Theme: World War 2

Friday marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day. So I thought I'd share a few books connected to WW2.

The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
In July 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the occupation, went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse. Over the next two years Anne vividly describes in her diary the frustrations of living in such close quarters, and her thoughts, feelings and longings as she grows up. Her diary ends abruptly when, in August 19444, they were all betrayed.

I can't possibly review this book like any others, but I would say this book is worth a read. When I read it I was a year or two younger than Anne Frank and I think being a similar meant it had more of an impact - I'd learnt about the war at school, but here was a girl about my age describing what it was like living in persecution. At the end of the diary, there is an afterword explaining what happened to the Franks, the other people hiding and those aiding them. Despite vaguely knowing what happened in the end, this shook me. It's easy to be dejected when reading facts on Wikipedia, but reading the diary of a real person and knowing how it ends is heart-breaking. A book everyone should read.

Suite Française - Irène Némirovsky

Set during the year that France fell to the Nazis, Suite Française falls into two parts. The first is a depiction of a group of Parisians as they flee the Nazi invasion; the second follows the inhabitants of a small rural community under occupation. However, amidst the mess of defeat, and all the hypocrisy and compromise, there is hope.

It's been a while since I read this book, but I remember it being very descriptive. The book is a real display of humanity: pain, fear, hope, betrayal, survival. You get a sense of the struggle of living in France as during the occupation and accepting defeat. Sadly, the book is bittersweet as Némirovsky never her novel become the masterpiece it's hailed as today. The 2014 film focuses on the second part of the book and gives it more of a romance element to it. Whilst the film is good, I'd recommend the book for a more vivid and evocative depiction of the French occupation.

The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick

In a nightmare dystopia, the Allies have lost the Second World War, the Nazis have taken over New York, and the Japanese control California. In a neutral buffer zone that divides the rival superpowers in America lives the author of an underground bestseller. His book offers a new vision of reality.

This book follows a handful of individuals from different backgrounds living in America, who all end up with access to a book which essentially describes our reality (i.e. the Allies winning). I thought the alternate reality described in this book was well thought through - the politics and the differences in Japanese and Nazi rule. I also liked the variety in the characters were; a Jewish shop owner, a Japanese businessman, a woman living in the buffer zone, etc. All of these people living different lives but all disenchanted. From what I've heard, the book is different to the Amazon series (although I can't comment on which is better as I haven't seen it!). An interesting read.

More WW2 themed books:

• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
• Their Finest Hour and a Half (Lissa Evans)
• All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
• Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris)
• The Boy in Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne)