WWII Fiction

[diamondlil]

Whilst this is by no means an exhaustive list, I thought I would repost this link to a few suggestions on WWII fiction (http://danitorres.typepad.com/workinprogress/2008/08/war-in-fictio-1.html).

[Margaret]

I've just added another 51 postings to the World War II page of my Historical Novels website at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/World-War-II.html. Some of these are not actually historical novels, since they were written by people who lived through the war - for example, Olivia Manning's series based on her and her husband's experiences in Bucharest immediately before and during the war. Others are new releases like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A lot of these are novels that Annis tipped me off about. (Thanks, Annis!)

I'm experimenting with making the titles work as links to Powell's Books. Ultimately, I'd like to have a link for every title on the site, but the search engines don't seem to like so many links on the page - they downgrade my listing if I add too many. As more people visit the site, though, this seems to be less of a problem. Powell's has publisher synopses and reviews for many of the titles, which supplement the information at www.HistoricalNovels.info. Also, they give me a small percentage whenever someone buys a book through the site, which helps pay the out-of-pocket costs of maintaining it.

[tsjmom]

For once something to which I can actually contribute LOL! I would also add: "Jackdaws", "The Book Thief", "The Good German", and "Behind Enemy Lines". All, especially #2 and #4, are really great reads!

[Margaret]

Thanks, tsjmom! I've just added these to the World War II page at www.HistoricalNovels.info, except for Behind Enemy Lines, which I think is a memoir rather than a novel. I've read Jackdaws and The Good German. As I recall, Jackdaws was a standard thriller, with the focus on the dangerous mission, while The Good German was a more thoughtful novel with the characters more fleshed out. The Book Thief looks good - I would probably enjoy that more than the other two.

[tsjmom]

Margaret, The Book Thief is one of the all time best I've ever read! Let me know what you think when you're finished.

As far as Behind Enemy Lines, yes it is a memoir, but please don't let that stop you from reading it or adding to the list. I gave this to my MIL, who's an AVID reader/intellect and prefers stories written by/about women, and she was amazed by it. You'd be stunned to no end at how this blonde Jew survived and spied on Nazi Germany!

[Margaret]

It's not a value judgment - I've read a lot of stupendously good memoirs - and for that matter, some of the novels I've listed on the Historical Novels website are pretty dreadful (at least IMHO). But if I don't stick to fiction only on the Historical Novels website, the floodgates would open and the site would become totally unmanageable! Though I do suggest companion nonfiction reading with the reviews.

I'll have to put The Book Thief on my TBR. It's getting sooo long - I joke that it's almost 3500 items long, because I've only read a small fraction of the novels listed on my site.

[Margaret]

Berlin Noir is a single volume containing the first three mystery novels by Philip Kerr featuring his fictional Berlin detective Bernie Gunther: March Violets, A Pale Criminal and A German Requiem. Sue Gillmor has just contributed another one of her clear and concise reviews for www.HistoricalNovels.info of this three-novel set at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Berlin-Noir.html.

[EC2]

I really enjoyed Under an English Heaven by Robert Radcliffe re WWII books and so did one of my best USA reading buddies. It's well worth checking out. Amazon UK link here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-English-Heaven-Robert-Radcliffe/dp/0349115036

Land Girls by Angelia Huth is excellent too.

[Volgadon]

I've yet to read it, but Russian HF novelist, Valentin Pikul, wrote an eponymous novel about PQ-17.

[donroc]

A few oldies but goodies off the top of my head:

The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw
Battle Cry by Leon Uris
The Gallery by Burns (forgot his first name)
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey ( I think)
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk

Some titles, the authors of which I have forgotten:

The Last of the Just (Andres Schwarzbart I think)
The War Lover

Remarque wrote one set in a concentration camp.


I did not particularly enjoy The Naked and the Dead by Mailer.

[donroc]

Just remembered-- Spark of Life is the Erich Maria Remarque book set in a concentration camp.

Also The Oppermanns by Lion Feuchtwanger set in Germany 1933 after the Nazi take power.

[Misfit]

I'm about halfway through Rosalind Laker's This Shining Land and enjoying it. Very different from her usual novels. This is based in Norway after the Nazi's invade and the main characters are involved in the underground resistance. Apparently based in part upon Laker's husband's activities in the resistance movement.

[Cuchulainn]

Let me add three WWII books by one of the masters of historical fiction, C.S. Forester:

The Ship

The Good Shepherd

Hunting the Bismarck (later to be the basis for the movie Sink the Bismarck!)

[Margaret]

One of my guest reviewers read this novel and highly recommends it. It's written in the form of letters from people from Guernsey to a London journalist shortly after the war about their experiences while Guernsey was occupied by the Germans. The review is at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Guernsey-Literary.html.

[diamondlil]

There are reviews in the Book Reviews section for that book here (http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30)

[lama]

How about Sarah Waters' Night Watch. I thought it was a marvelous account of that time.
www.lebutler.net

[MrsMorland]

I loved Land Girls and also Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg.

[Vanessa]

Has anyone read Small Island by Andrea Levy (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/andrea-levy/small-island.htm)? I really enjoyed that one.

