Recipes Inspired by WWII Literature

We wanted to thank everyone who has continued to read WWII and Holocaust-related literature in the last six months.  It’s been great to see all of the fantastic reviews, comments, and publicity generated by the participants and other bloggers, authors, and publishing houses since the start of the challenge.

In a unique twist to book club meetings and discussions of WWII and Holocaust literature, Maw Books recently shared with her readers some recipes reflecting what characters in the novel ate and  based upon WWII rationing.  I wanted to call attention to these great posts and the photos accompanying the recipes.

First, check out the Tomato Aspic eaten by the characters of Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman.  Jimmy’s Stars is a novel about how the drafting of Ellie’s older brother impacts her family still back on the homefront.

Second, check out the recipe for Chocolate Cake.  This recipe is likely to have your mouth watering.  It looks delicious, particularly those strawberries.

Natasha from Maw Books and her book club have a great angle to their meetings by creating food from the novels they read.  Maybe other book clubs do this.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to see other WWII inspired dishes?

Reviews: THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak

Yet another popular book among participants is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  Here are some excerpts [click their links to read their full reviews]:

Nise’ from Under The Boardwalk says:

I had to get used to the writing style, but once I did, I could not put it down. It is a young adult book, but adults will love it as well.

Christina from Jackets & Covers says:

I have to say, telling a story set in Nazi Germany from the point of view of death is pretty ingenious.  I didn’t know that before I started — it took me a moment to realize who exactly the narrator was — and it almost turned me off to the book because, honestly, a book about Nazi Germany from death’s point of view is morbid, twisted, and…ingenious.

thekoolaidmom from In the Shadow of Mt. TBR says:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is haunting and breath-taking, poetically beautiful and filled with truth.

Shelley from ChainReading says:

It takes a little while to get used to the rhythm of the writing and to get used to the narration by death, but KEEP GOING. It will all be worth it.

Julie from Jules’ Book Reviews says:

The writing style was fairly standard, but because of how the narrator (death) told the story, it drew you into the book, and was also able to have you really invested in it. It also had a lot of symbolism and interesting points on humanity, that “death” points out, which I found to be very interesting and had beautiful meanings behind them, that really made the story, and its characters become very real. One part in the end had me in tears, and some emotions behind acts had me close to tears at other times.

Arielle from Bookatopia says:

The first thing I have to say about this book is WOW. It is one of those books that you really get into and the characters become part of you, it is a truly moving story. For a book to be added to my favorites list it has to leave me thinking about it even when I’m not reading it, few books do that but this is definitely one of them.

Hilarie from Never Not Reading says:

I fell hard for almost each and every character in this book. I actually found myself wiping away a few tears as I finished the last few pages. I’ve been reading a lot of great books lately, but this one really stands out as an amazing read.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Check Out My Article on Holocaust Literature

Serena and I both were lucky enough to snag freelance gigs

recently on Examiner.com.  [Click our names to be taken to our respective pages.  We hope you'll check out our pages/articles, maybe even spread the word and subscribe to our articles, as your support will make this a more successful venture!]

I wanted to direct you to my first article on Holocaust literature, as it pertains to the WWII reading challenge.  Feel free to comment over there and let me know what you think!

Reviews: THE READER by Bernhard Schlink

Several participants in the WWII reading challenge reviewed The Reader by Bernhard Schlink in recent months.  Here are some excerpts [click on their links to read their complete reviews]:

Mari from MariReads says:

There are so many parts to this book. So many different things to think about. The affair between an adult and teen. Illiteracy and its affects on those who try to hide it. The coming to terms of the actions of family and friends during WWII by the younger generation of Germans. I think the lack of emotion and judgment allows for the reader to have their own unique reactions to the story.

Christina from Jackets & Covers says:

The writing is very distant and reserved, which reflects Michael and Hanna’s relationship. The two share very little with one another; for example, it takes them several weeks to disclose their names to one another.

The real heart of this book, though, is the exploration of guilt by association.

Cheryl from Scrappy Cat says:

Much of the narrative is Michael’s thoughts and feelings about Hannah, his relationship with her, and his feelings about Germany’s actions during WWII.

