I’m an author from New Zealand, and I’ve always been drawn to the personal stories from WWII. I am interested in the moral and ethical decisions made by ordinary people in those extraordinary times. I often wonder if I would have made the right choices in the same situation. I gravitate towards reading books about the Second World War, especially books that include previously unknown information, view the war from a different angle, or offer a new insight. I’ve been fortunate to travel the world with my career, and my novel, The Paris of the East was inspired after visiting Poland on an author tour. I’ve also written other novels, non-fiction books, and children’s books.
I wrote...
The Paris of the East
By
Karen McMillan
What is my book about?
The Paris of the East is inspired by the daring feats of Polish pilots during the Second World War, the selfless way the camp population at Ravensbruck banded together to save a group of women known as the ‘guinea pigs,’ and the tragedy of the Warsaw Uprising. The Paris of the East is a story of love, courage and survival set during these extraordinary times.
The novel follows the plight of four Polish friends and spans the period of World War II. It is a dramatic historical adventure that goes from Warsaw to Lublin, from Bucharest to Paris, from London to the Concentration Camp at Ravensbruck – but always at the heart of this novel is the mesmerizing city of Warsaw – ‘The Paris of the East.’
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The Books I Picked & Why
Khaki Town
By
Judy Nunn
Why this book?
This novel is based on a true wartime story kept secret for more than seventy years. The story is set in March 1942, Townsville, Australia, after Singapore has fallen and Darwin has been bombed. The small town is transformed into a hub for 70,000 soldiers. But Australian troops begrudge the confident American soldiers, and there is growing conflict within the American ranks, and racial tensions are exposed. This compelling read is made even more poignant when you discover that it’s based on a mutiny that was covered up by the military. Khaki Town is a thought-provoking novel that will have you rallying against the injustices it exposes.
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The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor
By
Eddie Jaku
Why this book?
I am recommending this memoir for its beauty and kindness, which is even more extraordinary when considering this is Eddie Jaku’s story of being a Holocaust survivor. He tells the reader that "life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It’s up to you." These are powerful words from a man whose life was changed forever when he was beaten, arrested, and taken to a concentration camp. For the next seven years, he witnessed the worst of mankind, the horrors of the death camps, first in Buchenwald and then in Auschwitz, and then the infamous Nazi death march. He lost many friends and family. But Eddie survived with his spirit intact, determined to live his best possible life and be happy. A truly surprising and inspirational book.
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Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War
By
Giles Milton
Why this book?
Giles Milton is an extraordinary historian whose history books read like novels. Wolfram tells the story of a young German soldier who was only nine years old when Hitler came to power, raised by free-thinking parents who were not Nazi supporters, his formative years living under the most brutal regimes in history. This book explores a subject this is often ignored, ordinary German people trying to live normal, decent lives and who suffered the consequences of Hitler’s war. "I’d rather be anywhere else in the world," Wolfram writes to his parents from the fighting in Ukraine in 1942. This is a story of a decent young man caught up in the German war machine, and it is a reminder that people on all sides of the war suffered.
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Dear Mrs. Bird
By
A.J. Pearce
Why this book?
There is so much to enjoy in this original and charming novel! Set in London during the Blitz, Emmy is trying to remain cheerful, despite the nightly bombings and disruption of life as she once knew it. Emmy takes on a job helping Mrs. Bird, the renowned agony aunt for Woman’s Friend magazine. But if there is any hint of Unpleasantness, the letters must be cut up immediately – until Emmy decides to take matters into her own hand. Dear Mrs. Bird captures the language of the time beautifully, no doubt influenced by the 1940s magazines the author has collected. This novel is both funny and very moving, a tale of love and friendship, loss and understanding, and ultimately a book of kindness and compassion.
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The Yellow Bird Sings
By
Jennifer Rosner
Why this book?
The Yellow Bird Sings opens in Poland in 1941, a novel based on a real-life story. Roza and her five-year-old daughter Shira stay in a farmer’s barn, but to survive, they can’t make a sound. So they invent sign language, and they play silent games. But then the day comes when the barn is no longer safe, and Roza must make an impossible choice. The Yellow Bird Sings is an extraordinary, deeply moving novel – one that I couldn’t put down. It explores the trauma of the Holocaust, but it also manages to be a beautiful book that shows the unbreakable bond between parent and child. In the darkest days, their love, hope, and humanity shine through.