I have Ian McEwan's Atonement and Sebastian Faulks' Charlotte Gray on my TBR pile.

[Ash]

Has anyone read Small Island by Andrea Levy (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/andrea-levy/small-island.htm)? I really enjoyed that one..

Oh that was a wonderful book. Its take on how blacks were treated in WWII, and on immigration in general was so well done.

I loved Atonement. Its slow at first, but by about page 30, I so related to Briony that I was hooked.

[Ash]

Hunting the Bismarck (later to be the basis for the movie Sink the Bismarck!)

Hee, as well as the song, which I heard long long before reading the book off my dad's shelf. That was probably the first WWII non Holocaust book I ever read and really liked it.

Lama, I tried reading Night Watch and coudln't get into it; I think I was still so enthralled by Fingersmith that this last one felt hollow to me. I may need to try it again.

[Carla]

I have Ian McEwan's Atonement and Sebastian Faulks' Charlotte Gray on my TBR pile.

I liked Charlotte Gray. The book is a lot more complicated than the film.

[annis]

]I still think that Sebastian Faulks' WWI novel "Birdsong" is my favourite of his works, though I did enjoy his recent rather surprising reprise of the James Bond novel, "Devil May Care".

I've just been reading a WWII novel with an interesting twist, Sara Young's "My Enemy's Cradle" (http://www.amazon.com/My-Enemys-Cradle-Sara-Young/dp/0151015376), which has as its theme the controversial German Lebensborn (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Lebensborn.html) ("Fount of Life" in Old German) project , which was part of a systematic racial and eugenic selection programme.

The main character is a pregnant young Jewish woman who ends up in a Lebensborn maternity home, and there is plenty of tension as we wait to see if she and her unborn child will be discovered as "undesirables" and eliminated.

[Margaret]

I've just posted Annis's review of My Enemy's Cradle at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/My-Enemys-Cradle.html. As always, she does a wonderful job of summing up the novel and reflecting its voice and themes in her review.

[Margaret]

Annis has written another one of her superb reviews, this one for Steven Pressfield's Killing Rommel, for www.HistoricalNovels.info (http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Killing-Rommel.html). This novel is about a British/Commonwealth project to end Rommel's threat to the Allies in North Africa during WWII.

[annis]

And for those who'd like to know more about the remarkable Field Marshall Rommel and the tactics of the North African campaign, Steven Pressfield has put together this very interesting documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHjxQmxZDuA&feature=related

[EC2]

Very interesting thanks Annis and Margaret.
My father in law, now almost 87 fought in that theatre of WWII. He very seldom talks about it, but sometimes, his tongue loosened by a few drinks, snippets will emerge. I cannot imagine the hell he endured, joining up as an 18yr old private, winding up driving a tank and facing Rommel at Tobruk. At 22 he was a serjeant major and all of his friends were dead. Then through Greece and Italy. When he came home he drank himself silly on many an occasion and said that it took a long, long time before he was able to convince himself that he actually might have a life he could envisage beyond one more day....

[annis]

EC, one of the things that initially drew my attention to "KIlling Rommel" was the fact that my father-in-law (sadly long gone now) was a soldier with the 2nd NZ Division of the British 8th Army which duelled with Rommel's forces in the desert. Like many men of his generation after the war he returned home and stoically got on with he rest of his life, as was expected back then. All stiff upper lip and no post-traumatic stress counselling! The highs and lows of war-time experiences were locked away, and only spoken of very rarely. On the odd occasion when he did speak about the war his eyes would become haunted by the ghosts of comrades lost. In New Zealand we call those men who returned the "silent casualties". They survived the war, but at what cost?

[EC2]

EC, one of the things that initially drew my attention to "KIlling Rommel" was the fact that my father-in-law (sadly long gone now) was a soldier with the 2nd NZ Division of the British 8th Army which duelled with Rommel's forces in the desert. Like many men of his generation after the war he returned home and stoically got on with he rest of his life, as was expected back then. All stiff upper lip and no post-traumatic stress counselling! The highs and lows of war-time experiences were locked away, and only spoken of very rarely. On the odd occasion when he did speak about the war his eyes would become haunted by the ghosts of comrades lost. In New Zealand we call those men who returned the "silent casualties". They survived the war, but at what cost?

Absolutely Annis. My father in law did his best to get on with his life, but it changed him. Some of the things he saw and did are just too sad and horrifying and traumatic to speak about - but then perhaps they shouldn't be swept under the carpet. He was definitely a silent casualty - that's a very good expression - although also a strong survivor. He hasn't been in a church since the war. There are men who, when they get together, have to talk about their experiences and it's like letting off steam, or perhaps trying to make sense of it to others who understand. My father in law has the opposite reaction and just walks out of the room. I'll be interested to read the Pressfield book; I don't know how my FIL would react.

[annis]

Possibly a lot of returned servicemen did feel that they could only talk about their war experiences with those who shared them, and maybe they wanted to shelter their wives and families from the realities of war, but my FIL was the same as yours- he felt it was up to each person to sort themselves out.
Actually they must have followed in each others' footsteps- my FIL served in Greece and Italy after North Africa as well.

One thing my FIL did mention was the sheer stunning impact of the blinding lights and huge percussive sound of the major bombardments- I think they were just in a state of shock a lot of the time.

