2 New Books about Life after WWII

by Susan Roberts

There are so many WWII era books that it always amazes when someone writes a book from a perspective that I haven't read before.  I recently read two new books that look at WWII in the years following the war.  A Quiet Genocide takes place in Amsterdam and is about the after-effect of the war on a family.  The Lonely Tree takes place as the Jewish people attempt to establish the country of Israel after the war.

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A Quiet Genocide by Glenn Bryant 

August 2018; Amsterdam Publishers
978-9492371829; ebook, print (190 pages)
thriller

I read a lot of WWII fiction and this book joined my shelf of favorites. A Quiet Genocide takes place in the 1950s in Germany and is about the after effect of the war as well as flashbacks to the war years. There are still people in Germany who are part of the National Socialist party and former Nazis who are unhappy with the changes in their country since the end of the war.

The main character is Jozef. He grows up in a fairly happy household with two parents. A friend of his father's, Michael, visits once a week to talk politics and drink with his dad. The day before Jozef goes away to university, his parents tell him that he is adopted which makes him question his entire life. While at the university he is thirsty for knowledge and learns more about WWII and eventually about the way that the Nazis euthanized people who were handicapped - both mentally and physically. He also tries to find out about his birth parents which further unsettles his life.

This novel had a great story but was also written to teach the reader about Germany - before, during and after WWII. Even though I read a lot of fiction from this era, I learned several items that I'd never known before which to me is the sign of a great work of historical fiction.

An interesting fact - this book was published by Amsterdam Publishing that was founded in 2012. I read this on their website and plan to look into some of their other books:

Amsterdam Publishers is specialized in Holocaust Memoirs & WW2 historical fiction.

Holocaust survivor stories need to be kept alive. 

Every year survivors with unique testimonies are passing away.

Especially today, these accounts seem more important than ever.

Buy A Quiet Genocide at Amazon

The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis

June 2018;  ebook (420 pages); middle eastern

This was a well researched historical fiction novel about creating a Jewish State out of the chaos of British Mandate Palestine after WWII. Not only did the Jewish people have to deal with poor land for farming and lack of water for crops, but they also had to deal with the Arabs who didn't want them there and they had little help from the English government who controlled the area. There was frequent bloodshed and war during the time period of this book from 1946 until the 6 Day War in 1967.

Tonia, the main character is a young girl of 15 when the novel begins. Her father is determined to move the family to a kibbutz near Jerusalem and make farmland out of the desert. Life on the kibbutz is very difficult and Tonia is not happy with the move - she wants to go to school and have an easier life and is not as idealistic about creating the Jewish nation as the rest of her family. Her dream is to go to America where she knows that life will be easier. At the kibbutz, she meets Amos and though she is attracted to him she knows that they don't have a future together because she will not give up her dream of going to America.

This is a wonderful, well-written novel that will teach readers about the beginning of the current problems in the middle east. It's a novel about war and peace, family and friends but mostly it's about love - love of family, love of friends and love of country.

Buy The Lonely Tree at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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