Group Reads Discussion - Paper Bullets

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

This is the discussion thread for the Spring 2021 Group Read Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis by Jeffrey H. Jackson. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

[Margie]

This non-fiction story about the occupation of the Island Jersey (off shore of Great Britain) by the Germans, and about the two women who conducted a propaganda campaign against the Germans.

I think it was incredibly brave of these two particularly given their choice of lifestyle. They were very innovative how they conducted their campaign against the Germans using their art, letters, etc. and cleverly placing them in spots surely to be noticed by the soldiers.

I was not aware that the Germans occupied Jersey, but I wish there was more information. This book left me wanting more.

[Lois]

I found this to be a very readable biography of two little-known avant-garde French artists. The focus of the book was on their resistance activities on occupied Jersey during World War II, though the earlier chapters on their pre-war artistic lives in Paris were also interesting to me, as a longtime Francophile with an interest in French literature and art. I also very much enjoyed reading about the island, their beautiful home and garden. Admittedly, in some places it was slow-going, so I wouldn’t say it was exactly a page-turner, but quite well done overall. The author nicely emphasized artists’ contributions to the resistance, which may at times be overlooked in comparison to those who fought with weapons rather than with words and images.

[Lois]

Margie wrote: "This non-fiction story about the occupation of the Island Jersey (off shore of Great Britain) by the Germans, and about the two women who conducted a propaganda campaign against the Germans.

I th..."

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a good historical fiction about the German occupation of the Channel Islands. Also "Island at War" a British TV mini-series is set on an unspecified Channel Island during the German occupation.

[Margie]

Thanks Lois!

[Dee]

i'm about 1/4 of the way through right now - but i'm struggling - typiclly i like WW2 fiction and non-fiction - i've written multiple history papers; taken classes on it etc - but i don't know if its the writing style or what but i'm unenthused

[Dee]

i finished this up today - overall it was ok, i learnt something new, but i wish more time had been spent on their resistance activities - it seemed as though that was the most minor part of the story compared to their history in paris and then their time in the prison. I found the authors notes at the end to be interesting on how their work was discovered (in a box of random stuff sold at an auction for like 20pounds).

[Cat]

I broadly enjoyed this story of an underexplored aspect of WW2. In particular I appreciated the very principled stance they took against asking for leniency.

That said, some of the writing was strange - shifting from narrative non-fiction, imagining touches of hands into straighter biography made for slightly uneasy reading at times.

[Joanne]

I have to agree with Dee and Cat on this one. It was just ok for me. The drag for me occurred during their time in the prison.

That being said, I do enjoy learning about new things, and this story (regarding the women) was new to me. I had known, from previous reading, that the Channel Islands were occupied.

@ Margie-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was one of my top ten books in 2018-loved it!

[Marie (UK)]

I am not a lover of non-fiction biography and personally I feel War and all its elements have been done to death. However I had never heard of the people in this book and the synopsis captured my imagination. Overall i thought it could have been done in half the page numbers. It dragged at times, I did not feel it created the world around the two ladies as well as it could. I listened on audio and the narrator was OK but sometimes seemed monotone.

It is certainly not my favourite I agree with Joanne about the Guernsey book.

[Kristina Simon]

Like others here, I'd never heard of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe nor did I know them by their artist names, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. This is the first WWII story, fiction or nonfiction, I've read that tackled the issue of homosexuality during the war, too. By all rights, I should have found this book fascinating. Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience. As a nonfiction author myself, I get the necessity of distance from your subject and of fair, unbiased reporting but, to me, that doesn't need to equate to dry, passionless prose. I adore creative nonfiction that tells a story, makes me fall in love with the characters and, maybe, teaches me something along the way. I suppose I've gotten spoiled because I found this incredible story terribly dull. I don't think it had to be that way. I always felt too far away from Lucy and Suzanne. Too far away to really get to know them, to worry for them, and to fall in love with them and that made it a less than satisfactory reading experience. Like Marie, I listened to the audio and, I agree, the narrator could sometimes slip into a monotone. In her defense, though, she didn't have much emotional material to work with.

I've read tons of both fiction and nonfiction about WWII from the Jewish perspective (for obvious reasons). I wouldn't mind reading more about other marginalized groups during that time period, if anyone has any suggestions.

[Cat]

@Kristina I recently read Shadows on the Tundra which is about the Soviet deportations of Lithuanians during WWII. Short but very much a read a little and then put it down for get over the horrors book.

[Joanne]

@Kristina-I recently read The Storm on Our Shores: One Island, Two Soldiers, and the Forgotten Battle of World War II, which gives you insight into the Japanese soldiers, and tells a little known story about the battle that took place on the Aleutian Islands. I will warn that it took me more than a few pages to embrace the writing and plow forward-but well worth the effort

[Kristina Simon]

Joanne wrote: "@Kristina-I recently read The Storm on Our Shores: One Island, Two Soldiers, and the Forgotten Battle of World War II"

Cat wrote: "@Kristina I recently read Shadows on the Tundra"

Thanks for the recommendations, Cat and Joanne! Those both look extremely interesting and I've added them to my TBR shelves. Appreciated!

[Deborah]

Just finished. I found the story of these two people to be interesting.
However, like others, I found it to be slow going, which is how I often find non-fiction to be!

These two had a lot of courage to do what they did. I'm not sure if being on an island made it more so, being a close-knit community.

I'm glad to have read it.

I too recommend the historical fiction The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

[Cindie]

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The story is interesting -- the characters must have depth. However, this book was a struggle to get through. The writing was not bad. But somehow, I was just so bored.

I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

[KSMary]

I found the story of these interesting as I had never heard of either of these women or the events on the island of Jersey during WWII. I had to admire their tenacity in their refusal to sign the paperwork requesting leniency for their actions. I think the author did a fine job with the limited amount of resources that he had to put together their story. It was mentioned several times that some resources were copies of copies and written thoughts and drawings at time that had to be pieced together.