Looking for great book recommendations please. Anything to do with WW1/2 survival/struggles. Read Tattooist of Auschwitz. ??
Looking for great book recommendations please.
Anything to do with WW1/2 survival/struggles.
Read Tattooist of Auschwitz.
??
205 Answers
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The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz. From the heart of hell & hope is the last to die. All true stories from people in the camps x
@Danielle thanks for this! ??
It’s got to be The nightingale. Fiction but a great read.
@Donna thank you for the recommendation! Sounds great! ???
The Good doctor of Warsaw. . Its just brilliant. Heartbreaking. Also Five Chimneys is a survivors story &a riveting read. And for a fictional tale The Nightingale 🙂
@Rebecca thanks for this!???
@Miriam I forgot to add The Book Thief… it’s by top top book ever!
@Rebecca brilliant thank you. X
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford is an excellent book.
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford is an excellent book.
All the lights we cannot see. Briliant
@Catherine thank you!???
Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom.
@Rachel thank you!???
The Alice Network x
@Alison thank you. ???
i second the Alice Network
The Choice. Just finished it, such a brilliant book!
@Nicola thank you! ???
@Nicola yes I agree- this is good. Interesting
@Nicola a man in work was telling me about The Choice today. He’s lending it to me, and I’m really looking forward to it.
@Pauline it’s a great book, hope you enjoy it xx
@Angela Thanks for this. It sounds really Interesting.
It was really interesting to read how she was affected in later years. I felt it got a wee bit dry in the middle but it was well worth reading on xx
Birdsong
I second Birdsong, one of my favourite books!
@Julia thank you. I think this was one of my mum’s favourites. ???
@Julia that would be my suggestion
Just One More Dance by Ernest Levy. A true story that has stayed with me since I first read it over ten years ago
@Terri thanks for this! ???
Unbroken
@Haivyn thank you. ???
Born survivors, true story
@Yvonne thank you! ???
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir!
@Claire thank you! ???
Beneath a Scarlet Sky, by Mark Sullivan. Set in Italy during WW2.
@Rachel thank you!???
Dear Mrs Bird
@Claire thank you. ???
We are/were the lucky ones
@Dini thank you.???
Birdsong & Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life ?
@Rosie thank you for this!???
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
@Tracy thank you. ???
The Book Thief ?
@Ali thank you. ???
I was going to say this one. Fabulous book.
@Ali one of my faves ?
The forgotten highlander. True story.
@Angela thank you. ???
The boy in the striped pyjamas
@Tina thank you. I have this one in my TBR pile. Looking forward to reading it. ??
The diary of Anne Frank
@Tiff thank you.???
Suite Francaise.
@Joyce thank you. ???
Nella Last’s War. Not dramatic survival, but day to day survival for an ordinary woman during the war.
Great stuff!??
‘All the Light We Cannot See’ was fab xx
@Melanie thank you!???
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Loved Kate Atkinson Life After Life too.
@Hannah brill! Thank you!???
Entwined, Lynda La Plante.
@Marissa thank you!???
Haven’t read it yet but was recommended the good doctor of warsaw by elizabeth Gifford, based on true accounts x
@Katie thank you!???
A woman at war by Mandy Robotham
@Nina I second this. woman of war is amazing!
Thank you x ???
Biggles
I loved Biggles
@Edward thank you. ???
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis. The War that Changed my Life (kids book.) The Book Thief. Rilla of Ingleside (WWI). All Quiet on the Western Front. the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
?Guernsey is a fabulous book
@Joanna wow! Thank you! ???
Following
@Jackie thank you. ???
If you really want to read something that is serious work on Holocaust Read Primo Levi’s The Drowned and the saved. Anton the Dove Fancier by Gotfryd, Charlotte Delbo’s Auschwitz and after. These books are not about survival or struggle. They move beyond the simplification of survival and dig deep into the complex human capacity of endurance and indifference. These books are the great teacher to reflect upon life in the light of extreme cruelty and darkness. They talk about the degradation and evil that follows survival and insight into the ultimate darkness of the human mind.
