The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Reading about World War II
PUBLISHED: June 26, 2008
Innumerable important works of both fiction and non-fiction have come out of the experience of the Second World War. While many depict bravery on the battlefield and the sacrifices of soldiers, here are four titles that view the war from other perspectives.
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The homefront is the scene for Elizabeth Berg's nostalgic 2007 title, "Dream When You're Feeling Blue."
In Chicago, two pretty Heany sisters send their boyfriends off to war, while the third, Tish, writes to every soldier that she meets at the local USO dances. Kitty gets a defense job and finds that she loves it, and isn't so sure that she wants to give it up when the boys come home. Louise finds herself in the family way, although she and Michael have yet to marry. Capturing the anguish, as well as the opportunities and excitement of the time, Berg paints a sentimental portrait of America at war.
The wonderful British author Joanna Trollope kicked off her historical series, written under the pen name Caroline Harvey, with the engrossing novel, "The Brass Dolphin."
It's 1938, and Lila Cunningham discovers that her cheerfully careless father has spent them into poverty. Accepting an offer to take care of a crumbling villa on the island of Malta, Lila finds what seems to be love with Anton, the son of a Count. But when the war breaks out, Anton enlists and life on Malta becomes increasingly perilous. Malta's important role in the war, little remembered in this country, is fascinatingly detailed. The island is constantly under German attack, food is scarce and, working in a hospital, Lila discovers true courage as well as true love.
Korean-American Rebeccah Bradley is embarrassed and confused by her mother's bouts of unhinged behavior and spiritual trances in Nora Okja Keller's powerful 1998 novel, "Comfort Woman." Struggling to find her own way and to understand her mother's neglect, Beccah gradually learns the horrifying truth about her mother's past. During the war, twelve-year-old Soon Hyo had been sold by her desperate sister to the Japanese to be used as prostitute. The experience had left profound scars on the mother, Akiko, and even though Akiko's reputation as a gifted visionary eventually leads to financial rewards, it's a difficult life for both mother and daughter. This haunting story is passionately and lyrically told, and remains a memorable literary debut.
Harrowing is the only way to describe the remarkable true story told in Yehuda Koren's "In Our Hearts We Were Giants." In 1930's Romania the Ovitz family, with their ten children, seven of whom were dwarves, were renowned traveling entertainers known as the Liliput Troupe. In 1944 the family, along with a handful of spouses and cousins, were shipped to Auschwitz concentration camp along with thousands of other Eastern European Jews. Here they fell under the personal scrutiny of the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele, and this proved to be both their torment and their salvation, as the Ovitz clan were one of only two extended families to survive Auschwitz intact. This unforgettable story, complete with family photographs, is a powerful reminder of the toll taken by that great war.
All books are available at the McKune Memorial Library in Chelsea. Joan Elmouchi is the Library Director.
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