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The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.8 (129 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel was recommended to me by an old high school friend. This is definitely not my typical book. I like the fast paced suspense/romance and I tend to stick with those novels. I'm glad that I picked up this novel.

This novel was very interesting. It's a collection of short stories narrated by death. It follow the life of a young German girl during the time of world war 2. It's told in a different way by having "Death" as the narrator.

This was a pretty quick read. It makes you think too. It's one of those novels that will make you think about the depravity of human beings and give you some hope along side of it.

All in all, it was a good novel that deals with World War II.
  
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ClareR (5885 KP) rated Katastrophe in Books

Dec 6, 2022  
Katastrophe
Katastrophe
Graham Hurley | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can’t even begin to describe the storyline of this gripping novel set in the final stages of the Second World War. There is so much going on at what must have been a very chaotic point in the war. Stalingrad has been lost to the Russians, Germany is in retreat, and Werner Nehman has been taken captive. The Russians have decided that he is to take a message to Goebbels.

Katastrophe has a dark, menacing atmosphere - logical, really. This is war.
There are a number of overlapping stories, but I never confused them or the characters - that’s a mark of a good book, I always think.

It’s an excellent blend of fact and fiction, and the huge amounts of research that must have gone into this, results in a book that is both fascinating and hard to read (the torture scenes are pretty gruesome).

Despite the horrors of war, I thoroughly enjoyed this - and it was only after reading it that I discovered it was the seventh in a series. I’d better add them to the teetering tbr, then!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this. Another book I would have otherwise missed out on!
  
Seeking Refuge
Seeking Refuge
Irene Watts | 2017 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not very many stories of Jews during World War II have a happy ending. Being evacuated twice, once from Germany to London on the Kindertransport and then again to Wales after war is declared, Marianne's struggles are visceral. Watching a child go through terrifying separation from her family only to be placed in difficult and lonely situations was heart wrenching. Though it is bittersweet, I was overjoyed by the ending to this beautiful book. Marianne certainly deserved it!
  
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Jesse Malin recommended Paths of Glory (1957) in Movies (curated)

 
Paths of Glory (1957)
Paths of Glory (1957)
1957 | Classics, Drama, War

"Very early Stanley Kubrick, the true hard-core grit of World War I. Down in the trenches with one of my favorite performances by Kirk Douglas. The beautiful blonde woman, who sings away the pain for a bunch of soldiers at the end of the film, would soon after become Mrs. Kubrick."

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Escaping the Holocaust: A True Story
Escaping the Holocaust: A True Story
Julian Padowicz | 2018 | History & Politics, Horror, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Content (2 more)
Good length for young readers
Quick read
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have read several Holocaust novels and each one never fails to give me new insight into that dark period of history. This book was no different. Having very recently read The Book Thief I was curious as to how much I'd like this book since I loved the other, and overall I enjoyed the read. Overall it took me maybe three hours to read the book. It is suggested for 5th-7th graders and I agree that is an appropriate age group despite the content. While it discusses World War 2 and the Holocaust it doesn't have any gory or too intense content that younger readers couldn't enjoy it. The story itself is a narrative of ones boys experience of his time in Poland when World War 2 began. He details him and his mother's journey across Poland and eventually into Hungary. It gives an innocents perspective on the events of war. It's a short read if you are just looking for something quick and entertaining. It would also be a good book to use to introduce your child or any young reader to dark topics such as the Holocaust.
  
A League of Their Own (1992)
A League of Their Own (1992)
1992 | Comedy, Drama, Family
Tom hanks (2 more)
Geena Davis
Madonna
I must have seen this movie so many times and still like it. a movie about a all female baseball team during world war 2 it works as a movie on so many levels the acting the script and surprised me Madonna acting which was good. Overall thumbs up
  
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Richard Gere recommended Bicycle Thieves (1948) in Movies (curated)

 
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
1948 | Drama
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"What else comes to my mind? Bicycle Thieves was always one I loved, too. Again, deeply moving, operatic Italian story. Impossible to see the film and not weep. The simple life of people just trying to get through the day in very hard times. High unemployment after the second world war — a bicycle is the ticket out of unemployment and poverty. That’s a film that also still works. I see it every couple years. I look at that again."

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