@Hetal wow sounds amazing and very intriguing. Thank you. ???
Beneath a scarlett sky by Mark Sullivan & The book thief by Markus Zusak. Both are wonderful books and I would read them both again.
@Lauri thank you. ???
Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker. All the Light We Can Not See. All Quiet On The Western Front. Book Thief. Once by Morris Gleitzman. Birdsong. Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society.
@Dyzelle brilliant! Thank you! ???
Oh how I loved The Book Thief!
@Stephanie thank you. ???
The Dressmaker of Dachau by Mary Chamberlain ?
@Terry brill! Thank you! ???
Ken Follett’s Century trilogy is amazing
@Charlotte fab! Thank you! ???
@Miriam they’re really good you’ll love them!
@Charlotte I’ll defiantly seek them out. They look fab!?
Viktor Frankl; Mans search for meaning.
@Roisin thank you! ???
The bronze horseman. It’s set in Russia during the 2WW
This is one of my all time favourites! Hardly anyone I know has read it too!
@Emma it’s amazing isn’t it! I’ve struggled with the last book though.
Thank you. ???
The Nightingale ????
@Ursula thank you!???
Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning
@Julia thank you. ???
@Miriam you’re very welcome! it’s very moving, especially as it is a true story
Another interesting persona is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who led resistance against Hitler – can recommend to read about his life and his struggles, in case you get your hands on a biography
Coming to follow so I can add to my tbr tonight!!! Xx
The hiding place Corrie ten boom
@Elizabeth thank you. ???
The lavender keeper
@Fiona, by Fiona Mcintosh? Oh this is a brilliant book!
@Andi yes loved the follow up too
@Fiona, same here! ?
@Fiona thank you. ???
All the Light We Can Not See
@Etiennee thank you. ???
Birdsong,Sebastian Faulks
@Linda thank you. ???
Leon Uris
The lost key.
@Alison thank you!???
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
@Paula thank you!???
The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler is good. Set in Austria just before the WWII breaks out. Interesting seeing events unfold when you know what the future holds.
@Karen thank you!???
Birdsong ?
@Jamee thank you!???
Birdsong ?
Noel Barber Tanamera. It’s a novel, but he was a war
Correspondent so lots of historical facts in his stories.
I’m currently re-reading A farewell to France.
Ellie dean cliffhaven series or lavender road series Helen carey both set in ww2 absolutely brilliant both of them x
@Paula love cliff haven
@Sharon me too have you read lavender road series? You will love that too it’s very similar x
@Paula not sure will check I read a book every two days so sometimes forget unless I look
Life after life
The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons.
I will plant you a lilac tree by Laura Hillman a true account of life in Auchwitz)
Belle by lesley pearse. There are 3 in the series
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The Nightingale by Kirsten Hannah, All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes are all fiction, but great reads.
Citadel by Kate mosse
‘Billy’ by yours truly is a light read about a young evacuee boy during the second world war. A fictional story based on historical facts.
The Storyteller by Jodie picoult x
All the light we cannot see. I can’t remember the author off the top of my head and it turns to survival. Split narrative switching between two characters and jumps back and forth in time. I think it’s wonderful ♥️
For a read on the fate of the Jews in the concentration camps read Primo Levi. It is his story.
The storyteller Jody Piccoult …brilliant book! Also a thousand splendid suns (not WW but brilliant & heartwrenching all the same) Kaleed Hussain …..buy a box of tissues as well ?
My dear I wanted to tell you
I love reading around this era too! Glad I’m not the only one. I absolutely love The Book Thief. If it doesn’t tug at your heart strings there’s something wrong ? the films beautiful too but book first!
