Best WWII novels

[Kurben]

Well, i have read far from all but this are my faves for different reasons. I am sure there are a lot of books i never heard of........ In no particular order.

Norman Mailer: The Naked And The Dead
Markus Zusak: The Bookthief
Janice Young Brooks: Guests Of The Emperor
Irene Nemirofsky: (Suite Francaise) French suit in english??
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 5
James Clavell: King Rat
Herman Wouk: Winds of War and War and Remembrance
Diney Costeloe: The Girl With No Name
J.G. Ballard: Empire Of The Sun
Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarahs Key
James Jones: The Thin Red Line
Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl (not really a novel but still....)

 

[AnnaMarie]

I loved The Book Theif. I had absolutely no idea what it was about when I started reading.

Diary of a Young Girl had a very strong impact on me as a child.

Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine.

There was a book I was forced to read in grade six. I always remember is being called Invisible Man. But a search does not show up the book. It was about a man who gets shot down behind enemy lines. He has to remain "invisible" to avoid capture. It was completely NOT a book I would have ever chosen, which is why the teacher forced it on me. It was an excellent story.

 

[champ1966]

Das Boot

 

[ghost19]

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. The Pianist
3. Midway
4. Tora! Tora! Tora!
5. Escape From Sobibor
6. Run Silent, Run Deep
7. Hell In The Pacific
8. Empire of the Sun (Christian Bale's first movie if I remember correctly)
9. Sands Of Iwo Jima
10. Patton

 

[Kurben]

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. The Pianist
3. Midway
4. Tora! Tora! Tora!
5. Escape From Sobibor
6. Run Silent, Run Deep
7. Hell In The Pacific
8. Empire of the Sun (Christian Bale's first movie if I remember correctly)
9. Sands Of Iwo Jima
10. Patton

Some great movies here, i agree but aren't you in the wrong thread? Not that it matter of course but this was about novels, not movies.

 

[Moderator]

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. The Pianist
3. Midway
4. Tora! Tora! Tora!
5. Escape From Sobibor
6. Run Silent, Run Deep
7. Hell In The Pacific
8. Empire of the Sun (Christian Bale's first movie if I remember correctly)
9. Sands Of Iwo Jima
10. Patton

Some great movies here, i agree but aren't you in the wrong thread? Not that it matter of course but this was about novels, not movies.

I can move it over if this should be in WWII Movies.

 

[Arcadevere]

Well, i have read far from all but this are my faves for different reasons. I am sure there are a lot of books i never heard of........ In no particular order.

Norman Mailer: The Naked And The Dead
Markus Zusak: The Bookthief
Janice Young Brooks: Guests Of The Emperor
Irene Nemirofsky: (Suite Francaise) French suit in english??
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 5
James Clavell: King Rat
Herman Wouk: Winds of War and War and Remembrance
Diney Costeloe: The Girl With No Name
J.G. Ballard: Empire Of The Sun
Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarahs Key
James Jones: The Thin Red Line
Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl (not really a novel but still....)

what i only read here in this is the Diary of a Young Girl and Book Thief (but haven't finish this)
i am still on search for Slaughterhouse 5 because i never saw a copy of that book (even in second hand bookstore)
(but i'm still laughing the fact i read Mein Kampf and still not done to it lol, book's so long and has a very small fonts that my eyes got hurt (even wearing glasses.))

Naked and Dead, i saw it at bookstore, planning to buy it (but what is this book all about, as a very little sneak peek only. pretty please?)

 

[Kurben]

what i only read here in this is the Diary of a Young Girl and Book Thief (but haven't finish this)
i am still on search for Slaughterhouse 5 because i never saw a copy of that book (even in second hand bookstore)
(but i'm still laughing the fact i read Mein Kampf and still not done to it lol, book's so long and has a very small fonts that my eyes got hurt (even wearing glasses.))

Naked and Dead, i saw it at bookstore, planning to buy it (but what is this book all about, as a very little sneak peek only. pretty please?)

OK, a very little.... It is about americans fighting and trying to drive out japanese forces in the southpacific so the americans can advance in the Philippines. Set on a fictional island. Contains flashbacks of the individual soldiers lives before so we understand them better.