Whether your FIL would enjoy "Killing Rommel", I don't know. Pressfield goes to a lot of trouble to get his facts and details right, but you're always going to have your own opinion about events which you've experienced personally.

[Misfit]

At the risk of going OT (I see a War is Hell topic coming our way soon), I don't have any first hand knowledge of WWII from my father (I don't recall he had active duty), but I have to say when I read the Shaara Civil War Trilogy last year it just knocked my socks off. I had no idea how horrific this war was(and all war), let alone starting with that one that introduced cannons, trenches and did away with more traditional hand to hand sword fights of yesterday.

I am glad I read those books, and the eye opening it gave me, but I will never be able to read them again.

[annis]

It'a strange thing, Misfit, but there's also something about being in a situation where you could die at any moment which gives people an sense of great "aliveness" and and that exhilaration which exists at the very edge of terror. That's why I think old soldiers, despite the horrendous experiences, often look back to the war as a time of comradeship and heightened awareness.
Also for someone like my FIL,it was a major adventure, coming as he did from the backblocks of rural NZ and a strict Presbyterian family and setting off to the other side of the world, which was a fair old eye-opener! And luckily, he never lost his dry sense of humour, which must have kept him in good stead when times were tough.

[EC2]

Actually they must have followed in each others' footsteps- my FIL served in Greece and Italy after North Africa as well.

I think they must have. At one point my FIL was engaged to a Greek girl but she wouldn't come back to England with him so the relationship ended. He still has her letters though.

One thing my FIL did mention was the sheer stunning impact of the blinding lights and huge percussive sound of the major bombardments- I think they were just in a state of shock a lot of the time.

Mine speaks of the rum ration they were given before going into battle. He never drank his before but saved it up for afterwards when he felt there was more need. He also used to save his food ration for night time so he could eat it without seeing the weevils. He won't eat corned beef today at any price. The actual battle stuff he occasionally mentions when in his cups, I'm not going to post on the forum - too harrowing.

Whether your FIL would enjoy "Killing Rommel", I don't know. Pressfield goes to a lot of trouble to get his facts and details right, but you're always going to have your own opinion about events which you've experienced personally.

I've known him more than 30 years and I've never seen him read a war book in all that time, so I suspect he wouldn't do so. The reality was the experience and the full stop I guess. From the ordinary reader's POV though, as Misfit says, a well written novel can bring home an atmosphere of what happened and what they went through.

[Margaret]

And WWII was the "good war." I suppose, in some sense, so was the U.S. Civil War, because it resulted in ending slavery in the U.S., but I have to wonder whether slavery might have been ended in some other way that would have had less traumatic effects (and perhaps integrated former slaves more graciously into society afterward). When I was growing up in Texas, I encountered two contradictory ideas: that the Civil War was right and justified because it freed the slaves and preserved the Union, and that Yankees could not be trusted. Kids used to play Yankees vs. Confederates on the playground, and no one wanted to be a Yankee. This was a hundred years after the war ended, and people still hadn't gotten over it.

An exceptional novel about the Civil War is Geraldine Brooks' March. Her protagonist is a loving man with abolitionist convictions (the father from Little Women) who discovers that war causes as many, or more, problems as it solves.

These "good wars" are often glorified in fiction. I'm glad writers are becoming more realistic about the nature of warfare.

[Margaret]

He also used to save his food ration for night time so he could eat it without seeing the weevils.

My great-great-grandfather participated in a "mutiny" during the Civil War when his Confederate regiment was posted in Galveston and received substandard rations full of bugs and spoilage. There were no stories about this passed down in the family - I found out about it by reading the records preserved in the multi-volume set of reference books compiled after the war.

[annis]

You know, I wonder how historians and novelists of the future will manage to get a picture of the lives of ordinary people without the diaries and personal letters which have been replaced by electronic blogs, mobile phone calls and emails, none of which will leave any records for future study.

[Margaret]

Good point, Annis. Computer disks are a much more ephemeral medium than paper. It makes me feel awful to think of all the newspapers that are being scanned onto computer disks and then thrown away.

[Margaret]

Sue Gillmor has contributed a review of a World War II novel by Joanne Harris, Five Quarters of the Orange, for HistoricalNovels.info (http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Five-Quarters-of-the-Orange.html). It's a rather dark novel about a woman's experiences as a child in German-occupied France. Joanne Harris is also the author of Chocolat.

[Alaric]

Mine speaks of the rum ration they were given before going into battle. He never drank his before but saved it up for afterwards when he felt there was more need. He also used to save his food ration for night time so he could eat it without seeing the weevils. He won't eat corned beef today at any price. The actual battle stuff he occasionally mentions when in his cups, I'm not going to post on the forum - too harrowing.

My grandfather was much the same, and he won't eat corned beef either. Ditto for ricecakes. He was at D-Day with the British divisions, and doesn't speak much of it either. Mostly all he says about it is in the form of some advice he once gave me when I was nervous about something: "don't complain, at least you don't have to run up a beach with a bunch of Germans shooting at you." I suppose that's quite true!

