Life During Wartime

Dream When You're Feeling Blue Elizabeth Berg

After sending their men off to fight in the war, sisters Kitty and Louise Heaney join their flirtatious younger sister, Tish, in writing letters to servicemen overseas.

The Wedding Officer Anthony Capella

In occupied Naples, British officer James Gould suffers from a limited menu of fried Spam fritters until a beautiful country girl joins the officers' staff as a cook.

The Children's War Monique Charlesworth

The disintegrating world of Europe in the midst of World War II is seen through the eyes of two youngsters, Ilse, a half-Jewish girl sent out of Germany by her mother to find refuge from the Nazis, and Nicolai, a young boy in Germany who finds refuge from his involvement with the Hitler Youth in his growing attachment to his nurse, Ilse's mother.

The Welsh Girl Peter Ho Davies

In Northern Wales, Esther dreams of escaping her provincial life. Karsten, a German POW humiliated by his surrender, dreams of escaping his prison. Honor, patriotism, and love collide in this troubling novel.

The End of the Affair Graham Greene

After a man is almost killed in a bombing raid, the married woman with whom he has been having an affair breaks away from him.

A Bell for Adano John Hersey

An Italian-American soldier tries to rebuild a small Italian village after it is liberated by the Allies. A Bell for Adano won the Pulitzer Prize in 1945.

Salamander J. Robert Janes

The day before Christmas in 1942, Chief Inspector Jean-Louis St-Cyr and Inspector Hermann Kohler arrive in Lyon to investigate a movie house fire.

Consequences Penelope Lively

This multigenerational tale of love and loss starts with Molly in WWII-era London, ends with her granddaughter, back in 1940s London.

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel Louise Murphy

A retelling of the classic fairy tale, set in Nazi-occupied Poland, follows two Jewish children, left by their father and stepmother to seek refuge in a dense forest, as they wander the woods until being taken in by Magda, an eccentric old woman.

The Winds of War Herman Wouk

Pug Henry and his family prepare for World War II as he progresses toward his own command and interaction with Franklin Roosevelt and Hitler. The sequel is War and Remembrance.