 

[doowopgirl]

I love Suite Francaise. I found the book by chance and the cover intrigued me. I fell in love with the book and the notes about how it came to be published. I've bought lots of her books since. They are all small, but packed with so much intense emotion and great characters. I saw the film and it was a good looking film, but didn't quite catch the vibe of the book.

 

[Kurben]

I love Suite Francaise. I found the book by chance and the cover intrigued me. I fell in love with the book and the notes about how it came to be published. I've bought lots of her books since. They are all small, but packed with so much intense emotion and great characters. I saw the film and it was a good looking film, but didn't quite catch the vibe of the book.

Yeah, that one really floored me. Read it by chance but it is one of the best WWII novels i've read. Haven't seen the movie.

 

[Ebdim9th]

Samurai by Saburo Sakai and Martin Caiden about the life of Japan's highest scoring fighter ace (though the Japanese, for some reason, counted engines and not separate planes...)

Air War Volume One by Edward Jablonski (a history book dealing with the European front mainly .. the second volume dealing more with the Pacific front)

Flight to Arras -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I'll think of more later...

 

[GNTLGNT]

Some great movies here, i agree but aren't you in the wrong thread? Not that it matter of course but this was about novels, not movies.

...he can't help it Kurb, he's from Arkansas....and well, his crayon lost it's point at a very young age....

 

[GNTLGNT]

 

[Tery]

Maus is fantastic. Really love that one. How about Night?

 

[ghost19]

Some great movies here, i agree but aren't you in the wrong thread? Not that it matter of course but this was about novels, not movies.

Yes I am. Thank you sir. Would a mod be kind enough to move my post to the WWII movie thread and forgive my idiocy once again? It looks like Ms. Mod caught it but I didn't get back to her in time. Say sorry Kurben.

 

[Walter Oobleck]

From Here to Eternity, James Jones.

ain't that right, jack? he was sliding down a long skislide of long snow, like. and he could feel himself beginning to go clear out of himself. and the cord he had seen that time in stockade that looked like it was made of come kept stretching and stretching as he coasted. then he slowed and stopped coasting, delicately like, as if something hadn't quite made up its mind yet, and then began to come back a little. so this was the way it was, hunh. who would of guessed it was like this

Reminds me of the Smoke Hole Ceremony. Jones use of and treatment of homosexuals in this story is enlightening and baffling and that's all I'll say on the matter. Great story. Long story. His:

Some Came Running takes place for the most after the war and this story is a favorite for me.

The Painted Bird, Jerzy Kosinski
Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon
The Winter of the Black Snow, Kalle Päätalo
Something About a Soldier, Charles Willeford

 

[ghost19]

...he can't help it Kurb, he's from Arkansas....and well, his crayon lost it's point at a very young age....

Zing! I now have a crayon sharpener! HAHA!

 

[skimom2]

Night
The Hiding Place
The Best War Ever (not a novel, but a damn fine history book)
Diamond Head was interesting, too.
(just ones in addition to those already mentioned)

 

[mjs9153]

Ha,was wondering why people were posting movies in a book thread..
Kurben,have you ever read Leon Uris? Battle Cry,which is a novel of United States Marines(apt,since today is their 241st anniversary) is excellent..also Mila 18,set in occupied Poland in the war,is excellent,describing the conditions of the Jews in the ghettos that were set up,and how they fought back.also Redemption,good stuff on the Gallipoli fight in WW1 by the Anzac forces,Trinity,the Irish lash back at Britishoccupation..and many others,would suggest Battle Cry to start out and if you like that,you will like his writing..

 

[Kurben]

Ha,was wondering why people were posting movies in a book thread..
Kurben,have you ever read Leon Uris? Battle Cry,which is a novel of United States Marines(apt,since today is their 241st anniversary) is excellent..also Mila 18,set in occupied Poland in the war,is excellent,describing the conditions of the Jews in the ghettos that were set up,and how they fought back.also Redemption,good stuff on the Gallipoli fight in WW1 by the Anzac forces,Trinity,the Irish lash back at Britishoccupation..and many others,would suggest Battle Cry to start out and if you like that,you will like his writing..

Thanks for the tip! Uris is actually one i have managed, i dont know how, to avoid. I have heard about him of course but never taking the plunge. These suggestions was just what i need. (any relative to Stanley Uris???)