2017 Reading Challenge discussion

Share your challenge books about war here.

The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak
Books take forefront for a young girl during WWII.

Secrets of the Sewing Bee by Kate Thompson

Takes place in London during the Blitz.

67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence by Howard Means. Takes place in the late 60's during the Vietnam War. Excellent book that goes step by step through the day that the shootings happened from the perspective of many people. I highly recommend it.

by Charles Pellegrino

Documents the experiences and injuries of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki / Urakami nuclear bombs (including several who survived both). Based in part on stories suppressed by General MacArthur and available for the first time in the 1980's.

"A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway set during WWII in Italy. Very Hemingway-esque style of short, clipped, unemotional writing, which is no wonder since this was actually his job during the war. The story and characters are tragic, since there is no such thing as a happy ending during wartime.

I chose Zinky boys by Svetlana Alexievich. Each chapter it's told by a participant in the russian-afghan war with testimonies by nurses, doctors, soldiers and the family members left behind. It's raw and emotional and so contrary to the russian propaganda back in the day. I highly recommend it

set during US' Civil War. I liked it better than Strands of Bronze and Gold, but the beginning was a little slow and it took almost 100 pages (14 chapters, to be exact) for the main plot to start unfolding. It also bothered me the way the author portrayed African religions and how the different culture was villanified here. But I still liked the book well enough, the relationships and characters were well build and likable, I liked that there was also a human villain as well as a 'paranormal' one, I enjoyed the portrayal of the war and the overall atmosphere of the novel set a nice tone to this twisted fairytale. A solid 3.5 stars.

I read What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes. This was an interesting read. While it was very good, I can't say I liked it as much as I liked Matterhorn - non-fiction is not a general choice of mine for a reason. Matterhorn is the novel version of Mr. Marlantes time in Viet Nam, while this is his analysis of his war experience, how war affected him and how his return to the states affected him. It also includes Mr. Marlantes opinions about what the services need to do to assist our soldier warriors before they go to war, during their time in war, when they are preparing to return home, and then after their return home. I highly recommend this for anyone in the psychiatric / psychology / counselling arena that deals with individuals in these circumstances or their family members. It was a difficult read for me, every day when I was ready to put my kindle down, I opened and read a Curious George book first.