The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: War story
Remote Sympathy – Catherine Chidgey
Read for NZ Book Awards An inmate at Buchenwald concentration camp aids the commandant who is trying to save his wife’s life ⫸ “Remote Sympathy tells the stories of several people and families who all have one thing in common: the Buchenwald concentration camp… Continue Reading “Remote Sympathy – Catherine Chidgey”
The Train – Georges Simenon
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Becks On May 10, 1940, as Nazi tanks approach, Marcel Feron abandons his home and, separated from his wife, joins a freight car of refugees hurtling southward ahead of the pursuing invaders. ❍”Marcel, a timid, happy man must abandon his home… Continue Reading “The Train – Georges Simenon”
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Set toward the end of World War II in 1944, on an island off the coast of Italy, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 is a satirical anti-war novel. It features extensive use of black humour, a non-linear structure, surrealism and an… Continue Reading “Catch-22 – Joseph Heller”
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Kurt Vonnegut writes of his own experiences as a World War II prisoner in Slaughterhouse Five, in particular the bombing of Dresden. On February 13, 1945, only months before the end of World War II, the Allies undertook… Continue Reading “Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut”
Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan
READ FOR BOOKERTHON In 1940s France a black cabaret singer disappears. Fifty years on, one of his bandmates, Sid, embarks on a journey to discover Hieronymous’s fate. ✔ “Hiero is African German and a member of a jazz band in pre-war Berlin. The Nazis ban… Continue Reading “Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan”
Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids – Kenzaburo Oe
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids tells of a group of boys from a Japanese reform school who are evacuated to a remote mountain village during wartime. They are forced to cope with hostile villagers, fight a breakout… Continue Reading “Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids – Kenzaburo Oe”
Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy The story of the mass exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion ☁ “Suite Francaise is the first two parts of a planned five part novel about the Nazi invasion of France and the mass exodus… Continue Reading “Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky”
The Glass Room – Simon Mawer
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Based on a real villa in Czechoslovakia, the house in this book is a minimalist masterpiece with a transparent glass room as its centre. Built for Liesel and Viktor Landauer in the 1920s, the house becomes the central character and the… Continue Reading “The Glass Room – Simon Mawer”
We're
currently
reading
The Free-Range Bookclub 
Recent Comments