Probably not the done thing to plug your own book, but my non fiction for penguin, The Stepney Doorstep Society explores the extraordinary lives of some formidable wartime matriarchs, and the power of the matriarchy in general during this time, If that’s not up your street, I can’t recommend enough Suite Francaise written by Irène Némirovsky, do check it out, The story of the writer is almost as incredible as the book. It was made into a film a couple of years back. Kate Thompson.
A couple more..
The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher.
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel.
The Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman (true story, there’s also a film)
The Kommandants Girl by Pam Jenoff.
The Secret Orphan by Glynis Peters.
Letters to the Pianist by S D Mayes.
The Soldier’s Girl by Sharon Maas.
Nancy Revell writes a series too. ?
I loved Birdsong and The Tobacconist xx
The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
@Ellen thank you!???
The Nightingale… absolutely loved it!
@Jax thank you!???
Elephant moon
@Debbie thank you! ???
@Miriam I loved it. Really moving.
@Debbie I’ll definitely try and get my hands on a copy. Xx
@MiriamI also read a good one based in jersey. It was split between modern day and war time. I’ll see if I can find out the name of it. It was good too.
Christmas on the coast!
@Debbie brilliant! Thank you! They both sound great. X
I haven’t finished it yet, but I am loving The Women in the Castle! It takes place during WWII 🙂
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is on my list.
The book Thief or the boy in the striped pyjamas x
Try Anca’s Story or Auschwitz A Survivor or 17 Carnations, The Windsors, all three are really good reads.
The book thief is supposed to be a good one. I have it to read, one of many books ?
Songbird
The book theif
Oh, and the Maggie Hope series is all set just after WWI and moving into WWII. Those are fabulous!
Code name verity – can’t remember who wrote it but is brilliant set in WW2
There will be a sequel to the Tattooist of Auschwitz out in October. Cilka’s Story.
Flora Wyllie yes I’m really looking forward to it! ???❤
Two brothers by Ben Elton
@Lynne that’s a brilliant book , loved it
‘As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me’ amazing true story of escape from a Russian gulag.
Bird song
Goodbye To All That, which is the autobiography of the historian and writer Robert Graves, one of whose novels inspired the 1970s BBC show I, Claudius. I did it for A level and it was my favourite text. I bought a copy years later and it’s due for a re-reading. It’s not all about WWI, where he served with Siegfried Sassoon, but that’s a large part of it. It’s amusing and tragic about that conflict. Graves, whose semi-aristo family was half German, is very good on the banality of military life and the experience of being a young posh officer expected to take command in that carnage and feeling like a fraud and afraid. His experiences of jingoism back home and that dying Edwardian lifestyle made him quit England for a bohemian life in Majorca. As a privileged man, he was able to escape, when so many of his fellow soldiers weren’t, but he writes with compassion about those less fortunate that himself.
The book Thief is brilliant
All the Light We Cannot See xx
All the light we cannot see
@Annette is this a new release?
No
Birdsong was fantastic
The architect
The Earth is Singing x
The Choice x
The Nightingale
“Potato peel pie literary society.” WW2 set in Jersey. Semi factual and a delightful read with humour, war horror and insight.
TOA. Great book. What an eye opener. Very sad.
Two Brothers by Ben Elton. Fantastic
The book theif xx
@Rachael I second this
Third!
Pat BArker’s Regeneration trilogy!!!
@Elizabeth excellent trilogy
All quiet on the western front, Birdsong, Regeneration trilogy
The Orphan Train
My Dear I Wanted to tell you . World War1 . Not only a beautifully written moving story but also so much information and learning , for me anyway
Eva by Meyer Levin.
Do the birds sing in hell
The storyteller
Sarah’s key is awesome xx
Thank you for all your amazing recommendations. Truly appreciate it.
I’ve made a start on my collection of books so thank you. Xx ????
I loved the book theif. One my favourites. Struggled half way through but so glad I kept going with it xx
Oh forgot to say, great collection ?
@Rachel ???