Continuing on with the idea that historical fiction can help us better understand history, here are three books that examine different aspects of World War II. The fictional treatment allows for an intimately personal look at some difficult events including internment camps, enemy occupation, and the aftermath of war.
“Despite the bitterness of all he’d seen, and the sadness of the forced exodus to Camp Harmony, things were manageable, and the war couldn’t last forever. Eventually Keiko would come home, wouldn’t she?”
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
By Jamie Ford
A particularly shameful part of American history comes to life as seen through the eyes of Henry, the child of Chinese immigrants, and Keiko, a Japanese girl in his class at school. Granted, I look at the events with the advantage of 70-years-worth of hindsight, but I’m astounded and so saddened that Japanese Americans – American citizens! – were rounded up, deprived of their property without due process, and relocated to prison camps for years based solely on their ethnicity.
Mr. Ford tells most of the story through flashbacks, jumping between the war and the “present” – set in 1986 – with the catalyst being the discovery of hundreds of boxes, trunks, and memorabilia in the basement of the Panama Hotel in Seattle, all left behind by Japanese-American families sent to internment camps. In addition to learning about the differences between Chinese and Japanese cultures, particularly how family dynamics worked, and the interplay between the two groups during the 1940s, we also get fascinating glimpses into the history of the Pacific Northwest and specifically Seattle, including the burgeoning jazz scene.
This melancholy tale of friendship and young love is tinged with more than a little of the bittersweet the title promises, but ends with a promising lift to balance out the earlier injustices and loss.
“The pigs are gone now. The Germans took them away to feed their soldiers on the continent, and ordered me to grow potatoes. We were to grow what they told us and nothing else.”
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The novel is set shortly after the war and is written as a series of letters, initially between Juliet Ashton, a British author, and Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey who came upon a book Juliet once owned, with her name and address written inside the cover, in a secondhand bookshop on the island. The letter format is, I think, used to great advantage in revealing personalities more readily than most other formats do. It’s very easy to get a feel for the individuals, and particularly their relationships with their correspondents. I especially enjoyed reading about the strong female characters and their choices during the war. Not a lot of shrinking violets in this one!
I don’t think we as Americans really understand how traumatic WWII was for our Allies in Europe. We think we experienced the same war they did, but in many ways we simply didn’t. This book highlighted the terrifying experiences of occupation and bombings. I can’t imagine how heart-wrenching it would be to send my children away, even if I thought they would be safer elsewhere. But it also showed that there were good, kind Germans and bad, selfish Brits. I appreciated the even-handedness.
“Beginnings are elusive things. Just when you think you have hold of one, you look back and see another, earlier beginning, and an earlier one before that.”
By Hillary Jordan
Jamie McAllen and Ronsel Jackson have both recently returned from the war and are attempting to come to grips with their wartime experiences. Unfortunately, the Deep South during this period was not a safe place to have inter-racial friendships and their continued association has tragic consequences for both families.
I am always blind-sided – though I probably shouldn’t be – at the depth of the contempt and hatred that existed (and unfortunately still exists) based on something as superficial as skin color. Even a decorated soldier who risked his life for his country was still looked on by bigots as a little better than an animal. And many of the characters who weren’t mean or physically violent still held prejudiced assumptions about people’s mental abilities or proper “place.” Mudbound is a difficult book to read and does contain some explicit language, as well as a few very descriptive scenes of violence, which are, unfortunately, true to the time.
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On My Bedside Table…
Just finished: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Now reading: I Sing the Body Electric! by Ray Bradbury (yes, I’m re-reading lots of Bradbury since his recent passing!)
On deck: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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We’ll dive into some hard science next time – but don’t let that scare you off! I’ve found some books that make it fun – really! Come find me on goodreads.com or email suggestions, comments, and feedback to egeddesbooks (at) gmail (dot) com.