Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosenay Secrets of a Charmed Life- Susan Meissner The Nightingale- Kristin Hannah The Book Thief – Markus Zuzak Letters from Skye- Jessica Brockmole The Secret Keeper – Kate Morton Beneath a Scarlet Sky – Mark Sullivan Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein
Kind of obscure, but definitely a favorite—Flame of Resistance by Tracy Groot is a retelling of the Old Testament story of Rehab set in Normandy on the brink of D-Day. Interesting concept and genuinely great story.
Once we were Brothers by Ronald Dawson The Kommandant’s Girl Pam Jeniffer The Summer Before The War, Helen Simonson The Muralist All The Light We Cannot See Dorr
I just picked up No Less Than Victory by Jeff Shaara. It was in my store’s 50 cent bin. I love the Civil War trilogy he and his father wrote, so thought I’d try it. Haven’t read it yet though.
The nightingale-Kristin Hannah will always be my number one suggestion! Other good ones though: The book thief- Markus Susan The girl from the train-Irma Joubert The orphans tale- Pam Jenoff (another one of my favorites)
If you want to expand to WWI, all’s quiet on the western front and Johnny got his gun are both very powerful novels!
THE MAN FROM BERLIN by Luke McCallin. A soul-searing story set in war torn Yugoslavia centered around a German military intelligence officer. (Book 1 in a 3-novel series.)
BLUEBIRDS by Margaret Mayhew. Fantastic novel about the lives of the women who served in Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the Second World War.
A SHARE OF HONOUR by Alexander Fullerton. Fullerton, himself a Second World War veteran, has crafted a fantastic story set in the Mediterranean and in the Far East during a critical time in the War, when an Allied victory seemed doubtful.
Skeletons at the Feast is one of my favorites by Chris Bohjalian. Kind of gritty & a different perspective from many others listed here that I also liked.. ?
These have probably already been suggested, but if not Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are must-reads for anyone looking for WW2 historical fiction. They’re many years old, but sooo good!
My sister & I swap books. Black Cross was her first Greg Iles. She went out & got a bunch of his titles at the used book exchange. Finished one Natchez but none of his others. We no longer bother with him.
The Nightingale, Sarah’s Key, Anne Frank, The Book Thief, Lilac Girls, The Chilbury Ladies Choir, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Storyteller, We Were The Lucky Ones, The Fortunate Ones, The Lost Letter, Those Who Save Us, The Lost Wife, The Librarian of Auschwitz….there are so many!
LONDON BELLES by Annie Groves. ” ‘London Belles’ is a tale of four very different young women thrown together by war. Finding freedom and independence – as well as love, passion and heartbreak – for the very first time, a unique bond is formed as the hostilities take their toll on Britain.
Haven’t seen anyone mention The Summer Before The war or Life after Life. Another interesting one was A Thread Of Grace specifically about Italy and the resistance.
Also, Parallel Journeys is an incredible nonfiction book detailing the lives of two completely different people growing up during WWII going all the way through the war and telling what happened to them afterwards. A completely unique book that gives a rare, and rather chilling, glimpse into the life of a boy raised as a Hitler Youth.
The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng are equally amazing! Amazing writing (literary fiction), amazing characters and an amazing way of dealing with memory and trauma. <3
A SOLDIER’S LEGACY by Heinrich Böll. This novel offers a poignant description of the life of a German soldier on occupation duty in France during 1943 and his befriending of a lieutenant whose concern for the welfare of those under his command has put him in hot water with his brother officers. The novel culminates with a startling outcome.
A PRAYER FOR THE SHIP by Douglas Reeman. “Small, quick-moving torpedo boats played a vital role in protecting the Allied convoys in the English Channel and the North Sea during World War II, and Sub-Lieutenant Clive Royce is newly assigned to MTB [Motor Torpedo Boat] 1991, joining a crew already seasoned by death and fear. Now it is up to him to take the place of their dead first lieutenant and earn the respect of his captain and crewmates.” (Reeman himself served on Motor Torpedo Boats with the Royal Navy during the War.)
