Top 5 World War II: Civilian Views

World War II is possibly the biggest historical event in the Western World and as such the literature set in this period is wide and varied. I’m not a huge fan of military fiction, but I love reading literature from a civilian aspect from this time. While I’m not an expert by any means, I have read a lot of literature from this period so today I’m putting together my top 5 reads.

With so many books set during this time, you may well have other favourites and as always, reducing my own list down to just five books is the challenge. However, I am going to try so here they are!

“Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings…It’s something we make inside ourselves.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom (Non-fiction)

The Hiding Place is not just my favourite World War II book, but my favourite book of all time. It was the first adult book I ever read, and is possibly my most reread book of all time. Often dismissed as “Christian fiction”, The Hiding Place is under appreciated, and one of the most beautiful memoirs of this period I have ever read.

The Hiding Place (US)
The Hiding Place (UK)

The Hiding Place Review

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (Fiction)

Beautifully written, narrated by Death, and featuring a love of reading heavily, what’s not to love about The Book Thief? This regular tops our polls of must read books, and I have to agree.

The Book Thief (US)
The Book Thief (UK)

The Book Thief Review

Schindler’s Ark/List – Thomas Keanelly (Non-fiction)

One of the few books that is as good in movie form, Schindler’s List/Schindler’s Ark tells the story of Oskar Schindler, businessman and saviour to thousands of Jews.

Schindler’s List/Ark (US)
Schindler’s List/Ark (UK)

The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank (Non-Fiction)

While The Diary of a Young Girl doesn’t so much capture the horrors of World War II, it does capture how mundane the day-to-day for hidden Jews must have been, seen through the eyes of a teenage girl not too different in thinking to many youngsters today.

Diary of a Young Girl (US)
Diary of a Young Girl (UK)

Diary of a Young Girl Review

All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr (Fiction)

Pulitzer Prize winning All the Light We Cannot See is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever had the pleasure to read. The images of St. Malo and the surrounding areas it conjures allows you to set the scene perfectly in your mind’s eye, and it’s a must for any WWII reading list.

All the Light We Cannot See (US)
All the Light We Cannot See (UK)

All the Light We Cannot See Review

As a disclaimer I have both Night by Elie Wiesel, Sarah’s Key by Tatania de Rosnay, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by May Ann Shaffer on my to be read pile, so a few months from now my Top 5 may change quite considerably.

~~ More Recommended Reading ~~