Madeline
Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres and one of the biggest topics in historical fiction is World War 2 and so it’s no wonder that I have read quite a few books about World War 2. One of the reasons I love historical fiction is that the books range from a grain of truth to fitting snug against the truth, or as people interpret as the truth. I have combined this widely covered topic in historical fiction and created a list of my top 10 books about World War 2 and their truth.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I was introduced to The Book Thief through my Book Club as one of the first books we read over five years ago. When I read this book I went “Holy Cow! I think I really like Historical Fiction!” I owe this book to introducing me to the genre and opening my eyes to a number of other fantastic books. The Book Thief was the first but not the last of my obsession with historical fiction. The story is of a girl who steals books to read to her family and the Jew living in the basement. Like many other World War 2 historical fiction books, it is a heartwarming tale of a small hero of the times.
Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Not only does this book belong in my Top Historical Fiction Books about World War 2, it also belongs in my Top Books, period. This book is what drew me to Kristin Hannah and eventually drew me to read many of her books including Firefly Lane, The Great Alone and Night Road.
When I first read Nightingale, I assumed it was a book that was mostly fiction. How could US shooter pilots be rescued in Nazi France, reclothed and trekked over to Spain without being caught to be shipped back to the US to do it all again. How could this be a real thing? But since I loved it so much, I started researching on where the subject came from, and sure enough, not only is there a grain of truth to this tale, but the sister who was responsible for this heroic act was a real person.
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Picking up The Boys in the Boat, I knew it was about a rowing team on their way to the Olympics but I didn’t put it together that it’s a rowing team going into the Olympics held during World War 2 in Nazi Germany. On the topic of this specific event in movies and books about World War 2, I think of Jesse Owens particularly, but never a rowing team. What I loved about The Boys in the Boat is not the final row but what lead up to it. The comradery that first needed to take place. The practice and the grit and in the end, they defeated not only the best row teams of North America and Great Britain, but also, the German team in the Olympics.
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
What I loved about The Splendid and the Vile was the focus on Winston Churchill during World War 2. It’s not common to have books about World War 2 to have a focus on a world leader who is not Hitler, and even that is rare, in historical fiction books focused on World War 2. Between reading The Splendid and The Vile and watching the first season of The Crown, I feel very versed in Churchill during this time period. And although I would consider this one of many historical fiction books, in the introduction it is spelled out that Larson was trying to be as accurate as possible.