THE LAST CONVERTIBLE by Anton Myrer. This novel “tells the story of five Harvard educated men [Class of 1940] and the women they loved – and the elegant car that came to symbolise their romantic youth. It is also the story of their coming-of-age in the dark days of World War II, and of their unshakable loyalty to a lost dream in the decades that followed. Filled with nostalgia and history, ‘The Last Convertible’ is a gripping tribute to a way of living, thinking, and dreaming that has all but disappeared.” (This is one of the best novels of its kind that I’ve ever read.)
SUCH SWEET SUMMER by Vincent O. Carter (ISBN: 978-1586420581). This novel “opens in 1944, somewhere in France, near the front. Amerigo Jones, a young African American GI, is invited by a buddy to bed down with a Frenchwoman who has put herself at the service of a U.S. infantry unit. But when Amerigo half-reluctantly goes to her, he sees not a hardened prostitute, but a sad and bewildered innocent. In a daze, he watches her features take on the aspect of Cosima Thornton, the great obsession of his youth in his native Kansas City. This moment of connection serves as the springboard for a unique and compelling novel.
“Amerigo drifts back in time … We see life through the eyes of the boy at each stage of [Amerigo’s formative years] he struggles for independence, respect, understanding from his friends and elders, and above all, love. “Set during the segregated 1920s and 1930s, ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ is laced throughout with references to the struggle for justice and freedom, … Amerigo is a dreamer, and yet it is clear that many of his dreams will go unfulfilled, not because of who he is but because of the color of his skin.”
A WOMAN OF THE WORLD by Genie Chipps Henderson. The legendary photographer Kate Goodfellow finds herself adrift in a lifeboat off the coast of North Africa in late 1942 after the troopship, on which she was travelling, had been torpedoed. This gives her time to reflect upon her life, which makes for very compelling reading.
More old titles…Besides Herman Wouk, check out Leon Uris’s Mila 18 about the Warsaw ghetto. Uris wrote many WWII historical novels. Another book that has stayed with me all these years is “Anya” but can’t remember the woman author. A more current book is “Thread of Grace” by Mary Doria Russell…Italy toward the end of the war. excellent!
THEIR FINEST HOUR by Lissa Evans. The setting is Britain during the summer of 1940. France has fallen and the British government recognizes an urgent need to raise morale in a country poised for the possibility of a German invasion. A young copywriter, Catrin Cole, has been taken on by the Ministry of Information to help write “women roles” into propaganda films because the male writers aren’t good at all. The results are interesting, making for a compelling story.
SHE GOES TO WAR by Edith Pargeter. Originally published in 1942, this novel looks into the life of Catherine, a WREN (Women’s Royal Naval Service) teleprinter operator in Liverpool, who meets Tom Lyddon. The two have an affair that is shattered by the realities of the War.
COLD WINTER IN BORDEAUX by Allan Massie. The novel begins in Bordeaux during the Winter of 1942-43. Superintendant Lannes – already an object of suspicion because of having one son serving with the Free French and another in the Vichy Government – investigates the murder of a woman. It looks to be a crime of passion. Upon further investigation, Lannes discovers that the dead woman had been engaged in activities that drew the attention of the Germans, the Vichy Secret Service, and even the Resistance. This disclosure, coupled with Lannes’ own family problems, makes his life a constant challenge – especially as the hour of liberation approaches in 1944.
Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy, it has everything, the war front, the homefront, Washington, DC., spies, French partisans, the death camps, and so on. I loved it. and have re-read it twice and i seldom do that.
UPROOTED: A Canadian War Story by Lynne Reid Banks. In 1940, a 10-year old English girl – along with her mother and a cousin – is evacuated by ship to Western Canada. There life is different, both challenging and exciting.
I am also into this time period. I’ve tried reading The Book Thief but couldn’t get into it. It’s recommended so much I wonder what I’m missing. Any hints?
FORTUNES OF WAR by Olivia Manning. Here is the story of a marriage in the midst of an expanding war in Europe that comes to encompass the Balkans, Greece, and Egypt.
Zion Covenant series by Bodie Thoene (sp?) is SO good!! I read the first 6 books years ago, discovered there are more I missed, but our library doesn’t have them. ?
