Books set during wartime

[Oblomov]

I find that some of the most interesting stories that I have read have been set during wartime, notably World War II. I do not simply mean for the action side of things, but for interactions among the people involved - both military and civilian. It might be because desperate situations often tend to bring out the best...and worst from people.

Here is a small list of some of the best wartime stories that I have read so far. If any of you are interested in those times, I would recommend these.

1. The Night of the Generals by H H Kirst
2. The Magic Army by Leslie Thomas
3. The Bormann Brief by Clive Eagleton
4. The Wooden Wolf by John Kelly
5. KG 200 by John Gilman
6. Hammerstrike by Walter Winward

[Freewheeling Andy]

I think it's true that War-time makes for great literature - the way people are thrown together is part of it, as is the extreme nature of the environment which forces people to behave at the limits of their natural behaviour. It this, too, which allows writers to push the envelopes of characters' experiences and examine how people react to extreme conditions.

I think I'm probably a little biased right now given that I've just finished War and Peace and All Quiet on the Western Front, both fantastic books. And many of my other favourite books, like Catch-22 and so on are also set during war.

[Kell]

I heartily recommend The Secret Purposes by David Baddiel - it's incredibly poignant and extremely well written.

Also, for an unusual, slightly alternative history of WWII, try The Separation by Christopher Priest.

[Purple Poppy]

Our very own Sam Grosser has written a lovely book set in WW11. See here (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2248&highlight=Sam+Grosser) for info.
Pp

[Gyre]

'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusaf (I hope I spelled that correctly).

'48' by James Herbert, it is set after WWII, but it is really good, a very different spin on the outcome of the war.:D

[Icecream]

Lyn Andrews' My Sister's Child is set before, and then during WW1 and deals with real life families.

For a look at civilian life during wartime Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain is great.

[Oblomov]

quote=Freewheeling Andy;85941 I think it's true that War-time makes for great literature - the way people are thrown together is part of it, as is the extreme nature of the environment which forces people to behave at the limits of their natural behaviour. It this, too, which allows writers to push the envelopes of characters' experiences and examine how people react to extreme conditions.

You're right. The Magic Army by Leslie Thomas is a brilliant example to illustrate this. It is set in England during the first few months of 1944 when those "overpaid, oversexed and over-here" Americans were really 'here' in the period leading upto the Normandy Invasion. Unmissable.


I think I'm probably a little biased right now given that I've just finished War and Peace and All Quiet on the Western Front, both fantastic books. And many of my other favourite books, like Catch-22 and so on are also set during war.

Catch-22 is a great read, but too much of a satire to be compared with other wartime books. The problem with War and Peace, All Quiet on the Western Front and books of that genre is that while they are undoubted classics, they are perhaps a bit too much so. I find it hard to identify myself in an "if I was there" sort of way (something necessary to really appreciate wartime stories, IMO) with such lofty tales, while still being able to appreciate their literary merit.

[Freewheeling Andy]

Catch-22 is a great read, but too much of a satire to be compared with other wartime books. The problem with War and Peace, All Quiet on the Western Front and books of that genre is that while they are undoubted classics, they are perhaps a bit too much so. I find it hard to identify myself in an "if I was there" sort of way (something necessary to really appreciate wartime stories, IMO) with such lofty tales, while still being able to appreciate their literary merit.

I think these comments on Catch-22 and War and Peace are fair. But I didn't feel AQOTWF as being too literary or aloof. To me it was very resonant.

[Polka Dot Rock]

I enjoy novels set during wartime that offer a different perspective to the battlefield.

The book I'm currently reading, Andrea Levy's Small Island, provides some read food-for-thought about the West Indian volunteers for the British Armed Forces in WWII (particularly when juxtaposed with black American GI's. I was so shocked, perhaps naively).

One of my favourite books, Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman is set predominantly in Nazi-occupied Europe. It's quite different in both subject matter and style, but I think it's a stunning evocation of that specific part of WWII.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon uses the Nazi occupation of Prague as a starting point, before exploring how WWII eventually impacted upon America, especially the Jewish community. Very moving and unusual. Again, it makes you think about the war from a different historical and cultural angle.

To return to the Home Front, I thought Sarah Waters' recent novel The Night Watch brilliantly fictionalised the experience of the civilians left in London during the Blitz (especially the new and changing roles for women).
My history friend specialises in studying women's lives during the two world wars, and she loved this novel. Plus she hates reading fiction, normally. So high praise indeed, lol.

Next week, I'm hoping to get a copy of Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut as I've wanted to read that for ages now. Fingers crossed!

[Kell]

Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig, although aimed at the younger end of the young adult market, was a revelation to me. Absolutely beautiful and highly unexpected.

[JudyB]

It's on my wishlist so haven't read it - Suite Francaise

[angerball]

How about Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks? It was recommmended to me by a woman I worked with. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but given that it has gotten a lot of good reviews, I'm thinking of revisiting it.

[wrathofkublakhan]

I hope M*A*S*H won't be left out the conversation -- that book changed my life.

[Kenny_Shovel]

You might like 'The Night in Lisbon' by Erich Maria Remarque. I wrote a review here:

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2135

[Oblomov]

I hope M*A*S*H won't be left out the conversation -- that book changed my life.

M*A*S*H is undoubtedly a great book, but I do not classify it among genuine 'wartime' stories because to an extent it is the "wrong place and wrong war" and treats the whole thing as a satire. I prefer those set in the UK and Europe during WWII but away from the battlefield to get that 'special' atmosphere of claustrophobic tension that brought out hidden strengths & weaknesses in individuals.

[samgrosser]

I enjoy novels set during wartime that offer a different perspective to the battlefield.

The book I'm currently reading, Andrea Levy's Small Island, provides some read food-for-thought about the West Indian volunteers for the British Armed Forces in WWII (particularly when juxtaposed with black American GI's. I was so shocked, perhaps naively).

To return to the Home Front, I thought Sarah Waters' recent novel The Night Watch brilliantly fictionalised the experience of the civilians left in London during the Blitz (especially the new and changing roles for women).

Next week, I'm hoping to get a copy of Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut as I've wanted to read that for ages now. Fingers crossed!

I really liked Small Island and Night Watch too - interesting and different angles from the usual war books.

But I absolutely loved Slaughterhouse 5 - I think it should be essential reading for everyone for sooo many reasons.

Other World War II books that I'd recommend are:

The Soldier's Return by Melvyn Bragg,
The Chamomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
End of the Affair by Graham Greene.
Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky

I think you're all right about the attraction of books about the war - from a writer's perspective it allows you to put ordinary characters in extraordinary and sometimes extreme situations, which is simply a gift.

I think also that culturally, our society was completely and irrevocably altered by WWII so it's kind of imprinted on our collective unconscious as a crucial moment in our development. All the affluence and freedom we enjoy today we owe to that generation, and even if our acknowledgement of that isn't overt, I think the sustained interest in the stories of the people who lived through attests to some continuing level of recognition of the fact.

[wrathofkublakhan]

I think you're all right about the attraction of books about the war - from a writer's perspective it allows you to put ordinary characters in extraordinary and sometimes extreme situations, which is simply a gift.

I think also that culturally, our society was completely and irrevocably altered by WWII so it's kind of imprinted on our collective unconscious as a crucial moment in our development. All the affluence and freedom we enjoy today we owe to that generation, and even if our acknowledgment of that isn't overt, I think the sustained interest in the stories of the people who lived through attests to some continuing level of recognition of the fact.

Gadzooks, samgrosser!
Well written!

[JudyB]

I'm always in awe of people who lived through the war mainly because their experiences are so far removed from our own relatively comfortable existance. Can you imagine living in occupied France, or waking up to hear the air raid sirens, or being evacuated? Maybe we like to read about the war as a way of learning and being able to understand those experiences.

I'm fascinated by the stories my older people tell about their own experiences - many met their husbands because of the war, or are living where they are because of it.

[Oblomov]

You might like 'The Night in Lisbon' by Erich Maria Remarque. I wrote a review here:

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2135

This really sounds interesting. I wonder if it the basis of a movie (the title of which I cannot recall) in which 3 people - a surgeon, his wife and a wounded fugitive are escaping from the Nazis across Europe. There is just a hint of attraction between the woman and the wounded man during the course of their flight, but the latter develops complications without the right treatment and dies in the end. I know that the film was based on a popular book, but I am not sure if "The Night in Lisbon" was it.

