There is nothing pretty about war. The hardships that people from all walks of life have to go through during times of armed conflict have inspired many writers to produce great works of fiction. The Second World War forms the backdrop for a wide variety of books and if you want this period in history to come alive for you, one way to do it is by reading WWII historical fiction novels.
The war had many different aspects and the variety of novels about the time reflects this fact. For example, the lives of the soldiers themselves are a fascinating theme. In his classic 'Catch-22', Joseph Heller describes how fighters had to try and preserve their sanity in a crazy situation. Author James Jones was stationed in the Pacific during the war and used his experiences to inspire 'From Here to Eternity'.
The lives of soldiers weren't only about the fighting. Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient' looks at the wounded and those taking care of them. When soldiers were captured, they were kept in POW camps where life was very harsh. Pierre Boulle wrote 'The Bridge over the River Kwai' about one of these camps.
Before war broke out, life was quite carefree for many people but this changed as the bombs started dropping. The characters in 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan are only some of the people who had to see their lives irrevocably changed by war. If you're interested in civilian life in London at the time but you also like something different, try Connie Willis' 'Blackout' as well as the follow-up 'All Clear', which involve time travel to this very period.
In Germany itself, civilians were particularly hard hit. Many German towns and cities were in ruins by the end of the war because of Allied bombings. A very haunting book describing life for German civilians is Markus Zusak's 'The Book Thief', which is ominously narrated by Death.
One of the groups of people who suffered most during the war was European Jews. They were killed by the millions in Nazi concentration camps. The son of a camp commander is the naive narrator of John Boyne's tragic 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.
Women faced an additional threat during the war, especially as liberation became a real possibility. As the Allied and Soviet forces swept through Germany and Italy, they committed mass rapes, sometimes of the entire female population of a town. The Italian novelist Alberto Moravia describes how a mother and daughter in Italy have to deal with the ordeal of rape and what happens afterwards in 'Two Women'.
Many WWII historical fiction novels were made into not-to-be-missed films. 'Two Women', for instance, starred Sophia Loren, who won an Academy Award for her performance. For the book version of 'Two Women' and other novels about the war, an online search is an easy way to find what you're looking for but you can also browse the shelves of your local library or bookstore.
The war had many different aspects and the variety of novels about the time reflects this fact. For example, the lives of the soldiers themselves are a fascinating theme. In his classic 'Catch-22', Joseph Heller describes how fighters had to try and preserve their sanity in a crazy situation. Author James Jones was stationed in the Pacific during the war and used his experiences to inspire 'From Here to Eternity'.
The lives of soldiers weren't only about the fighting. Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient' looks at the wounded and those taking care of them. When soldiers were captured, they were kept in POW camps where life was very harsh. Pierre Boulle wrote 'The Bridge over the River Kwai' about one of these camps.
Before war broke out, life was quite carefree for many people but this changed as the bombs started dropping. The characters in 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan are only some of the people who had to see their lives irrevocably changed by war. If you're interested in civilian life in London at the time but you also like something different, try Connie Willis' 'Blackout' as well as the follow-up 'All Clear', which involve time travel to this very period.
In Germany itself, civilians were particularly hard hit. Many German towns and cities were in ruins by the end of the war because of Allied bombings. A very haunting book describing life for German civilians is Markus Zusak's 'The Book Thief', which is ominously narrated by Death.
One of the groups of people who suffered most during the war was European Jews. They were killed by the millions in Nazi concentration camps. The son of a camp commander is the naive narrator of John Boyne's tragic 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.
Women faced an additional threat during the war, especially as liberation became a real possibility. As the Allied and Soviet forces swept through Germany and Italy, they committed mass rapes, sometimes of the entire female population of a town. The Italian novelist Alberto Moravia describes how a mother and daughter in Italy have to deal with the ordeal of rape and what happens afterwards in 'Two Women'.
Many WWII historical fiction novels were made into not-to-be-missed films. 'Two Women', for instance, starred Sophia Loren, who won an Academy Award for her performance. For the book version of 'Two Women' and other novels about the war, an online search is an easy way to find what you're looking for but you can also browse the shelves of your local library or bookstore.
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