THE BURNING BLUE by James Holland. “Joss Lambert has always been a loner, constrained by a secret from his past, until he finds friendship and solace firstly with Guy Liddell, a friend from school, and then with Guy’s family, who welcome him into their farmhouse home. Joss increasingly comes to depend upon the Liddells and treats Alvesdon Farm as the one place where he feels not only appreciated but also truly happy. But in late 1930s Britain, the idyll cannot last. With war looming, Joss is forced to confront the past. He escapes through flying, becoming a fighter pilot in the [Royal Air Force] RAF. But with the onset of war, even the Liddells’ world is crumbling. As Joss is fighting for his life in the Battle of Britain, so he begins to fall madly in love with Stella – Guy’s twin – but with tragic consequences. Leaving Britain and the Liddells far behind, he continues to fly amid the sand and heat of North Africa’s deserts, flying above the ‘Desert Rats’ of the 8th Army, until his hopes and dreams are seemingly shattered for good…” (I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Holland, who is also a historian, knows how to WRITE.)
THE RED HORSE by Eugenio Corti. “This epic historical novel about World War II and after, written from the author’s own personal experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter, is a profoundly moving account of the war, those who fought in it on both sides, and the effects the war had on families in the author’s hometown in northern Italy.
“On a wider scale, [THE RED HORSE] is a faithful witness to the actual events of the war including the historic personages who appear, the combat on the Eastern Front, the Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and beyond to the political life in the two decades after the war. This world, filled with powerful personalities, drama and clashing armies, bathes in the complex light of the truth.
“A truly great historical novel with its epic scope, what makes this a masterpiece is the underlying spiritual dimensions of the protagonist, his family and friends, which illuminates the ongoing tragedy of the war and its aftermath. In the end, it is a story of faith and hope in a world reduced to barbarism and cruelty.”
A book I would recommend may be out of print. The name of it is Stranger at the Gates by Evelyn Anthony. She is or was a British author. Setting is Worl War II. A great book one that I will never forget.
MARKING TIME (Vol. 2 of The Cazalet Chronicle) by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The setting is Britain in September 1939. War has been declared on Germany. Louise, now 16, who had hitherto lived a sheltered life, goes from cooking parties to parties in London. For Polly, now 14, the terrors of war cannot forestall the pangs of adolescence. Within the following year, Clary’s father (who is in the Royal Navy) has been reported ‘missing – presumed dead’ at Dunkirk. This is something that Clary, now 15, steadfastly refuses to accept. (I ABSOLUTELY LOVED ‘The Cazalet Chronicle’ and recommend them highly to any reader who enjoys reading WWII novels.)
Absolutely a fantastic book, QBVII by Leon Uris! A little different read, takes place after the war and is about a trial of someone during the war. It is great! One of my all time favorites!
CROOKED HEART by Lissa Evans. “A precocious orphan and a debt-ridden widow con artist forge an unlikely alliance to take advantage of unscrupulous money-making opportunities in Britain during World War II.”
THE GRANVILLE AFFAIRE – by Una-Mary Parker. Upon the outbreak of war, wealthy banker Henry Granville moves his family away from London. Even so, life remains turbulent. Desperate to forget her past, Juliet becomes a Red Cross nurse and is soon caught up in the chaos and confusion created by the Blitz. All the while, the war changes the Granvilles in both subtle and profound ways.
GHOSTS OF BUNDO SUIDO by P.T. Deutermann. This novel takes place during the late stages of the War in the Pacific. With Japan now subject to bombing attacks from long-range U.S. bombers, it is rumored that the Imperial Japanese Navy has at least 2 super-battleships and an aircraft carrier with which to deliver a savage blow to the U.S. Navy and buy Tokyo time to recoup her military forces in anticipation of an expected American invasion of the Japanese home islands.
Rhidian Brook – Aftermath. Novel based on a true story of the author’s grandfather who as a highly placed army official was sent to Berlin immediately after the war to begin reparations. He and his family are billeted at the home of a wealthy German aristocrat (who is expected to vacate the premises) but the Englishman says that the man can remain in his own home during their stay. It is an excellent novel. Only available in Aus on Kindle or buy from England. Everyone to whom I’ve recommended the novel has loved it.
The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. Offers a part – actually, parts – of the German WWII experience that were new to me, and, among other things, helped me understand the ethnic German family who were originally from Poland and spent years in a DP camp before coming to the US. Be sure to read the author’s notes that explain why she felt compelled to write it. Very interesting.
