wrap-up post-War through the Generations

This is the last of my 2009 reading challenges and I have completed them all.  I even read extra books for this challenge.

War Through the Generations runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009: at least 5 books about WWII, fiction or non-fiction

Books from my original list:

Home Again at Last, by Jerry Borrowman-This is the fourth book in the series and I found it to be an interesting story.  The author addressed some issues in the series that you don’t normally find in military tomes, like desertion and its effects on a soldier, a wounded soldier’s addiction to prescribed painkillers, and how a soldier rebuilds his life at home after being wounded.  This book concerns a Royal Navy officer, a British commando, prisoners of war, and Churchill’s cabinet.

Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson-I enjoyed this book, although there was a little more sex and language than I like to read.  Having said that, the story was fascinating.  San Piedro Island in Puget Sound, the setting, was a character in the story as it was portrayed as alive and affecting the people in the story.  The careful unfolding of the backstory during the trial was so interesting as it explained the motivations of many of the major players.  The scenes at Manzanar and the prejudice faced by the Japanese-Americans on the island was carefully told so that the reader could really understand how it affected the current murder trial several years after the war.  The whole trial and its outcome were played out against a snowstorm on the island and the resolution was somewhat unexpected.

The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II, by Jeff Shaara-I like Jeff Shaara.  In this first book of a trilogy, he focuses on a lesser-known theater of WWII in North Africa.  He looks at the action through the eyes of real characters, famous and unknown, that give an interesting perspective to the action.  I learned alot about this particular campaign and found that interesting.  I am looking forward to the other books in this series.

Resistance, by Anita Shreve-She writes in a very spare sort of way, where you feel what the characters are feeling as the events unfold.  This story takes place in Belgium during WWII and recounts the story of an American pilot shot down and cared for by the Resistance.  It is a story of survival and love, and also addresses the way normal people act under unusual circumstances.  It is a story of bravery and cowardice among men, women, and children.  I really enjoyed this story and found it very satisfying.

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro-I really loved the movie and wanted to read the book.  I was surprised to find that the movie is alot like the book and I enjoyed it.  It was slow reading because the narrative was by the butler in a formal style that you had to pay attention to follow.  It was fun, though, because it was so different.  It is a very poignant story as Stevens realizes the things he missed in life and also how his loyalty to his employer has affected his life.  Lovely book.

Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen, Bob Greene-This was a charming, endearing book.  It tells the story of the author’s journey to North Platte as he researchs information on the North Platte Canteen during WWII.  He stays in town and gets reminiscences from ladies who worked there and juxtaposes that with his current views of the town.  He also interviews veterans from all over the country about their few minutes at the Canteen and what it meant to them.

Night of Many Dreams, by Gail Tsukiyama-I really like this author.  When I find an author I enjoy, I’m loyal.  This book follows a family in Hong Kong before and after WWII.  The story centers around the two sisters and their aunt and how they each make their way in life.  They follow their dreams, even though they aren’t traditional, and this causes conflict with the mother/sister.  So interesting to watch the story develop.  That’s one of the things I like about Tsukiyama.  You watch the story open up and grow and really come to know the characters, who aren’t caricatures or stock characters, but real people you recognize in real life.  Great read.

Additional books I read:

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak-I found this book to be brutal.  I’ve read WWII books that have more horrific descriptions of events, but this book took the cake.  I’ve been thinking and thinking about why this is, and I think it’s because of the main character.  How many horrible things can one teenage girl experience and still remain a decent human being?  Evidently alot. The writing style was very interesting.  It was chronological, yet the narrator took liberties with the timeline by skipping around and giving teasers about future events.  Also, the choice of a narrator was very interesting.  I really enjoyed the book, but felt battered by the end because of the events.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows-This was an epistolary novel about people on the Isle of Guernsey during the German Occupation.  A London author’s book ends up in the hands of a member of the Society and a correspondence begins.  It was interesting how the letters at first contained the address and full names, but as the correspondence continued with various members of the Society the address disappeared and then full names disappeared.  As you would suspect, the content changed as the correspondents became more familiar and were able to share more difficult stories of the war.  I like books that unfold as you peel back the layers and this was definitely one of those.  So fun to see the characters slowly reveal themselves.

Five Quarters of the Orange, by Joanne Harris-This book had an interesting narrative style.  Framboise, the main character and story-teller, is a widow who has moved back to her childhood home and is trying to come to grips with events that happened during the German Occupation.  So the story moves back and forth between the present and the war as she slowly reveals the events of that time.  But the events are intertwined with the consequences of those events in the present and the past and present weave together.  She foreshadows some things so the reader has an idea of what happened but it’s very unclear until the end.  The story also includes lots of recipes and food allusions.  Interesting story of how daughters come to understand their mothers as they grow older.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne-As a young mom I learned that children understand new information based on their past experiences.  I was reminded of this concept as I read this book, as Bruno processes what he sees and hears through the filter of his own experience.  He makes incorrect assumptions that lead to misunderstanding.  This book was full of symbols and interesting associations, and it was fascinating to see through a young boy’s eyes.  This is a powerful addition to books about the Holocaust and thinking adults should read it and compare it to current events.

The Quilter’s Apprentice, by Jennifer Chiaverini-I have been interested in this series and wanted to try it since I’ve started quilting.  The young couple in the book start work for an elderly woman trying to get her estate ready to sell.  They become friends and the owner, Sylvia, begins to teach Sarah how to quilt.  During the process, she tells stories of life during WWII and how she came to leave the estate.  The characters develop during the book and change in interesting ways, and I liked all the discussion of quilt blocks and their history.  I liked the book and will read some more of this series.

The Devil’s Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen-This young adult book is a time travel Holocaust story.  A young Jewish American girl is tired of remembering what happened to her grandfather and great-aunt in the camps during WWII and during a Passover seder is suddenly flung back in time to Poland during the 1940’s.  She experiences all the horrors of being round up by the Nazis and sent to a death camp.  The story is told in a tasteful and yet still horrifying way by well-drawn characters.  This is a must-read book, although parents may want to use it as a read-aloud to discuss the content.  I listened to this audiobook and really loved the story.