War fiction

[AllGoodDogs]

Read War Horse and Tattooist of Auchwitz, have All the Light We Cannot See and Schindler's Ark waiting at the library. What else have you read and would recommend?

[flintfoxy]

The book thief and quite a few of Sebastian faulks

[AllGoodDogs]

Ooh read the book thief years ago, forgot about that one! Tried Birdsong but couldn't get in to it IIRC.

[JurassicGirl]

If you fancy war time love stories Elizabeth Elgin wrote loads & they're all good (yes I've read them all!)

[highlandcoo]

That Summer by Andrew Greig tells the story of a romance between a young fighter pilot and one of the young women who relayed radio messages from the ground.

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You, by Louisa Young, is set before, during and after WWI. Don't be put off by the daft title and chick-lit cover; its actually quite unflinching about the horrific injuries suffered by so many, and their psychological aftermath, as well as an engaging love story.

Until I read Everyone Brave is Forgiven, by Chris Cleave, I had no idea that some of the children evacuated during WW2 were rejected as "unsuitable" and sent back into the cities. Mary North, just out of finishing school, had joined up hoping to become a spy but instead is given a group of children to teach as best she can with very little equipment and no experience at all. London during the Blitz - and Malta too - are well portrayed and Mary is an interesting nuanced character, coming from a privileged background but with an independent, rebellious character.

[Dottierichardson]

These are mostly classics:

The Gallery by John Horne Burns - set in WW2 occupied Italy, haven't read this one but had some excellent recommendations.

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, which won a National Book Award, a really powerful anti-war novel, based on the experiences of a solider in WW1. Read this years ago, and have never forgotten it.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - set around the Vietnam war, lyrical and poignant.


The Radetsky March by Joseph Roth - follows a military family from the mid-19th century through to the years before WW1 and the conduct of the military depicted foreshadows the attitudes towards ordinary solidiers in WW1. Brilliant classic novel, funny and ironic and absorbing.


Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy - set around WW1. Incredibly readable based on true events.


Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky - following occupied France during WW2. Beautifully written, unforgettable scenes of people trying to flee the oncoming Nazi occupation, and great characters.


The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - tracing the lives of a family devastated by the events of WW2. Very old-school saga, moving, accessible.

[shockedballoon]

Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard

[mimimomma]

All quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. An absolute classic and a fantastic read. Set in 1914 a group of German schoolboys head off to war and the novel follows the horror of life in the trenches.

[TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross]

The Things They Carried is amazing, as is If I Die in a Combat Zone.

Yy to Regeneration.

If you want something much more modern, try The Yellow Birds. An extraordinary novel set during the Iraq war.

[Escolar]

I second All Quiet on the Western Front, and I loved All the Light They Cannot See.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is an old favourite.

[Terpsichore]

Two recent ones from me, OP, both from the 'Home front' in WW2. I recently read Doreen by Barbara Noble and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's about a small girl who's evacuated from blitzed London to the country, and the changes and upheavals that result for her, her mother and her host 'parents' ....a heartbreaking but beautifully written novel. It's a Persephone reprint.

The other one is Patrick Hamilton's The Slaves of Solitude. Hilarious and grim by turns as it traces the wartime experiences of a woman enduring life in a boarding-house as a 'paying guest'', hounded to near-madness by a nightmare fellow-resident.

[AllGoodDogs]

Wow so many suggestions!! Thank you all 😊

[Dottierichardson]

Terpsichore glad to hear the Patrick Hamilton worth reading, was given a copy as a present and wasn't sure whether it would be my thing or not but trust your judgement.

I've also heard good things about 'Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves' by Rachel Malik, a crime/court case saga related to a land girl during WW2. Also I really liked Lore Segal's novel based on her experiences as a Jewish child evacuated to Britain in the 1930s, 'Other People's Houses' and if we're talking about evacuees then of course there's 'Carrie's War' which although for children is still a great read.

[Terpsichore]

Very good to hear from you again, Dottie. I've missed you on the 50 Books thread.

I absolutely loved The Slaves of Solitude and it's made me gather up the other Hamilton books I had secreted away around the house and rub my hands in anticipation because I can't wait to read more of him now.

Carrie's War - yes, also great!

[RaspberryBunny]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, really lovely book! Also, The Alice Network, not one I'd usually pick up but read it for my book club and loved it!

[buckingfrolicks]

All the light we cannot see. Fab. About a blind girl fleeing Paris in ww2.


life and fate. The best war book bar none. set in Russia in ww2. A zillion recommendations.

[Anasnake]

Catch 22
Birdsong
Gone to soldiers

[AllGoodDogs]

GLAPPS is one of my favourite books ❤️

[AliceLutherNeeMorgan]

Testament of Youth - Vera Brittain (not fiction; a memoir but really readable)

Atonement - Ian McEwan

Birds Without Wings - Louis de Bernieres (and yes, Captain Corelli also)

[AliceLutherNeeMorgan]

Oh and a really old favourite:

A Moment in Time - HE Bates

[BigGapMum]

The Siege by Helen Dunmore is brilliant, harrowing and compulsive. It's post war sequel Betrayal is also well worth reading.

[AliceLutherNeeMorgan]

I saw this piece and thought of this thread - suggestions for WW1:

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/14/top-10-novels-first-world-war-virginia-woolf-pat-barker-1918-armistice

[PepeLePew]

Yes, The Slaves of Solitude is an incredible novel, which captures the dreariness of war time life in England brilliantly. Hello, fellow Patrick Hamilton fans!
I’ve owned The Ghost Road since it was published. Perhaps I should finally get round to reading it.