In Farleigh field, the chillbury ladies choir, Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society
Thanks
Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosenay
Secrets of a Charmed Life- Susan Meissner
The Nightingale- Kristin Hannah
The Book Thief – Markus Zuzak
Letters from Skye- Jessica Brockmole
The Secret Keeper – Kate Morton
Beneath a Scarlet Sky – Mark Sullivan
Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein
Ugh hated Code Name Verity!
Kind of obscure, but definitely a favorite—Flame of Resistance by Tracy Groot is a retelling of the Old Testament story of Rehab set in Normandy on the brink of D-Day. Interesting concept and genuinely great story.
The Nightingale
The Last Time I Saw Paris
War Brides
On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
The Red Scarf
Once we were Brothers by Ronald Dawson
The Kommandant’s Girl
Pam Jeniffer
The Summer Before The War, Helen Simonson
The Muralist
All The Light We Cannot See Dorr
The Paris Architect, All the Light We Cannot See, The Story Teller,
The Bronze Horseman
Following for fabulous suggestions!
I just picked up No Less Than Victory by Jeff Shaara. It was in my store’s 50 cent bin. I love the Civil War trilogy he and his father wrote, so thought I’d try it. Haven’t read it yet though.
The nightingale-Kristin Hannah will always be my number one suggestion!
Other good ones though:
The book thief- Markus Susan
The girl from the train-Irma Joubert
The orphans tale- Pam Jenoff (another one of my favorites)
If you want to expand to WWI, all’s quiet on the western front and Johnny got his gun are both very powerful novels!
I just finished The Orphan’s Tale. I had mixed feelings about it!
I loved The Orphan’s Tale.
White Rose, Black Forest
James R. Benn’s Billy Boyle series is excellent. Each book includes an actual, little-known incident from WWII.
Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk….both excellent!
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/14683.Amazing_WWII_fiction_some_with_romance_
Mila18 by Leon Uris.
The One Man, The Girl From the Train, Nightengale, Unbroken.
Following!
Sand and Ash
The Alice Network
Loved this!
Me too.
Sarah’s Key
Winds of War series, The Alice Network, All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky.
I just reread Winds of War and War and Remembrance again. Two of my all
Time favorites.
The nightingale, the book thief, code name verity, the story teller. They are all AMAZING♡♡♡
Following
Also: All the light we cannot see. Phenomenal!
Lots of great suggestions! I also loved City of Women by David Gillham.
Gone to Soldiers by Marge Pierce, Exodus by Leon Uris, Winds of War by Herman Wouk
Exodus is a beauty!
James Michener novels, too!
THE CRUEL SEA by Nicholas Monsarrat. One of the finest Second World War novels I’ve ever read.
HMS SARACEN by Douglas Reeman
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zuzak
ECHOLAND by Joe Joyce. Takes place in Ireland.
Try Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. It’s from a different perspective, that of widows of German Resistance fighters. Very good.
SERGEANT PILOT by Ken Fowler.
City of Thieves! Loved it. Russia during WW2.
Loved it as well, not a lot of WWII books are set in Russia.
A bit on the lighter side, I enjoyed “Sirius, the story of the little dog who almost changed history.” Implausible but fun.
F
Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans.
TROUBLED SLEEP by Jean-Paul Sartre. Takes place in France during the early years of the Second World War.
I just read one but i am drawing a blank on the title. It was so good too. I didn’t remember it til i read your post. Ahhh now it will bother me.
GONE TO SEA IN A BUCKET by David Black. Depicts life aboard a Royal Navy submarine during the early years of the War.
MEET ME UNDER THE CLOCK by Annie Murray. Describes life in Britain during the War.
THE MAN FROM BERLIN by Luke McCallin. A soul-searing story set in war torn Yugoslavia centered around a German military intelligence officer. (Book 1 in a 3-novel series.)
BLUEBIRDS by Margaret Mayhew. Fantastic novel about the lives of the women who served in Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the Second World War.
A SHARE OF HONOUR by Alexander Fullerton. Fullerton, himself a Second World War veteran, has crafted a fantastic story set in the Mediterranean and in the Far East during a critical time in the War, when an Allied victory seemed doubtful.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
I forgot about this! Absolutely loved it!
Same here!!
The Bronze Horseman. Set in Russia
I enjoy Jacqueline Winspear’s Masie Dobbs series as well as Susan Elia Macneal’s MaggieHope series.
The German Suitcase
Roads by Marina Cramer
The Bakers Daughter by Sarah McCoy, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Jamie Ford, Band of Sisters by Cathy Gohlke
Boat of Stone.
Sons and Soldiers
We are the Lucky Ones
Greg Iles has Spandau Phoenix and Black Cross. Good stuff.
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah, supposed to be great.
Me too!
The Nightingale
The Lilac Girls
The Book Thief
Sarah’s Key
Tallgrass by Sarah Dallas
It is Well by James D. Shipman
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Under the Silk Hibiscus by Alice J. Wisler
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Book Thief -I highly recommend! ❤️
2 of my favorites:
Lisette’s List
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel society
Maisie Dobbs, Bess Crawford, lilac girls, Echo, The War That Saved my Life.
Not sure if this quite fits the bill, but it’s an incredible book with provocative, emotive WWII themes and it’s an absolutely brilliant read.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.
Following.
Any of the books by Kate Monson-there are five. Little mysteries inside of a mystery type of thing. Delightful!!?
Pat Barkers Regeneration Trilogy..Life Class,
Noonday..
Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance and Winds of War, if you can find them. They were published in the 70s.
Check your public library if you can’t find them online – they probably have them. Great reads!
I loved those books. I learned a lot too.
Skeletons at the Feast is one of my favorites by Chris Bohjalian. Kind of gritty & a different perspective from many others listed here that I also liked.. ?
Charlotte Grey
Anything by Alan Furst. All set just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Some were during. I agree. I’ve read them all.
Loved all of them.
I’m assuming that it’s best to read them in order. Am I right?
Doesn’t really matter as there are no main continuing characters. Some secondary characters appear in multiple books.
The World at Night has a sequel, Red Gold. That’s the only sequence I remember.
Just finished a new one – The Silver Music Box. Excellent. This is a good list.
“We were the lucky ones.”Cannot remember the author. Set in WWTwo.
Fantastic book.
Yes !!! Just finished this one A+
.
All the light we cannot see
The zookeepers wife
The nightingale
These have probably already been suggested, but if not Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are must-reads for anyone looking for WW2 historical fiction. They’re many years old, but sooo good!
Black Cross by Greg Iles. His best book by far.
I thought I’d read all of his. Don’t know this one. I am on it, right now!
I’ve suggested it often. Everyone loved it. Few cared much for his other work. I’ve read a few with limited Likes. This is ‘can’t put down’ reading.
I just downloaded it. I loved his Natchez series. The first 2 the most.
I enjoyed the Natchez stories., they were the :Likes, ha. I forget the ones I couldn’t finish. Wacko murderer stuff. pooo
@Andy, several were too out there for me too.
My sister & I swap books. Black Cross was her first Greg Iles. She went out & got a bunch of his titles at the used book exchange. Finished one Natchez but none of his others. We no longer bother with him.
The Nightingale
Orphans tale
The Sixth Lamentation.
The Nightingale, Sarah’s Key, Anne Frank, The Book Thief, Lilac Girls, The Chilbury Ladies Choir, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Storyteller, We Were The Lucky Ones, The Fortunate Ones, The Lost Letter, Those Who Save Us, The Lost Wife, The Librarian of Auschwitz….there are so many!
Ohhh. Sarah’s Key and The Book Thief. Both wonderful
Don’t forget about Night by Ellie Wiesel. One of the most powerful short books you could read.
Also Hiroshima by John Hersey, and, on the lighter side, a good series beginning with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The War That Saved My Life
The Book Thief
Everyone Brave is Forgiven
All the Light We Cannot See
A Town Like Alice
Two brothers by Ben Elton
Following! My fave genre and era
Fall of Giants is WWI but it’s fantastic so far.
Me too. Where do I start ???. Eye of the Needle, Key to Rebecca, & Jackdaws all by Ken Follett. The One Man And The Saboteur by Andrew Gross.
LONDON BELLES by Annie Groves. ” ‘London Belles’ is a tale of four very different young women thrown together by war. Finding freedom and independence – as well as love, passion and heartbreak – for the very first time, a unique bond is formed as the hostilities take their toll on Britain.
‘Four lives. One war that will change them all.’