[samgrosser]

I'm always in awe of people who lived through the war mainly because their experiences are so far removed from our own relatively comfortable existance. Can you imagine living in occupied France, or waking up to hear the air raid sirens, or being evacuated? Maybe we like to read about the war as a way of learning and being able to understand those experiences.



Absolutely.

And I just thought of another great book about the period - Fair Stood the Wind for France by H.E. Bates

[Lilywhite]

I enjoy novels set during wartime that offer a different perspective to the battlefield.

The book I'm currently reading, Andrea Levy's Small Island, provides some read food-for-thought about the West Indian volunteers for the British Armed Forces in WWII (particularly when juxtaposed with black American GI's. I was so shocked, perhaps naively).

To return to the Home Front, I thought Sarah Waters' recent novel The Night Watch brilliantly fictionalised the experience of the civilians left in London during the Blitz (especially the new and changing roles for women).

Agreeing with PDR here, two great books, both with differing views of the same period. I have read others, but memory is failing at the moment. I think there may be a Lesley Pearse one in there but I'm not sure...

[wrathofkublakhan]

I'm a-guessing Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden would fit into this thread.

[Polka Dot Rock]

I'm a-guessing Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden would fit into this thread.

I guess it would: it's amazing how many books use war as a contextual backdrop!

Atonement by Ian McEwan would also qualify as a 'war time' novel. (Ooh, the hospital scenes - blimey!)

And not forgetting non-European wars: next week, I'm intending to read Half of a Yellow Sun which is set during the Biafra war in Nigeria.

[Gyre]

This is also a YA book but a really good one, I lost count how many times I took this out from our local library growing up, 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' by Judith Kerr. :D

[JudyB]

Just thought of Empire of the Sun by J G Ballard.

[Echo]

I don't know if this would fit, but Simon's Family by Marianne Friedrickson is partly set during WWII in Sweden. And the rest of the book deals with the fallout of the war.

[Janet]

I don't know if this would fit, but Simon's Family by Marianne Friedrickson is partly set during WWII in Sweden. And the rest of the book deals with the fallout of the war.
I'd like to read that, because I have a Swedish friend, but I can't find it. Where did you get it from?

ETA: I've found it on Amazon Marketplace. :)

[Sedge]

Growing up, one of my favourite children's book was The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall. Has anybody else read it?

[poppy]

Although quite dated, I really enjoyed Nevil Shute's books set during during WWII. Ones that I particularly liked were 'Requiem for a Wren' and 'Pied Piper'. The latter is about an old man who rescues seven abandoned children in France during the Nazi invasion.

[Kell]

I recently started reading The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, which is set a the tail-end of WWII, but I couldn't get into it at all. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but not for a while - it just wasn't appealing to me at all.

[Echo]

I'd like to read that, because I have a Swedish friend, but I can't find it. Where did you get it from?

ETA: I've found it on Amazon Marketplace. :)


It may be more available here in the States...I think I just picked it up at a book store, or I got it on Amazon. I honestly don't remember! but if you can find anything by Marianne Friedrickson, read it! I've read Hannah's Daughters (excellent) and Two Women (also excellent). I'll put some reviews up soon.

[samgrosser]

I recently started reading The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, which is set a the tail-end of WWII, but I couldn't get into it at all. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but not for a while - it just wasn't appealing to me at all.

What a shame you didn't get into it - it's one of my favourite all time books! But beyond the beauty of the language it is hard work and I'm sure there's a lot of it that went completely over my head.:blush:

Maybe one to come back to then.

[jenmck]

Well, for actual "war" books I read non fiction (Winston Churchill, Barbara Tuchman and others).
The best book I've read that were written during WWII don't really involve the war at all. Ngiao Marsh's books "Died In The Wool" and "Color Scheme" are both set during the war. They're brilliant.

[happyanddandy]

The book I'm currently reading, Andrea Levy's Small Island, provides some read food-for-thought about the West Indian volunteers for the British Armed Forces in WWII (particularly when juxtaposed with black American GI's. I was so shocked, perhaps naively).



