Top Ten Books Set in World War II

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

So my absence from the book blogging community has been extended for much longer than I had anticipated. But more on that later. For this week's topic, I had elected to go with books set in World War II. It was such a dark time in our world's history and the wealth of literature that sprouts from that setting really does pay homage to that fact. What makes the setting even more amazing is how every work differs from one another, whether it is detailing the lives of those in hiding, or the brutality of war, or the average citizens just trying to survive the war.

For this topic, I have decided to split the 10 books into the top 5 that I have read and the top 5 that are still (embarassingly) on my TBR pile.

1. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

I don't think anyone can mention World War II and literature without mentioning this book. To see the journey of the war through a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl's eyes in hiding was just humbling in so many ways.

2. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

From one type of horror to another, The Narrow Road to the Deep North details the lives of Australian prisoner of wars in the Burmese Jungle. It is truly a remarkable and at times, brutally horrifying read.

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is one of my all-time favourite novels. I'm currently in the middle of a re-read and my post-it flags are definitely getting a real workout as I set to mark down all my favourite sections.

4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Set in World War II in the beautiful city of Saint Malo (which I didn't even know about before reading the book), All the Light We Cannot See is full of charm, stunning prose, and jigsaw puzzles that slowly but surely piece together to form the horrific day that came to the citizens of Saint Malo.

5. Atonement by Ian McEwan

In Atonement, World War II is used as a backdrop of the repercussions of a young teenager's mistake. This is one of those books that I still think about from time to time.

And now, the top 5 World War II books that are still on my TBR pile. I really don't have much to say about them (since I haven't read them yet) apart from the fact that I have no excuse not to have read them by now. Some of them are glaring at me from my bookshelf even as I type this.

6. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

7. Sophie's Choice by William Styron

8. Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally

9. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

10. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

So there you go, those are my 10 picks for this week. Which setting did you choose and which books made your list?