The Postmistress
Haven’t seen anyone mention The Summer Before The war or Life after Life. Another interesting one was A Thread Of Grace specifically about Italy and the resistance.
I think “The Summer Before the War” is WWI but a very good book.
Between Shades of Grey, and also Salt to the Sea, both by Ruta Sepetys. Some of the best in the genre.
Also, Parallel Journeys is an incredible nonfiction book detailing the lives of two completely different people growing up during WWII going all the way through the war and telling what happened to them afterwards. A completely unique book that gives a rare, and rather chilling, glimpse into the life of a boy raised as a Hitler Youth.
Following
Check out Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26030682
Check out My Enemy’s Cradle by Sara Young
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1998880
Check out Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17834834
Check out Mischling by Affinity Konar
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28664920
Pretty much everything is covered but I’d like to add The Baker’s Secret- Stephen Kiernan
Check out They Called Her Jewgirl by Kurt Meyer
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3153859
Check out Frontline Angel by Genevieve Jordayne
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32160989
The Nightingale…definitely!
Love this book so much! However, it totally gave me serious book withdrawals! On my second book trying to get out of it! Soooooo good!!
Boodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood.
All the Light We Cannot See — Haven’t read it but know that it’s really famous
The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng are equally amazing! Amazing writing (literary fiction), amazing characters and an amazing way of dealing with memory and trauma. <3
A SOLDIER’S LEGACY by Heinrich Böll. This novel offers a poignant description of the life of a German soldier on occupation duty in France during 1943 and his befriending of a lieutenant whose concern for the welfare of those under his command has put him in hot water with his brother officers. The novel culminates with a startling outcome.
A PRAYER FOR THE SHIP by Douglas Reeman. “Small, quick-moving torpedo boats played a vital role in protecting the Allied convoys in the English Channel and the North Sea during World War II, and Sub-Lieutenant Clive Royce is newly assigned to MTB [Motor Torpedo Boat] 1991, joining a crew already seasoned by death and fear. Now it is up to him to take the place of their dead first lieutenant and earn the respect of his captain and crewmates.” (Reeman himself served on Motor Torpedo Boats with the Royal Navy during the War.)
Also, I loved The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Anglada, but it’s a very short book… However, it left a lasting impression on me.
THE LAST CONVERTIBLE by Anton Myrer. This novel “tells the story of five Harvard educated men [Class of 1940] and the women they loved – and the elegant car that came to symbolise their romantic youth. It is also the story of their coming-of-age in the dark days of World War II, and of their unshakable loyalty to a lost dream in the decades that followed. Filled with nostalgia and history, ‘The Last Convertible’ is a gripping tribute to a way of living, thinking, and dreaming that has all but disappeared.” (This is one of the best novels of its kind that I’ve ever read.)
Read many many years ago! Very good
The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
SUCH SWEET SUMMER by Vincent O. Carter (ISBN: 978-1586420581). This novel “opens in 1944, somewhere in France, near the front. Amerigo Jones, a young African American GI, is invited by a buddy to bed down with a Frenchwoman who has put herself at the service of a U.S. infantry unit. But when Amerigo half-reluctantly goes to her, he sees not a hardened prostitute, but a sad and bewildered innocent. In a daze, he watches her features take on the aspect of Cosima Thornton, the great obsession of his youth in his native Kansas City. This moment of connection serves as the springboard for a unique and compelling novel.
“Amerigo drifts back in time … We see life through the eyes of the boy at each stage of [Amerigo’s formative years] he struggles for independence, respect, understanding from his friends and elders, and above all, love.
“Set during the segregated 1920s and 1930s, ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ is laced throughout with references to the struggle for justice and freedom, … Amerigo is a dreamer, and yet it is clear that many of his dreams will go unfulfilled, not because of who he is but because of the color of his skin.”
Bodie Theone -Zion Chronicles- each named for symphony part- First Vienna Prelude.
Absolutely LOVED these!!!!
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.?
Librarian of Auschwitz
Just bought this one.
A WOMAN OF THE WORLD by Genie Chipps Henderson. The legendary photographer Kate Goodfellow finds herself adrift in a lifeboat off the coast of North Africa in late 1942 after the troopship, on which she was travelling, had been torpedoed. This gives her time to reflect upon her life, which makes for very compelling reading.