Still, some good came from it. It's because of the war that he met my grandmother. :) She had just started a job as a secretary at the war office (which I believe was in France at the time) when he went into to sign some form, and then asked her out.

[tsjmom]

I just finished "Skeletons at the Feast" by Chris Bohjalian. Set in 1945 in far eastern Germany (Prussia), it follows an eclectic group of people who are walking westward to escape the rampaging Russian army as it races toward Berlin.

I'm a fan of novels set in this era, but I'd have to say this is one of the best, most moving books about this time period that I've ever read. I became emotionally connected with the main characters, and I could picture the detailed and descriptive settings. Be warned, this book is extremely graphic, horrors I'd never read about before. It was a very haunting and moving read that I couldn't put down.

[diamondlil]

I have this here on audiobook to listen too at some point.

[annis]

"Skeletons at the Feast" has been highly recommended to me, so it's helpful to have confirmation that it's good. I'm being restrained and waiting for it to become available at the library- hopefully not too long. Also, it will give me a small break from WWII- I seem to have been spending a lot of time recently in that era!

[tsjmom]

Sue Gillmor has contributed a review of a World War II novel by Joanne Harris, Five Quarters of the Orange, for HistoricalNovels.info (http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Five-Quarters-of-the-Orange.html). It's a rather dark novel about a woman's experiences as a child in German-occupied France. Joanne Harris is also the author of Chocolat.

I'm just starting this. I liked 'Chocolat' the movie so I'm delving into more books by Joanne Harris.

[Margaret]

When you finish, be sure and let us know what you thought of it, Tjsmom.

[EC2]

I read this one several years ago. I'll leave you to your impressions but I have a review of my own to post (still on file) when you're done. My favourite Joanne Harris novel is Blackberry Wine.

[Ash]

I'm just starting this. I liked 'Chocolat' the movie so I'm delving into more books by Joanne Harris.

Oh you must read the book. The movie really did not do the book justice.

[tsjmom]

Thanks EC2 about the Blackberry Wine rec and Ash about encouraging me to read Chocolat. It's added to my TBR!

[Caveowl]

What is my favorite WWII book? For combat scenes, probably the audio version of David Robbins "War of the Rats" about sniper warfare between a Russian and a German, based on a real series of events. For civilians caught up in the horrors, probably "Pied Piper" by Nevil Shute, wherein an elderly Englishman is caught behind German lines in eastern France.

In the discussion above, Pressfield's "Killing Rommel" is mentioned. I also liked Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle" where British try to capture an Egyptian/German spy.

Ralph Graves, in "Share of Honor" shows how Anglo/American civilians and soldiers coped with Japanese imprisonment. Also another Nevil Shute, "Town Named Alice." For a different view, in "Ice Brothers," Sloan Wilson wrote about how the Coast Guard tried to reduce German activities in the north Atlantic

[annis]

I didn't know that Ralph Graves wrote a novel with a WWII setting, Caveowl. A while ago I discovered his novel "The Lost Eagles" (thanks to Chuck). This is a historical novel in which a fictional Roman, Severus Varus, searches for the legionary emblems lost by his kinsman Quintilius Varus at the 9 AD Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in Germania. I notice that it's been nominated for a Bad Cover Award on this forum (though IMO nothing can top the 1980 cover of Poul Anderson's "Rogue Sword")
I was loved "Lost Eagles", a tale about honour, duty and sacrifice, and a real heart-wrencher.

[Caveowl]

for the tip on Ralph Graves "Lost Eagles." I checked on WorldCat (www.worldcat.org) and saw that it is available at the Oregon State University library. By checking Worldcat first, I'm making it easier for our local ILL (interlibrary loan) clerk. The OSU copy because, unlike many libraries, they accept online requests and usually ship within 24 hours.

When requesting ILLs, be assertive. Some libraries don't promote interlibrary loan service, because the costs are a lot more expensive than borrowers might realize. Counting staff time and postage, or courier service, cost estimates range from $15 to $30 per loan. Borrowers can gain "brownie points" by being able to tell the library staff where to search, particularly for those books which few libraries "hold." (Don't be confident your local loan clerk is aware of WorldCat.)

[Caveowl]

You don't need to sign in / have a password to search.

[annis]

WorldCat is great, but unfortunately not a lot of use to me, because if the only copies of something I want are only available in the States, for example, I'll be out of luck, though I can mostly get what I want through the New Zealand inter-library loan service.

I agree about sometimes needing to be a bit pushy about getting I/Ls. Sometimes it not just the money, but that a library staff member just can't be bothered.

I was horrified when my sister (who lives in Australia) told me she'd asked about a book at her local library, only to be told "We don't have that and I doubt whether anyone else does either" Without even checking the Australian Libraries national database ! Being a polite person and not knowing any better, my poor sister meekly went away feeling quite dejected. As a librarian myself, I can't believe that a library staff member would be so unhelpful - very poor service :(

[Margaret]

The Spanish Civil War ended in 1940, overlapping a bit with World War II, and giving the British a good deal of worry over whether Franco would become an open ally of Hitler. Surprisingly, given the massive numbers of novels set during World War II, Spain has been neglected. However, C.J. Sansom's Winter in Madrid is an excellent addition, reminiscent of Graham Greene and John Le Carré, I thought. I've reviewed it at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Winter-in-Madrid.html. It came out in 2006 in the U.K., but has only just been published in the U.S. this January 2009.

