We are hopping around with the Bookish Blog Hops group again and recommending great books. This time, we are discussing books set during wartime. This is one of my favourite subsets of historical fiction. Wartime was a time of extremes, when people’s attitudes and relationships were tested to the limits. A lot of the soldiers were very young and just starting relationships. Some of them left their wives, mothers, children.
But a lot of the fiction I am reading now is about the women’s stories behind the battles. These women were ‘making do’ with what they had, learning new skills, being the ‘man’ around the house for the first time. They were volunteering, learning to drive, becoming nurses and even spies in Nazi-occupied France. These are some of my recent 5-star reads.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is a wonderful story of female spies in German-occupied France during World War One. It is based on real-life courageous women, who braved the privations and abuses of living in Lille to feed intelligence to England.
Blackout / All Clear by Connie Willis is a set of two books about historians who travel to the past to observe. Needless to say, it is not quite that simple in World War Two. One main character, Merope, takes a position as a servant in a country house that takes in refugee children from the war. Polly travels to London and Michael is headed for the Dunkirk evacuation. A wonderful heart-warming tale.
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is a wonderful, intricate web of a book about a character, Ursula, who lives her life over and over again. What are the choices she needs to make to get it all right? The book is one of the best books set during wartime I have ever read and takes us from England to Germany and through some very tough choices.
Also check out my post Best New Historical Fiction set in France
Robin Taylor https://www.robinlovesreading.com
I can only name a few, because my blog tells me I have read 29 so far. Dragonfly by Leila Meacham, The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester, A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kellman, the Lark Lane series by Pam Howes – there were three of these, Telegrams and Teacakes by Amy Miller, and so many more!
Elizabeth Means https://spookysmaze.blogspot.com/?m=1
Books I’ve read set during war time:
WW 2 Historical fiction
Dragonfly by Leila Meacham ( one of my new all time favorite books for 2019)
The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester
Historical fiction horror
The Damned ( The Darkest Hand #1 ) by Tarn Richardson
Nonfiction
George Washington’s Secret Spy War by John A. Nagy
The True Story of the Great Escape :Stalag Luft III ,March 1944 by Johnathan F.Vance
Leslie Conzatti www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com
Two books immediately come to mind, and both are set during World War II.
Code Name: Verity by Elisabeth Weir tells the story of two girls, one an English spy, and the other the Scottish pilot who brings her behind enemy lines. It’s gripping and fascinating–and there’s a twist in the middle that just about made me throw the book across the room!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak tells the story of an orphaned young German girl who is brought to live with an older couple–who turn out to be ones willing to harbor Jews and help the resistance against the Nazi advance, all the while masquerading as compliant citizens. I found it touching and awesome because of the unorthodox formatting style he uses, and also the fact that the whole story is narrated from the point of view of Death, personified.
Jo Linsdell www.JoLinsdell.com
I’m going to go with The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews for this one. An adventure set sharply against the warm waters and white sands of the Gulf of Mexico in WWII America.
Saddened and unable to abandon her resentment toward the Nazi war machine that took her husband’s life, the young and attractive Helen Mason is living a bitter, lonely existence. Betrayed and left for dead, German U-boat officer Lt. Josef Landermann washes ashore in a sleepy town along the northern gulf coast, looking to Helen for survival.
The Heart Mender is a story of life, loss, and reconciliation, reminding us of the power of forgiveness and the universal healing experience of letting go.
Some great recommendations of books set during wartime from everyone. I’d be interested in reading a book about Bletchley Park. Has anyone read anything like this that they could recommend?
Yesterday, we talked about A Book with an author who uses a pseudonym with Laura and tomorrow we will be discussing Books with Shocking Plot Twists at Brandy Potter Books.
Have you read any of these? Any other good ones that we have missed?
So many great recommendations here!
Oh, I have to add Olivia Hawker (also writes as Libbie Hawker) with her THE RAGGED EDGE OF NIGHT, which is set in WWII. Gorgeous! And if anyone knows of WWII internment camp historicals (along the lines of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) I’m always looking for new comps for my novel, which I am querying for now!
Thanks Rebecca! Did I know you were querying? That’s exciting!
Yes definitely! I also love the two that Leslie picked 🙂
I’ve read “Life after life” and I didn’t enjoy it as much as you. This theme is just not for me.
Exciting…hmm. We’ll see! This is my second round. Queried 20 in the spring with some success but not THE CALL. I’m feeling slightly and oh so cautiously optimistic, but there are always publishers to query, too. That’s next step. Such a long process!