4 star from goodread raters.https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
One book that I rarely see mentioned is The Forger by Paul Watkins. Saving French art from the Nazis. Unusual angle in WWII fiction.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
There are so many wonderful WWII books!The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is about a year old.
Older, nonficiton but it reads like fiction: Operation Mincemeat.
Unbroken.
Yikes! I had more in my head before I started writing -
All the best,
Laura
Two WW II related books I would recommend are The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit and Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan
Yes, I agree about The Room on Rue Amelie. The author wrote another book set during the Holocaust. I think it was The Sweetness of Forgetting.
I've recently read "the Auschwitz tattooist " and just finished "white rose, black forest".....both very good.
How did I fail to mention Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz? I was on WWII overload for a while—that's my only excuse.The Night Witches (Soviet women pilots) are enjoying a certain revival at present. I'll have a couple more titles soon, but although I have ARCs, the books aren't out yet.
This one's a gem, though.
Catriona wrote: "A wonderful love story & also very interesting as it focuses on a little written about point of view (Italy in WWII) & from one of my new favourite authors (she’s brill, I savour every word) - [boo..."I also really liked this book. Books set in different places but during World War I or II are so interesting.
Probably the best account I've read about of the first hand experiences of a rifleman in WW2.
Thanks everyone for all these great recommendations. I'm currently reading and really enjoying All the Light We Cannot See so great to have some what to go for next ideas.
Robert Ludlum’s first book is WWII based, and has some historical characters in it - The Scarlatti Inheritance.
Currently still taking a break from WWII historical fiction, but do have one on my Kobo bought in October at a bargain deal called The Black Swan of Paris which I hear is good.
One of my favorite books of all time takes place on the American home front during WW2. The Dollmaker
If you'd also like something that takes place in less well-trodden areas of WW2, you could try:The Narrow Road to the Deep North - This has won the Booker prize and is about Australian POWs building the "Thai-Burma death railway". It's a novel of the cruelty of war, tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love.
Review here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
Or, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker and might win: The Shadow King about a female Ethiopian soldier defending her country against Mussolini's invasion, as well as a war correspondent on the other side starting to question what he's doing.
Or Half Blood Blues - about black Jazz musicians living under the Nazi regime before and during the war (also won many prizes).
A Town Like Alice - Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children.
The Flowers of War - about a very diverse group of people seeking shelter in a church during the Nanjing massacre (also became a movie with Christian Bale). Same author: Little Aunt Crane about the life story of the only girl who survived a Japanese town's mass suicide as Chinese troops were moving in.
The Girls of Pearl Harbor by Soraya M. Lane is about the role of the U.S, Army Nurse Corps and their contributions. Or during this time for historical mystery involving some of the key political figures during WWII is Susan Elia McNeil series starting with Mr. Churchill's Secretary
Newark Minutemen covers what Americans knew about the Holocaust pre-war.
Historical Fictionistas
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Andrew Greig (other topics)Tatiana de Rosnay (other topics)
Andrew Gross (other topics)
Gwen C. Katz (other topics)
Kurt Palka (other topics)
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This book sounds really very interesting. Thanks so much for posting about it, C.P. I'll give it a read.