November always means remembrance to me. My family members were not able to talk about their wartime experiences but the authors below take readers right into the conflict of war and lead us to a better understanding of what soldiers and regular civilians went through during the two world wars.
Two Generals by Scott Chantler is the illustrated story of the friendship between two officers and the battles they fought with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. The book is based on the diary of Law Chantler, Jack Chrysler's 1944 letters from France to his wife and the War Diary of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. This is a creative tribute to those who fought for our freedom and a book that can be shared as we remember.
The Sojourn by Alan Cumyn is the moving story of a young Canadian soldier's journey through duty, fear and love. Ramsay Crome, a private with the 7th Canadian Pioneers, has volunteered against his father's wishes. Ramsay is assaulted and granted a 10-day leave to London, where he meets his cousin Margaret, an objector of the war and a woman who affects Ramsay's fate. Their meeting forces him to defend his honour and confront his self doubts and terror about the war. Ramsay is conflicted as he determines that war is an abomination even though he must return to the front.
Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison was written and published in 1930. It is impossible for us to imagine what life must have been like in the trenches. Written in a straightforward and simple way, this Canadian classic, based on the author's experiences, describes the life of a Canadian soldier in the trenches of the First World War. Harrison depicts war in all its brutality, without nobility, love or friendship. If you want to know what war was really like from a soldier's point of view, this makes a strong impression.
Broken Ground by Jack Hodgins takes place on Vancouver Island in a fictional town of homesteading World War One veterans. The difficulties facing families trying to make a life in a tree-stumped landscape is compounded by a forest fire that ravages most of their land and reinforces the memories of war that some members cannot leave behind. The story is told by several of the townspeople and their different perspectives blend to develop a feel for the community in which they live.
Three Day Road is the first novel by Joseph Boyden and is based on his family's stories of Joseph's maternal grandfather as well as an uncle. This is the story of two young Cree men who volunteer for service in WWI - only one of whom returns. The story begins with Niska, a Cree medicine woman who lives in the bush, and the journey she takes with her injured, morphine-addicted nephew Xavier, who is home after the war. As he travels downriver with his aunt, the horrors of trench warfare are told through flashbacks. This Canadian story led me to understand something about our Canadian aboriginal WWI heroes.
Step into Warsaw of the 1930s if you are interested in reading an espionage thriller full of mystery as well as history. The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst takes place in the years leading up to the Second World War and is a novel of espionage about the politics of the time. This story is about the spies involved with the French and German intelligence operations, complete with historical detail, abduction, betrayal and intrigue.
The Second World War is an ambitious book written by historian Antony Beevor. This single-volume history provides an intimate account of the war, covering Hitler's invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 to Aug. 15, 1945. Beevor manages to bring these events to life by providing a comprehensive military history of WWII that combines high strategy and politics but also takes full account of the war's human dimensions.
There are many more books that give us insight and help us learn more about all those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace. Drop by your local library for more suggestions.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published every Wednesday. Susan Clark works at Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam.