I agree it was horrible to read about the prejudice. Heart rending that Queenie felt she had to reliquish her baby because of it. As I was reading I knew that was going to happen

[pontalba]

I have read and enjoyed Suite Francaise and only wish she had been able to live to complete it.
Another by Erich Maria Remarque, Arch of Triumph was an excellent read, and I have Kenny to thank as I bought that as well as The Night in Lisbon...the latter yet unread. So far.

I'd seen the film with Charles Boyer AoT, many years ago.

Oh, another author mentioned up the thread Nevil Shute wrote A Town Called Alice, a good bit of it takes place in WWII. It is based on the true story of the forced march in Sumatra of the women and children.

[SteffieB]

Yes, definitely the Book Thief. So well done.

Has anyone else read any of the Maisie Dobbs books? I like the Florence Nightingale aura they have, although WWI instead of the Crimean war, and with realistic problems like brain injury, etc, that people tend to overlook. These books made me realize that death isn't the only awfulness that happens, and also consider the emotional toll on people who weren't fighting but instead taking care of those who did.

[finrod]

No pretence that this is a definitive list, my recommendations include (I try not to repeat suggestions already made):

Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC, Athens v Sparta)
Goat Song, Frank Yerby
The Last of the Wine,Mary Renault

Arthur
The Great Captains, Henry Treece
Sword at Sunset, Rosemary Sutcliffe

Alfred
The King of Athelney,Alfred Duggan

Athelstan
The Half Brothers (cannot remember author)

Clontarf (1014, Ireland)
The Kings in Winter, Cecelia Holland (Vikings and irish)

1066
The Firedrake, Cecelia Holland

The Crusades
History:
The Crusades (Vols I-IV), Sir Steven Runciman, vivid, gripping history
Literature:
The Alexiad, Anna Comnena (but also used as a history source being largely contemporary
Count Bohemond, Alfred Duggan (imho his finest, it also draws directly from Alexiad)

Seven Years War/Indian wars (1756-1763)
The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, James Fenimore Cooper
Northwest Passage, Kenneth Roberts (first half made into an excellent 1940 film)

American War of Independence
Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth, Robert Graves
Drums Along the Mohawk, Walter D Edmonds (made into a great film by John Ford, the film is even better, showing different balanced viewpoints (both patriot and loyalist).

American Civil War
History:
The Civil War, Ken Burns (some may remember the excellent TV series, the war is told via contemporary photographs, and extracts from diarists, letters, with annotations from historians.
Literature:
The March E L Doctorow (Sherman's 600 mile march to the sea)

The Great War (& Russian Civil War)
History :
Facing Armageddon, various, edited by Hugh Cecil & Peter Liddle - 64 scholars from all over the globe examine the experience of the First World War from many perspectives (including military, home front, occupation etc) -
The First World War, Hew Strachan
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T E Lawrence
Tommy, Richard Holmes
anything by Gary Sheffield
Literature :
The Middle Parts of Fortune, Frederic Manning (esteemed by military historians as an authentic account, as the author saw front-line service in the war), bowdlerised version Her Privates We.
Slow Approach of Thunder, Konstantin Paustovsky (part of autobiographical work, rejected for military service due to short-sightedness, author became a medical orderly)
With the Armies of the Tsar, A Nurse at the Russian Front in War and Revolution, 1914-1918,Frances Farmborough
Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak
And Quiet Flows the Don and The Don Flows Home to the Sea, Mikhail Sholokhov, beautiful sweeping account of various Don Cossacks, men and women, rich and poor, bolsheviks and whites.Second World War
Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman, Stalingrad and account of Jewish nuclear scientists in Soviet Russia, German POW camp etc

[Kell]

I was just thinking, the Roman seris of books by Simon Scarrow are all war-based. The first one, Under the Eagle is set during the 43AD Roman invasion of Britain. The whole series is excellent!

Scarrow has also started a series set during the Napoleonic war, starting with Young Bloods and continuing with The Generals. I have the first one (although I've not read it yet) and am hoping to get the rest of the series as they come out.

[ii]

I don't know if this would fit, but Simon's Family by Marianne Friedrickson is partly set during WWII in Sweden. And the rest of the book deals with the fallout of the war.