[Margaret]

C.J. Sansom was kind enough to give me an interview about Winter in Madrid for my blog (http://www.historicalnovels.info/historical-novels-blog.html).

[diamondlil]

I am currently reading Night of Flames by Douglas W Jacobson, and I am really enjoying it! There are possibly a few too many points of view, but the storyline itself is very interesting.

[MrsMorland]

Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher is one of my favorite books ever, and is set during the second world war.

[Laura]

Margaret:
Great link!! But what about The Road to Flandres by Claude Simon and The Blue Bycicle by Regine Deforges?

[Margaret]

Both The Blue Bicycle and The Road to Flanders were written by authors about events (WWII) that occurred during their own lifetimes, so they are not actually historical novels. For readers, the distinction between contemporary novels and historical novels about the same events can be subtle, but such a vast number of novels have been written about World War II that I'm not attempting to keep a comprehensive list of all World War II novels, just historical novels written by authors born after the war's end.

[Laura]

Thanks for the clarification Margaret!!

[diamondlil]

You can listen to an interview with Charles McCain, author of An Honourable German here (http://www.eyeonbooks.com/ibp.php?ISBN=0446538981). The interview is kind of long, but it was pretty interesting.

[love_uk]

I loved Atonement. Its slow at first, but by about page 30, I so related to Briony that I was hooked.

Ash,

I totally agree. Interestingly, I saw the movie 1st, then read the book, then finally, listened to the unabridged books-on-tape version over a several day car trip. The audio version was stunning ... so beautifully & heartbreakingly articulated that I found myself weeping for both Briony & the lovers as I zoomed along ... already knowing the plot so well, I was captured anew by the power of its language.

[Veronica]

Don't forget Irene Nemirovsky, she has such a uniqe language I reckon. Got hooked on her books after Suite Francaise

[love_uk]

but I have to say when I read the Shaara Civil War Trilogy last year it just knocked my socks off. I had no idea how horrific this war was(and all war), let alone starting with that one that introduced cannons, trenches and did away with more traditional hand to hand sword fights of yesterday.

I am glad I read those books, and the eye opening it gave me, but I will never be able to read them again.

Misfit, I'm a Jeff Shaara addict so do have to tell you that, among others, he has published a WWI novel & has just finished the 3rd book in his WWII trilogy. His father Michael would be sooo proud of him. That said ... I agree that they are harrowing & unforgettable.

http://www.jeffshaara.com/books.html

[love_uk]

Very surprised that no one mentions Winds of War & War & Remembrance. Not up to the standard of The Caine Mutiny, perhaps, but millions have been enthralled by the books & badly-cast miniseries.

I've re-read them at least 6 or 7 times over the years & love the characters.

[Vanessa]

I've just finished Guernica by Dave Boling, a story set during the Spanish Civil War centering around the bombing of Guernica in 1937. It has a slow start and build up to the actual event, but I very much enjoyed it in the end and found it a worthwhile read.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to put it, but it does involve WWII - well, it's set on the eve of it.

[Chatterbox]

Some more additions for a great list:

Michael Dobbs has a series revolving around Winston Churchill -- I think four novels in total. All are good, and focus on the hard decisions that had to be made. My favorites are probably the first, leading up to the declaration of war, and the one that focuses on Churchill's efforts to get the Americans to do more than 'jaw jaw'.

In addition to Jackdaws, Ken Follett has another few WW2 thrillers. The Eye of the Needle, his breakthrough book, is one that still thrills and chills today -- about a German spy and his efforts to take D-Day secrets back to Canaris. The Key to Rebecca is set in wartime Cairo (as is Glenn Meade's "Stones of Sakkarra", also excellent). "Hornet Flight" is about the Danish resistance.

Alan Furst has written several excellent thrillers, most of them about the 1930s. But one short series of books featuring Jean Casson, a Paris film-maker, focuses on the occupation of France & Vichy. "The World at Night", is the first. Non-Casson WW2 books include: "Blood of Victory" revolves around the German efforts to nab the Ploesti oilfields. "Dark Voyage" is centered around a merchant sea captain and his vessel.

Moving over to the other side of the conflict, John Toland wrote "The Gods of War" -- excellent. about an American family involved in the war in the Pacific in different ways. (There is a sequel, "occupation".)

Anita Shreve has a book set in the French Resistance entitled (duh) "Resistance".

Indeed, the SOE/resistance generated a lot of books, many of which are crossover thrillers/mysteries. "Fall from Grace" is one by Larry Collins; there is also "Light of the Moon" by Elizabeth Buchan. "Night Sky" by Clare Francis is better than both, worth hunting down.

In the same vein (and area of the world) as Sansom's excellent Winter in Madrid is Aly Monroe's newish "Maze of Cadiz". Her next one will be published next month, set in Washington. Robert Wilson also wrote the wonderful "A Small Death in Lisbon".

On a completely different note, Susan Isaacs wrote "Shining Through", which has a romance plot set against the backdrop of ww2 (and the heroine goes into wartime Berlin.)

