World war II or the second world war lasted from 1939 to 1945. Though conflicts between countries started earlier, it was in the year 1939 that world was divided into two major military alliances: The Allies and The Axis.
It was in this war, that Hitler had eradicated approximately eleven million people, this mass extermination was called “Holocaust”. This was also the war in which Nuclear Weapons were used for the first time in combat, this multiplied the casualties.
This war background affected people across the Globe and changed lives. The war brought out angles in some people while it brought out devils in others. So, it is no surprise that some of the most compelling literature has world war two in its background.
Here is the list of the best fictional and non-fictional books that are based in these turbulent times.
Year: 1939. Place: Germany. Narrator: Death.
This was the year death started becoming really busy with the advent of world war II. And while on his job of collecting souls from various places, he comes across a nine year old girl, Liesel Meminger.
Death meets Lisel three times. And whenever they come face to face, death cannot help but be intrigued by this girl, who is also known as the Book Thief. He keeps wondering about her, and when at last he comes to collect her soul, he could not help but glance at the Book Thief’s diary where she wrote everything she had experienced.
Join death as he unravels Liesel’s life.
This is an excellent book, with perfect characterization, story line and intrigue.
Click the link for detailed review: http://thereandtheir.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/the-book-thief-a-book-review/
[schema type=”book” name=”The Book Thief” author=”Markus Zusak” publisher=”Black Swan” pubdate=”2007-09-08″ isbn=”0552773891 ” ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
In Berlin, year 1942, eight year old Bruno comes home from school to hear that his father has been transferred and they would be leaving everything and everyone they know.
The new house is considerably bigger, but there is nobody for Bruno to play with, nor does he have anything to do. So, out of boredom, one day he decides to sneak out of the house and explore the area. He had seen some strange people in the distance, and nobody was giving him an answer as to who they were.
Bruno’s life long dream was to become an explorer, so he decides to go and explore for himself, and while on this exploration, he discovers a boy in striped pyjamas on the other side of the fence.
This meeting results in friendship and both start meeting and sharing their stories. What they did not know in their innocence that they were supposed to be enemies, and this friendship would have devastating consequences for them both.
Check out the trailer for movie adaptation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itXGr-MXESs
[schema type=”book” name=”The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” author=”John Boyne” publisher=”Fickling Books” pubdate=”2006-09-12″ isbn=”0385751060″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
3. Catch 22
Meet Yossarian, a malingering bombardier in Germany. The problem is he does not wish to be included in the war, he just wants to go home.
But, his senior, Colonel Cathcart, does not wish to see him go. Yossarian tries endlessly to invent of innovative schemes that would get him out of service. But, the minimum number of missions that men must fly keeps increasing along with Yossarian’s desperation to leave the war.
In his endeavor to find a way, he discovers that a person who is considered insane can be excused from war. But there is a catch, or “Catch 22”, which states that a man can be considered insane if he willingly wants to fly in and become a part of dangerous missions. But, if he files a formal request to be relieved, he would not be considered insane as only a sane person would do so.
Read on to know what happens to Yossarian.
Here is the movie trailer for the movie adaptation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G41SJUIawVo
[schema type=”book” name=”Catch-22″ author=”Joseph Heller” publisher=”Simon & Schuster” pubdate=”2004-09-04″ isbn=”0684833395 ” ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
Fifteen year old Lithuanian Lina Vilkas and her family find themselves on Stalin’s extermination list in the year 1941.
Before being deported to a prison camp in Siberia, Lina’s life was pretty much like any other fifteen year old. She loved to paint, draw and have crushes on handsome boys. But, her life turns upside down when one night, out of the blue, Soviet soldiers came to her house and tore her family apart.
Join Lina’s fearless journey as she risks everything to save her family’s life. Experience the power of love, faith and hope that gives Lina the strength to fight. But, will they survive?
[schema type=”book” name=”Between Shades of Gray” author=”Ruta Sepetys ” publisher=”Speak” pubdate=”2012-04-03″ isbn=”014242059X” ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
Anna Schlemmer’s daughter Trudy writes on the life of her mother fifty years after the war.
In 1940, Anna fell in love with a Jewish doctor. The consequences of this were terrible. Trudy had been just three years old when she and her mother were rescued by an American soldier at the end of the war. They later shifted to Minnesota to live with him. Fifty years later, Trudy, who is now a professor of German History, goes back to complete the pieces of her mother’s life. The only thing she has at the start is an old family portrait of Anna, Trudy and a Nazi Officer.
Oscillating between past and present, the story deals with a doomed love affair and a look into the way of life during the war.
[schema type=”book” name=”Those Who Save Us” author=”Jenna Blum” publisher=”Harcourt Books ” pubdate=”2005-05-02″ isbn=”0156031663″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
This Booker Prize winner traces the intermingling of four damaged people in an Italian Villa at the end of world war two. The writing is beautiful and unsettlingly intelligent.
At a site of a plane crash, one English man is found who seems to have amnesia, he does not remember anything about himself. While he lies in the bedroom upstairs trying to piece together his past, his presence affects the lives of Hana, his nurse, Caravaggio, a maimed thief, and Kip, the wary sapper.
The story intricately weaves passion and betrayal as the English patient tries to discover who he is.
Check out the trailer of the movie adaptation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPKpU14Kqqw
[schema type=”book” name=”The English Patient” author=”Michael Ondaatje” publisher=”McClelland & Stewart” pubdate=”2006-04-18″ isbn=”0771068719″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