Kathy from Bermudaonion’s Weblog says:

Wow, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink is a book full of controversial subjects!  If this book doesn’t make you think, nothing will.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Reviews: A LUCKY CHILD by Thomas Buergenthal

Several participants in the WWII reading challenge recently reviewed A Lucky Child:  A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal.  Here are some excerpts [click on their links to read their full reviews]:

Melissa from Shhh I’m Reading says:

If  you are interested in the Holocaust and life in the concentration camps, this is an easy to read memoir that gives you a glimpse into some of the most notorious camps.

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric says:

Because he wrote his story more than 50 years after the war, his memories are colored by time and his experiences as an adult. It is no doubt a different story than he would have told if he wrote it right after the war, but I think giving himself time to grow up, create new memories, analyze human nature with regard to the Holocaust, and take stock of his experiences as an international human rights judge provides a unique perspective.

Nancy from Bookfoolery and Babble says:

A Lucky Child is beautifully written and very, very moving. I highly recommend it, particularly to those who enjoy reading memoirs or anything relating to WWII.

Christina from Jackets & Covers says:

The story, though, doesn’t become really interesting until the moments leading up to Buergenthal’s arrival at Auschwitz due, in part, because the beginning is filled with a lot of “I don’t remember” and “I don’t recall.” I don’t blame him for these gaps in the story; he was after all only five at the time and didn’t write his memoir until decades later, but it still detracts from the overall story. It’s hard to understand his early plight when there aren’t any details to set the stage.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Reviews: THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS by John Boyne

John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is another popular choice among the WWII reading challenge participants.  Here are excerpts from some recent reviews [click their links to read the full reviews]:

Michele from A Reader’s Respite says:

The ending is one of those jaw-dropping, never-saw-it-coming endings.  A Reader’s Respite turned the last page, rested the book on our lap and simply sat there in awe and wonder for a full fifteen minutes….the ending is that amazing.

Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea says:

Bruno’s innocence about what is going on around him seems very unbelievable, but what this innocence does is make the conclusion of this book all the more shocking. This is one story I will never forget.

Heather from Book Addiction says:

It was less heavy than I expected – the prose is simple, the story moves along smoothly and isn’t nearly as depressing as I expected.  It was easy for me to get lost in the book and read it in one sitting.

Suey from It’s All About Books says:

The story is told very much through his [a 9-year-old German boy] eyes. He doesn’t understand at all most of what is going on. He is very naive and sheltered. And I like this. It kept me more distant from the “real” story, which I think is why I handled it all better than I expected. Maybe some people are bugged by that, but I thought it was a very interesting and unique way to approach the Holocaust issue.

Kathy from Bermudaonion’s Weblog says:

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is a great book that will really make you think and leave you teary-eyed and sad.  It’s about blind ambition and prejudices and how both can cloud our judgement and affect everyone around us.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Reviews: THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is another popular read among challenge participants.  Here are excerpts from some recent reviews [click their links to read the full review]:

Heather from Book Addiction says:

The characters in Guernsey are beyond real; they truly come alive before the reader’s eyes.  Rarely do I read a book and find myself thinking of the characters as if they actually ARE real people, and while reading Guernsey I became so lost in the story, so lost in the characters’ lives, that I would honestly forget that the story was entirely a work of fiction.

Suey from It’s All About Books says:

I loved it! Not only was it a so called “heart warming” story, but I learned a lot about a place and event that I’d never heard of before.

Christina from Jackets & Covers says:

I wasn’t expecting the epistolary style, and was originally a bit put off by the format. However, as the story progressed, I began to enjoy it. That is, until more and more characters were added to the correspondence and it became increasingly obvious that all the characters sound the same. Sure, they all have their quirks, but without the “From John Booker to Juliet” headers above each letter, I would have been forced to flip to the end of the letter and see who had written the letter to keep things straight.

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric says:

The letters were beautifully written, and they flowed seamlessly from one to another. Each letter was written in the distinctive voice of a single character, yet put together, they created a rich picture of loss, survival, and joy experienced by the people of Guernsey under Nazi rule.

Joanna from It’s All About Me (Time) says:

This beautiful book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is definitely one of favorite books of the year. I wondered about it because it’s received so many fantastic reviews and I hate when there’s that much hype about a book and then I hate it… but this one is beautiful and touching and interesting and really, really deserves all the praise.