Speaking of wartime Berlin -- David Downing's three books in a series are great reads, ostensibly mysteries but set against the background of the Third Reich. Zoo Station, Silesian Station and Stettin Station. (The last is just out, and is great.) Phillip Kerr (who is better still) also has a brand new book out now that is on my TBR pile. (set in 1934).

"Berlin Solstice" is a great book by Sylvia Fraser, focusing on a range of characters leading up to and during WW2 in Berlin itself.

Helen MacInnes has a great (OOP) book about a young English woman caught in Poland by the war, "While Still we Live". (Very very evocative).

There are several books that are reminiscent of Pilcher's "Coming Home" by Elizabeth Elgin, and probably available from Amazon vendors, particularly in the UK. They are mostly about women in the various services, especially the WAAFs and Wrens, but I think also dealing with land girls. Classic romantic sagas. Whisper on the Wind, All the Sweet Promises, A Scent of Lavender.

Add to Battle Cry by Leon Uris, Armageddon (set in Berlin in the days and months following its collapse, but still essentially a WW2 book), and Mila 18, set in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw.

Rennie Airth has just published a third in a series of mysteries (which are utterly brilliant) that is set during against the backdrop of the middle stages of the war, in which rationing, the blackout, the impact of the war on families etc. is described better than in most other books I've read. "In the dead of winter". (The plot also involves some war themes, such as Polish exiles & the collapse of Paris.) "The Dead of Winter."
Laura Wilson has written two other detective novels set against wartime London -- Stratton's War and An Empty Death.

I wouldn't class Uris or most of these writers as great novelists, but then with the exception of McEwan or Faulks, I wouldn't apply that label to the original list, either. All, however, are what I would call "thumping good reads" in their own different ways.

[Miss Moppet]

Sarah Harrison, A Flower That's Free. Sequel to her WW1 novel The Flowers of the Field, but it can be read by itself. Starts in the mid-1930s with the 1936 Berlin Olympics and finishes up in postwar Berlin, also sections set in wartime London and in Malta. Recommended.

Henri Troyat, The Seed and the Fruit. Translation of Les semailles et les moissons, a series of five novels published in the 1950s. Saga of a French family from the early 1900s to 1945. The earlier novels follow Amelie and Pierre, the later ones their daughter Elisabeth who lives in Paris under the Occupation. Titles in order are:

1. Amelie in Love (Les semailles et les moissons)
2. Amelie and Pierre (Amelie)
3. Elizabeth (La grive)
4. Tender and violent Elizabeth (Tendre et violente Elisabeth)
5. The encounter (La rencontre)

Also recommended. But probably somewhat HTF in translation.

Judith Gould, Sins - 80s sex and shopping novel but it has quite lengthy flashbacks from the heroine's childhood when she was on the run from the Nazis in occupied France. The rest of the novel is about how she gets revenge on them (building a magazine empire along the way).

[annis]

A real oldie (1947), but one i enjoyed back in the day is Frances Parkinson Keyes', "Came A Cavalier" (http://www.amazon.com/Came-Cavalier-Frances-Parkinson-Keyes/dp/9997403444). Set in France, it starts near the end of WWI and goes through the German occupation during WWII.

[Miss Moppet]

A real oldie (1947), but one i enjoyed back in the day is Frances Parkinson Keyes', "Came A Cavalier" (http://www.amazon.com/Came-Cavalier-Frances-Parkinson-Keyes/dp/9997403444). Set in France, it starts near the end of WWI and goes through the German occupation during WWII.

I just ordered it second-hand. Thanks Annis, I would have assumed this was a Civil War novel from the title!

[love_uk]

A real oldie (1947), but one i enjoyed back in the day is Frances Parkinson Keyes', "Came A Cavalier" (http://www.amazon.com/Came-Cavalier-Frances-Parkinson-Keyes/dp/9997403444). Set in France, it starts near the end of WWI and goes through the German occupation during WWII.

Oh, Annis - I loved that book too. It is my favorite of all the FPK books - I couldn't wait to visit some little chateaux - it only took me about 20 years to do so.

She wrote another WWII novel but the name escapes me - about 3 friends who end up on different sides.

[Texas]

The WW II era is as close as this gets to my favorite (1930's). However, since my dad is a vet, I just wanted to mention that we still have with us some WW II vets with vivid memories--they're a treasure trove of oral history and many are gratified by talking about it!

Texas
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

[G. Alvin Simons]

How about The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins? I couldn't put it down! Fascinating characters, suspense, & great action, not to mention a few unexpected plot twists.
I also enjoyed The Last Citadel by David L. Robbins. Set around the historic tank battle of Kursk, it's also a fascinating read.

G. Alvin Simons

[CigarGuy]

Huge fan of Herman Wouk. When I was little I watched War & Remembrance with Mitchum. Years later I found the entire series at my library for that plus the Winds of War. I read both books then watched the movies. Great overview of the war, although Pug is sort of a Forrest Gump and seems to find himself in the middle of all the most important events. Still great stuff though.

[parthianbow]

Some great recommendations in this thread. I thought I'd read the thread before, but I hadn't. *scratches head* I was surprised not to see any mention of A Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson. Written in 1977, it was long listed for the Booker Prize, and details the story of the pilots of a fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain. It's absolutely outstanding, IMHO. He also wrote a fantastic book about the Royal Flying Corps in WW1, called Goshawk Squadron.

http://www.amazon.com/Piece-Cake-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/030436312X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300872704&sr=1-1

PS I've now discovered how to put in the link as above, but can't quite get to change it to a nice mere name of the book. As I can on Amazon, and on my own website. Anyone know how to do it please?

[Michy]

I went through a WWII reading phase in my teens -- read countless books on that era, most of which I've now forgotten. :( However, some of the ones that stand out are (naturally) Herman Wouk's The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I really, really enjoyed them and read them at the same time the TV miniseries was running.

One of the very first WWII books I read -- in my early teens -- was called Holocaust by (I think) Gerald Greene. Or maybe that's Graham Greene. I can't remember much about it, only that it had a strong emotional punch. I'm sure it's OOP, but I need to track down a copy and give it a re-read, since that's been at least 30 years ago.....

[annis]

Posted by PartianBow
PS I've now discovered how to put in the link as above, but can't quite get to change it to a nice mere name of the book. As I can on Amazon, and on my own website. Anyone know how to do it please?

Copy the URL you want to use. Highlight the text in your post into which you want to embed your URL. Click on the round blue "insert link" symbol in tool bar and paste your URL into the box that opens up. Click "OK" and you should be sweet. Good luck :) I won't say how long it took me to work out how to post an image!

Robinson is great. I've recently discovered Robert Radcliffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verulamium/), another author who's written some really readable stuff set during WWII, including 2 with an air war setting- Under an English Heaven and Dambuster. I very much enjoyed his WWI novel Across the Blood Red Skies - review here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verulamium/)

[parthianbow]

I'm going to start a WW1 and WW2 non-fiction thread soon, as there are many books I want to recommend, but can't on this thread. First and foremost, he writes sneakily, would be The Forgotten Soldier (http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Soldier-Guy-Sajer/dp/1574882864/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1300957000&sr=8-2) by Guy Sajer, a half-French, half-German who was conscripted into the German army in WW2 and who survived 3 years on the Russian front. It's in my top three books of all time by a Roman mile.

*Thanks Annis - it works!!!! :D:):cool:*

But your link isn't to Across the Blood Red Skies - it's to a Wikipedia stub page on Verulamium :confused:

[EC2]

I've just finished and enjoyed A Pair of Silver Wings by James Holland. it's about a Spitfire pilot who becomes involved in the siege of Malta. It's told in modern day and flashback and well worth the read.

[annis]

Posted by ParthianBow
But your link isn't to Across the Blood Red Skies - it's to a Wikipedia stub page on Verulamium

Oops- I'm a fine one to be giving you instructions :) That Verulamium link relates to the review I'm writing for Ruth Downie's Caveat Emptor aka Ruso and the River of Darkness. I love Ruso and hope we get more of him- RD originally was only contracted to write a series of 4.

Across the Blood Red Skies review here (http://www.historicalnovels.info/Across-the-Blood-Red-Skies.html) (hopefully)

[Steve Anderson]

I'm going to start a WW1 and WW2 non-fiction thread soon, as there are many books I want to recommend, but can't on this thread. First and foremost, he writes sneakily, would be The Forgotten Soldier (http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Soldier-Guy-Sajer/dp/1574882864/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1300957000&sr=8-2) by Guy Sajer, a half-French, half-German who was conscripted into the German army in WW2 and who survived 3 years on the Russian front. ...

Forgotten Soldier looks interesting. Thanks for that, parthianbow. I could list a bunch of my favorites, but for now I'll hold off and mention one that's overlooked and worth more notice. A Midnight Clear by William Wharton, is about a group of American soldiers gone lost during the Battle of the Bulge. While not a sweeping historical epic, it's heartfelt and gritty.

I'm currently reading Field Gray by Philip Kerr, his latest Bernie Gunther novel. Former Berlin detective Gunther has to come clean about his role during WWII after getting nabbed by the early CIA. The novel spans the 1930s to 50s but WWII is at the heart of the story. Good stuff with effective use of backstory narration, and a return to form for Kerr after his last one.

Also, the site War Through the Generations (http://warthroughthegenerations.wordpress.com/wwii-reading-list/), though US-focused, has a wealth of titles and reviews for WWII and other war periods. I hope it's okay to mention it here. Margaret, your site Historical Novels (http://www.historicalnovels.info/) is a must too, of course.

[Margaret]

Also, the site War Through the Generations, though US-focused, has a wealth of titles and reviews for WWII and other war periods.

Great list - that's a site worth exploring. The WWII list there is much more extensive that the one at HistoricalNovels.info (thanks for the mention, Steve) because I try to focus on true historical novels, ones written quite recently by authors who were born after the war, and keep the contemporary WWII novels to a minimum. The difference between historical novels and contemporary novels about WWII can be subtle sometimes. Novels by soldiers who fought in the war and/or people who lived through it on the "home front" have the advantage of being written by people with intimate personal experience of the wartime period. The compensating advantage for true historical novels is that the authors have more distance from the war, so they are often able to see its events in a less subjective way than authors who lived through it and therefore had strong personal feelings about it. For example, more novels are being written now that explore the experiences of Germans during the war in a nuanced way that goes beyond blame to try to understand the complexity of the German experience of the Nazi era and WWII.