I'm sorry, I know I haven't read the book, and therefore shouldn't say anything, but I just find that highly contradicting. Sweden didn't participate in any ways to the WWII. They pulled Switzerland. What they did, was take in Finnish children who were sent away from the throes of war. That's about it.

I'm sorry, as someone who just celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Finnish Independence, listening to the stories of people who were actually there, fighting in the war agaist an opponent ten times as big and much better equipped, defending that independence, I find it hard to believe a book set in Sweden, even if taking place during the war years, would in any way qualify as a war book. I might be wrong, but that's just how I feel. It's like French people writing about the beauty of other languages, what do we know about that?!

I recently started reading The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, which is set a the tail-end of WWII, but I couldn't get into it at all. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but not for a while - it just wasn't appealing to me at all.

I really liked The English Patient, both the book and the movie. Have you seen it?

edit: Has anyone here read Upon a wheel of fire by Paul Grieve? I have it on my TBR pile, bought years ago, and I've often meant to read it, just never gotten to it.

[Echo]

I'm sorry, I know I haven't read the book, and therefore shouldn't say anything, but I just find that highly contradicting. Sweden didn't participate in any ways to the WWII. They pulled Switzerland. What they did, was take in Finnish children who were sent away from the throes of war. That's about it.

I'm sorry, as someone who just celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Finnish Independence, listening to the stories of people who were actually there, fighting in the war agaist an opponent ten times as big and much better equipped, defending that independence, I find it hard to believe a book set in Sweden, even if taking place during the war years, would in any way qualify as a war book. I might be wrong, but that's just how I feel. It's like French people writing about the beauty of other languages, what do we know about that?!

Well, it's been a while since I've read it and there's a lot I don't remember. One of the families portrayed in the book is Jewish, and the young son has a complete nervous breakdown because of the war, and his father is forced to take in family members who have come out of concentration camps. There's also a dangerous secret about the main character that puts his life at risk. They all live by the sea and are witness to sea fighting between the Norwegians and the Germans. And there's always a fear that the Germans were going to invade. It's definitely an alternative view of the war, but it's very interesting nonetheless.

[R L Royle]

Our Kid by Billy Hopkins is a beautiful book of Billy's experience as a child growing up in Manchester during WW2. It's one of the few fiction books I've read again and again.

[JudyB]

Our Kid by Billy Hopkins is a beautiful book of Billy's experience as a child growing up in Manchester during WW2. It's one of the few fiction books I've read again and again.


I read this quite a few years ago and thought it was brilliant. I started to read the whole series and see newer books coming into the library. I'd love to pick the series up again but can't remember after all this time where I'm up to.

[ii]

During the holidays I remembered this topic and realised I'd forgotten one very good book. Väinö Linna's The Unknown Soldier. I cannot believe I forgot that. It follows a group of men during the Continuation War (around the time of WWII, first Soviets started a war on Finland, the Winter War, and we lost some territories. Then we started the Continuation War, to try to get those back.)

Anyways, it's a really brilliant book, and highly recommended to everyone. Just make sure you get a translation that kept the different dialects of the characters.

[writeoff]

Khaled Hosseini writes about Afghanistan although the conflict is secondary to the interractions between the characters and their growth. What I particularly like about The Kite Runner is that the main charater is flawed but you can't help feeling for him.

[Roman blood]

generals is very good

[Suzanne123]

I watched The English Patient film which I really enjoyed! So, I decided to get the book to read, and guess what... I hated it! I don't know why because I really loved the film, but I just really hated the book! :readingtwo:

[Ravenwood]

I've just finished The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - yes October was just a barrel of laughs.
Before that we had Mister Pip, and now I'm onto The Book of Lost Things.... think I see a pattern developing here.

[Suzanne123]

I really wanna read 'The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas' cause I really liked the film, but... I really liked 'The Engliah Patient' film and hated the book :roll:

[Raven]

I find that some of the most interesting stories that I have read have been set during wartime, notably World War II. I do not simply mean for the action side of things, but for interactions among the people involved - both military and civilian. It might be because desperate situations often tend to bring out the best...and worst from people.