Katrina from Katrina’s Reads says:

I loved it. I fell in love with the characters and place. I would happinly go live in that book.

Jo from Peachybooks says:

Some of the events described in the islanders letters are pretty grim. The starvation, the oppression and almost total abandonment by England are tough to read, but the sense of community that the islanders developed is inspiring, and although this is fiction, the events are not, and it is easy to imagine a small island pulling together like this.

Corinne from The Book Nest says:

It’s a story of surviving a war and putting your life back together afterward. It’s about the thrill of new friendships and the joy of old ones. It’s about finding the beauty in a horrible situation and the people we meet that change the way we live our lives.

And don’t forget to check out Shelley’s seven-word review at ChainReading!

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Remembering D-Day & Normandy

The invasion of Normandy during WWII has become one of the most definitive turning points in history.  It consisted of three phases, first an air assault, troop landings, and an amphibious landing on June 6, 1944, and it was the fist Allied assault during the war.  However, with this successful assault came many human losses and hefty losses for the Germans, which many say is related to the inability of the German army to gear up for assault quick enough.

Following the war, France erected the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.  Check out this video of the visitor’s center and a video touring the landscaped grounds.

President Barack Obama paid homage to the heroes of Normandy at the infamous beaches.  Check out this news story in AFP.  President Obama has two personal connections to the Normandy, including a great uncle who liberated Buchenwald–one of the many concentration camps set up by the Nazi’s to kill more than 6 million Jews.  Check out President Obama’s trip to Buchenwald in this USA Today story.  Author Elie Wiesel was among the members of the group touring the concentration camp.

If you would like to check out a personal take on this fateful day in history, head on over to Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books to read about Heather’s grandfather.

Reviews: HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford

Well, real life got in the way, and we’re a bit behind in posting reviews.  Slowly, but surely, we’ll catch up.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a popular book these days, with several of you posting reviews recently.

Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea wrote:

I thought Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet:  A Novel was a very good debut novel, there were parts when the story seemed to drag, but in the end I was I happy that I chose this book. (Read her entire review here.)

Nise’ from Under The Boardwalk wrote:

A wonderful, emotional story that was a page turner as I had to find out what happened. (Read her entire review here.)

Mari from MariReads wrote:

The novel jumps from the time of the war to 1986. Which usually I don’t like, but here it works well in setting the tone of the book. You get to see him as a young kid and experience his life in Chinatown and around Japantown of Seattle during this difficult and sad time in American history. You then see how different his life is as an adult and parent as he searches for items that once belonged to Keiko. (Read her entire review here.)

Wendy from Musings of a Bookish Kitty wrote:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a delightful and tragic book all in one. It is full of hope even during the direst of moments. Crossing over time lines, the novel goes back and forth between the sort of present (1986) and the past (World War II). It is the story of Henry Lee, a young Chinese-American growing up in Seattle, Washington, and an older Henry, who is searching for something even he is not sure he will find and trying to piece his life together as he makes peace with the past. (Read her entire review here.)

Kris from Not Enough Books wrote:

I loved learning about this aspect of WWII. It’s something we, as Americans, know happened but for the younger generations, we don’t hear about it. It’s not something that is readily talked about. When I think of WWII I think of the Nazi’s and their concentration camp. I loved that this book was from a different viewpoint and it showed what happened and what those times were like for an Asian living in the US. (Read her entire review here.)

Helenita from A Reading Collection wrote:

Now a national best seller, this debut novel has become one of my favorite books. Set in Seattle during the 1940’s, this is the story of Henry Lee, son of Chinese immigrants. Though he is an American citizen, he endures the prejudice of his peers. Yet he gains a friend in Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American. (Read her entire review here.)

I hope to read this one at some point myself.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Holocaust Deniers and Facebook

Holocaust deniers seem to be still around, and the Christian Science Monitor’s blog discussed earlier this month how some Facebook communities are maintained by people who do not believe the Holocaust occurred.  While Facebook says that these communities do not represent the company’s ideals, the social networking site is willing to allow these communities to express their rights to free speech.

Any thoughts?