GERMAN
Every Man Dies Alone (1947) by Hans Fallada--Berlin during the war
The Time of Light (2000) by Gunnar Kopperud--Battle of Stalingrad
Das Boot by Lothar-Gunther Buchheim--German submariners
The Tin Drum (1959) by Gunter Grass
The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll
A Soldier's Legacy by Heinrich Boll
The Kindly Ones (2009) by Jonathan Littell--although the author is not German, this widely acclaimed novel is told from the pov of a German SS officer
The End: Hamburg 1943 by Hans Erich Nossack
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer
The Stalin Front (1955) by Gerd Letig
Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by Johann Voss
RUSSIA
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman--a classic panoramic war novel
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich--satire; the Russian Catch 22
Babi Yar by A. Anatoli Kuznetsov
Live and Remember by Valentin Rasputin
OTHER EUROPEAN
The Assault by Harry Mulisch--Holland
Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal
Bridge Over the River Kwai (1952) by Pierre Boulle--pows building the "Death Railroad" in Burma; winner of France's Prix Sainte-Beuve
Kaputt by Curzio Malaparte--experiences of Italian consul to other Facist states
The Painted Bird (1965) by Jerzy Kosinki--Poland
Chronicle in Stone by Ismael Kadare--Albania
The General of the Dead Army by Ismael Kadare--an Italian general's mission to retrieve the buried bones of Italian soldiers killed in Albania
The Forests of the Night (wrong touchstone) (1955) by Jean-Louis Curtis--winner of Prix Goncourt; Nazi occupation of village in the Pyrenees
HHhH by Laurent Binet--winner of Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman 2010; attempted assassination of Nazi official in Prague
The Unknown Soldier by Vaino Linna--Finland
The Thirty Year War by Henrik Tikkanen--Finland
The Abruzzo Trilogy by Ignazio Silone—Italy
JAPAN
Fires on the Plain by Ooka Shohei
Requiem by Shizuko Go
Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
Grass for My Pillow by Saiichi Maruya
Harp of Burma by Michio Takeyama
The Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo
Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe
Hiroshima by John Hersey
The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi
Twenty-four Eyes by Keisuke Kinoshita
Japan at War: An Oral History by Haruko Taya
Citadel in Spring by Hiroyuki Agawa
OTHER ASIAN
A Gesture Life by Chang Rae Lee--Korea
Cry Slaughter by Edilberto K. Tiempo--Philippines
The Rape of Nanking by Irene Chang--China
When Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holth--Philipppines
And the War is Over by Ismail Marahimin--Indonesia; Winner of Pegasus Prize
The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng—Malaysia
AMERICAN, BRITISH, and CANADIAN
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
From Here to Eternity (1951) by James Jones--Pearl Harbor
The Thin Red Line (1962) by James Jones--Guadacanal
Whistle by James Jones--wounded soldiers in hospital after Guadacanal
The Naked and the Dead (1948) by Norman Mailer
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk
Europe Central by William Vollmann
A Midnight Clear by William Wharton
106178::A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monserrat
The Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard
King Rat by James Clavell
The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley
The Rising Tide by Jeff Shaara
No Less Than Victory by Jeff Shaara
The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara
War of the Rats by David L. Robbins
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front In World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Posts
I was glad to see you have some WWII books set in the Philippines on your list-here are three books I have posted on and really enjoyed all set in the Manila area during WWII
ReplyDeleteBarefoot in the Fire:A Manila WWII Childhood by Barbara Gamboa Lewis
Adventures of a Child of War by Lin Acacio-Flores
Living with the Enemy: A Diary of the Japanese Occupation by Pacita Pestano-Jacinto
Great list of books !
I recently did a brief survey of Japanese WWII novels-the list you have is great and very comprehensive-I would add as two very powerful works Crazy Iris and other Stories of the Atomic After Math (a collection of short stories selected and introduced by Kenzaburo Oe-) and One Man's Justice-the story of a minor Japanese war criminal-by Akira Yoshimurma-I think it is a true world class classic-also The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Huruki Murakami is partially set in Manchuria during WWII-I got some new reading ideas from your great list-
ReplyDeleteFab resource again THANK YOU - I am planning a WWII project with Yer 8 for November such a big help to have a list of books :D
ReplyDeleteGreat list! We have book lists for WWII, Vietnam, and the U.S. Civil War at War Through the Generations.
ReplyDelete