Here is a small list of some of the best wartime stories that I have read so far. If any of you are interested in those times, I would recommend these.

1. The Night of the Generals by H H Kirst
2. The Magic Army by Leslie Thomas
3. The Bormann Brief by Clive Eagleton
4. The Wooden Wolf by John Kelly
5. KG 200 by John Gilman
6. Hammerstrike by Walter Winward

If you are interested in books set during WWII, the one I'm re-reading at the moment, Enigma, by Robert Harris, is well worth a read (though as Fatherland is listed as your favourite book, I'm guessing you may have come across it already!).

On the non-fiction side, I can also recommend The Hardest Day, by Alfred Price. I read it earlier this year and it is an account of a single days action - from midnight to midnight - during the Battle of Britain. It's an interesting read!

Growing up, one of my favourite children's book was The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall. Has anybody else read it?

I vaguely remember the TV series!

[Vince]

If you fancy something current try Sniper One by Sgt Dan Mills, story of an Infantry Regiment in Iraq or Eight Lives Down by Chris Hunter, his story of a bomb disposal operator also in Iraq. Both are first hand accounts of modern warfare & the fight against terrorism.

[Bellatrix]

A few that no-one has mentioned yet

2nd WW
Spies - Michael Frayn
Jackdaws - Fen Follett
Charlotte Grey - Sebastian Faulks
The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass
Schindlers Ark - Thomas Kenneally
The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier
Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian (I cried loads reading this)

1066
The Last English King - Julian Rathbone

1460 (Wars of the Roses)
Kings of Albion - Julian Rathbone

[Raven]

A few that no-one has mentioned yet

2nd WW
Spies - Michael Frayn
Jackdaws - Fen Follett
Charlotte Grey - Sebastian Faulks
The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass
Schindlers Ark - Thomas Kenneally
The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier
Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian (I cried loads reading this)

1066
The Last English King - Julian Rathbone

1460 (Wars of the Roses)
Kings of Albion - Julian Rathbone

I think that might be Ken Follett!

[Colin Jacobs]

I saw the film "Goodbye Mr Tom" and the Beach Holiday scene was not in it.
One big mistake. War broke out in September. We saw Mr Tom outside when War was announced there were Swifts calling overhead. Swifts migrate in Early August back to Africa and would not be calling overhead in September. Also Collard Doves are seen on the garden wall when the boy is building the shelter. Collard Doves did not arrive in the UK until 1956.

What about the Foyles War book series?

Has Goodbye Mr Chips been mentioned? James Hiltons book is very thin so I did not buy it the other day, I expected a gret ole book to get into

[Raven]

What about the Foyles War book series?

There aren't any Foyle's War novels, that I am aware of, it was just a TV series.

[Bellatrix]

I think that might be Ken Follett!


oops! quite right

[poppy]

A while ago I read After Midnight by Robert Ryan, a book based on truth,and thoroughly enjoyed it, it was quite suspenseful.

This is a synopsis off Amazon

In 1964, a young Australian girl, Linda Carr, is trying to track down the wreckage of the Liberator bomber in which her father died when it crashed in Northern Italy in 1944 during World War Two. She employs the help of motorcycle TT racer Jack Kirby, a man who has his own inner demons to combat. He was a Mosquito fighter pilot during the war and experienced at first hand the astonishing courage of the Italian partisans in the face of Nazi brutality. Jack is keen to find one of the partisans, a woman with a past as dark as the secrets she still holds close to her heart. What Jack and Linda discover in their journey deep into an uncharted Italian mountain region is more dangerous and life-changing than they could ever have imagined.

Both time periods are covered in this book.

[x-ZOMGSBBZ-x]

How about Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks? It was recommmended to me by a woman I worked with. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but given that it has gotten a lot of good reviews, I'm thinking of revisiting it.

^^ There's A Reason You Didn't Particularly Enjoy It. It's Not A Good Book [IMO xP] Highly Recommend Anyone Interested In War Books Should Try All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque. Amazing Book. You'll Understand When You Read It xD

[Ceinwenn]

Chronicle in Stone is based on Albania during WWII - Have only just bought it, so no idea if it's any good, though.