More old titles…Besides Herman Wouk, check out Leon Uris’s Mila 18 about the Warsaw ghetto. Uris wrote many WWII historical novels. Another book that has stayed with me all these years is “Anya” but can’t remember the woman author. A more current book is “Thread of Grace” by Mary Doria Russell…Italy toward the end of the war. excellent!
Jackdaws by Ken Follett
??
All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
I second this!
THEIR FINEST HOUR by Lissa Evans. The setting is Britain during the summer of 1940. France has fallen and the British government recognizes an urgent need to raise morale in a country poised for the possibility of a German invasion. A young copywriter, Catrin Cole, has been taken on by the Ministry of Information to help write “women roles” into propaganda films because the male writers aren’t good at all. The results are interesting, making for a compelling story.
Shining Through by Susan Isaacs
SHE GOES TO WAR by Edith Pargeter. Originally published in 1942, this novel looks into the life of Catherine, a WREN (Women’s Royal Naval Service) teleprinter operator in Liverpool, who meets Tom Lyddon. The two have an affair that is shattered by the realities of the War.
The Nightingale
Beneath a Scarlet Sky:-)
Just finished that one, loved every bit of it #TeamPino 🙂
COLD WINTER IN BORDEAUX by Allan Massie. The novel begins in Bordeaux during the Winter of 1942-43. Superintendant Lannes – already an object of suspicion because of having one son serving with the Free French and another in the Vichy Government – investigates the murder of a woman. It looks to be a crime of passion. Upon further investigation, Lannes discovers that the dead woman had been engaged in activities that drew the attention of the Germans, the Vichy Secret Service, and even the Resistance. This disclosure, coupled with Lannes’ own family problems, makes his life a constant challenge – especially as the hour of liberation approaches in 1944.
Thin Red Line
Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy, it has everything, the war front, the homefront, Washington, DC., spies, French partisans, the death camps, and so on. I loved it. and have re-read it twice and i seldom do that.
Excellent book!
The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen
The Mr. Churchill’s Secretary Series.
Loved this book.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
All the Light We Cannot See
UPROOTED: A Canadian War Story by Lynne Reid Banks. In 1940, a 10-year old English girl – along with her mother and a cousin – is evacuated by ship to Western Canada. There life is different, both challenging and exciting.
Loving this thread. It is one of my favorite Historical Fiction Eras.
The Zookeepers Wife (not really fiction but reads like it) and The Book Thief. I also love books set in World War II.
I am also into this time period. I’ve tried reading The Book Thief but couldn’t get into it. It’s recommended so much I wonder what I’m missing. Any hints?
FORTUNES OF WAR by Olivia Manning. Here is the story of a marriage in the midst of an expanding war in Europe that comes to encompass the Balkans, Greece, and Egypt.
Zion Covenant series by Bodie Thoene (sp?) is SO good!! I read the first 6 books years ago, discovered there are more I missed, but our library doesn’t have them. ?
The first book is called Vienna Prelude.
This is a wonderful thread..
In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson
THE BURNING BLUE by James Holland. “Joss Lambert has always been a loner, constrained by a secret from his past, until he finds friendship and solace firstly with Guy Liddell, a friend from school, and then with Guy’s family, who welcome him into their farmhouse home. Joss increasingly comes to depend upon the Liddells and treats Alvesdon Farm as the one place where he feels not only appreciated but also truly happy. But in late 1930s Britain, the idyll cannot last. With war looming, Joss is forced to confront the past. He escapes through flying, becoming a fighter pilot in the [Royal Air Force] RAF. But with the onset of war, even the Liddells’ world is crumbling. As Joss is fighting for his life in the Battle of Britain, so he begins to fall madly in love with Stella – Guy’s twin – but with tragic consequences. Leaving Britain and the Liddells far behind, he continues to fly amid the sand and heat of North Africa’s deserts, flying above the ‘Desert Rats’ of the 8th Army, until his hopes and dreams are seemingly shattered for good…” (I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Holland, who is also a historian, knows how to WRITE.)
For the years just before the war, Christopher Isherwood.
Code Name Verity is one of my favorites
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
THE RED HORSE by Eugenio Corti. “This epic historical novel about World War II and after, written from the author’s own personal experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter, is a profoundly moving account of the war, those who fought in it on both sides, and the effects the war had on families in the author’s hometown in northern Italy.
“On a wider scale, [THE RED HORSE] is a faithful witness to the actual events of the war including the historic personages who appear, the combat on the Eastern Front, the Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and beyond to the political life in the two decades after the war. This world, filled with powerful personalities, drama and clashing armies, bathes in the complex light of the truth.
“A truly great historical novel with its epic scope, what makes this a masterpiece is the underlying spiritual dimensions of the protagonist, his family and friends, which illuminates the ongoing tragedy of the war and its aftermath. In the end, it is a story of faith and hope in a world reduced to barbarism and cruelty.”
I just finished Lilac Girls – really good!
A book I would recommend may be out of print. The name of it is Stranger at the Gates by Evelyn Anthony. She is or was a British author. Setting is Worl War II. A great book one that I will never forget.
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.
The bronze horseman
It’s one of my fav eras for historical fiction too ?
I just finished Winds of War and War and Remembrance via audible. I have read them before but really enjoyed the narrator
MARKING TIME (Vol. 2 of The Cazalet Chronicle) by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The setting is Britain in September 1939. War has been declared on Germany. Louise, now 16, who had hitherto lived a sheltered life, goes from cooking parties to parties in London. For Polly, now 14, the terrors of war cannot forestall the pangs of adolescence. Within the following year, Clary’s father (who is in the Royal Navy) has been reported ‘missing – presumed dead’ at Dunkirk. This is something that Clary, now 15, steadfastly refuses to accept. (I ABSOLUTELY LOVED ‘The Cazalet Chronicle’ and recommend them highly to any reader who enjoys reading WWII novels.)
Oh I forgot about about these books. Adored them. Great suggestion.
Absolutely a fantastic book, QBVII by Leon Uris! A little different read, takes place after the war and is about a trial of someone during the war. It is great! One of my all time favorites!
Read this earlier this year and loved it!
I’m reading Farleigh Field right now and enjoying it.
The Caves Of Perigord
I apologize if someone else has already suggested All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Duerr. The most beautifully written book I’ve read in years.
Lilac Girls and Women in the Castle
Winds of War is my favorite.
Unbroken was also really good!
Code Name Verity and The Book Thief also left an impression on me
CROOKED HEART by Lissa Evans. “A precocious orphan and a debt-ridden widow con artist forge an unlikely alliance to take advantage of unscrupulous money-making opportunities in Britain during World War II.”
Loved this! In fact, I suggested it earlier!
All the Light We Can Not See, Sarah’s Key, Those Who Save Us, The Nightingale: A Novel
THE GRANVILLE AFFAIRE – by Una-Mary Parker. Upon the outbreak of war, wealthy banker Henry Granville moves his family away from London. Even so, life remains turbulent. Desperate to forget her past, Juliet becomes a Red Cross nurse and is soon caught up in the chaos and confusion created by the Blitz. All the while, the war changes the Granvilles in both subtle and profound ways.
GHOSTS OF BUNDO SUIDO by P.T. Deutermann. This novel takes place during the late stages of the War in the Pacific. With Japan now subject to bombing attacks from long-range U.S. bombers, it is rumored that the Imperial Japanese Navy has at least 2 super-battleships and an aircraft carrier with which to deliver a savage blow to the U.S. Navy and buy Tokyo time to recoup her military forces in anticipation of an expected American invasion of the Japanese home islands.
P.T. Deutermann, such a great writer.
Rhidian Brook – Aftermath. Novel based on a true story of the author’s grandfather who as a highly placed army official was sent to Berlin immediately after the war to begin reparations. He and his family are billeted at the home of a wealthy German aristocrat (who is expected to vacate the premises) but the Englishman says that the man can remain in his own home during their stay. It is an excellent novel. Only available in Aus on Kindle or buy from England. Everyone to whom I’ve recommended the novel has loved it.
Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah
The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen.
Trapeze by Simon Mawer
The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. Offers a part – actually, parts – of the German WWII experience that were new to me, and, among other things, helped me understand the ethnic German family who were originally from Poland and spent years in a DP camp before coming to the US. Be sure to read the author’s notes that explain why she felt compelled to write it. Very interesting.
It was an amazing book. There are so many different approaches to portraying the history of the WWII era.
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky; The Pied Piper by Nevil Shute.
Lilac girls