[Steve Anderson]

Great list - that's a site worth exploring. The WWII list there is much more extensive that the one at HistoricalNovels.info (thanks for the mention, Steve) because I try to focus on true historical novels, ones written quite recently by authors who were born after the war, and keep the contemporary WWII novels to a minimum. The difference between historical novels and contemporary novels about WWII can be subtle sometimes. Novels by soldiers who fought in the war and/or people who lived through it on the "home front" have the advantage of being written by people with intimate personal experience of the wartime period. The compensating advantage for true historical novels is that the authors have more distance from the war, so they are often able to see its events in a less subjective way than authors who lived through it and therefore had strong personal feelings about it. For example, more novels are being written now that explore the experiences of Germans during the war in a nuanced way that goes beyond blame to try to understand the complexity of the German experience of the Nazi era and WWII.

Great point about the difference between historical and contemporary novels, Margaret. That distance inherent in a historical novel can allow the author to get at greater truths in the storyline, and often ones that apply to their own period just as well. I'm currently reading two novels in which this difference plays out: Field Gray by Philip Kerr, just published; and Jeder stirbt für sich alleine by Hans Fallada (Everyone Dies Alone), written in '47 and based on historical records. While Fallada's book is probably more nuanced than many contemporary novels on the subject, it's still much more damning than a book like Field Gray.

Going beyond blame to try to understand the complexity of the German experience is definitely something I've pursued in my own work. And if I can generalize, for research I tend to rely on those contemporary novels formed by experience but as a reader I tend to look to those written much later after the fact.

Thanks for the great response.

Steve

[wendy]

One of the most interesting WWII books I have read in a long time is Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. It deals with the Nazi occupation in France and the startling way the French officials aided in rounding up the Jewish people.

[Margaret]

Jeder stirbt für sich alleine by Hans Fallada (Everyone Dies Alone), written in '47 and based on historical records

You're reading it in German? That's cool! I read too slowly in German to tackle such a major novel, though I've done some light reading, and some Goethe (while taking classes in the language). My favorite was Gotz von Berlichingen - love that Sturm und Drang!

[Steve Anderson]

You're reading it in German? That's cool! I read too slowly in German to tackle such a major novel, though I've done some light reading, and some Goethe (while taking classes in the language). My favorite was Gotz von Berlichingen - love that Sturm und Drang!

Thanks, Margaret. I am, but it's my secondary read. My German is also slower going and it's a big book. I'm enjoying it though. I had some Goethe in college, but it's been a while. I think I still have Die Leiden des jungen Werthers. You should try it again -- start with something simple. I find that if I don't look every word up and just go with it, it starts to speed up and the comprehension too. Viel Glück!

[schultpe]

I grew up reading novels from this genre and have never stopped. Some of my favorites include Ken Follett's work (EYE OF THE NEEDLE and his more recent HORNET FLIGHT). I loved Owen Sela's AN EXCHANGE OF EAGLES, and my all-time favorite novel remains Anton Myrer's ONCE AN EAGLE (not exclusively about WWII, but a huge part of it is). It is a vivid, richly written saga that I highly recommend. I first read it at the age of 13, and can't count the number of times I have re-read it, or portions of it.

My contribution to the genre is entitled THE FUHRER VIRUS. It is a spy/conspiracy thriller for adult readers set in 1941. It can be found at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.booksamillion.com, and on GOOGLE review.

Thanks!

Paul Schultz

[Texas]

Don't forget that Chaim Potok's The Chosen takes place during World War II. Aside from illuminating the "home front," I think that book has one of the few male protagonists, David Malter, who can rival the attractiveness of Atticus Finch.


Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

[The Czar]

I didn't read all 9 pages, so surely someone has suggested these, but if you haven't, read Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I just finished them, and they are excellent. The holocaust scenes actually made me shudder with horror and tear up, first time in years a book has made me do that.

[Amanda]

I didn't read all 9 pages, so surely someone has suggested these, but if you haven't, read Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I just finished them, and they are excellent. The holocaust scenes actually made me shudder with horror and tear up, first time in years a book has made me do that.

I think that was one of the first things that really made me sit up and take notice of the Holocaust.

[SGM]

Don't forget that Chaim Potok's The Chosen takes place during World War II. Aside from illuminating the "home front," I think that book has one of the few male protagonists, David Malter, who can rival the attractiveness of Atticus Finch.


Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

Really -- I love Atticus. I shall have to give this one a try.

I did read one of Potok's novels some years ago but would have to go and look up the title -- not set during the war though. I did enjoy it but have never been back to that author again, not sure why though.

i read the Herman Wouk novels years and years ago. I enjoyed those too, but in a different way.

[Gordopolis]

I'm normally a Bronze-age to Medieval addict, but I've taken a dip into WWII with Fred Nath's 'The Cyclist'. I've only just started it, but the descriptive prose is well done and puts you in Bergerac by the town square quite effectively.

Going by the synopsis, the story promises to be a thrilling one...