The 52 Book Club: 2024 Challenge discussion

18. Set during a war other than WWI or WWII

Many readers have a strong fascination with settings during the first or second world wars. But for this prompt, we want you to find a book set during a war OTHER than WWI or WWII. (This means avoiding settings from 1914-1918 for World War I, and 1939-1945 for World War II).

Apart from those two time periods, the setting you pick is up to you! You may choose a more recent war that occurred during your lifetime, or one that happened thousands of years ago like the Trojan War. Examples of other wars include: The French Revolution, The Cold War, The Korean War, The American Civil War, War of 1812, The Crusades, etc.

The war may play a pivotal part in the plot with characters who are actively involved in it, or it may be a backdrop for the larger narrative. This prompt works equally well for either fiction or non-fiction reads. It may also be set during a fictional war.


Click here for our Goodreads List of suggestions

The Island of the Sea Women was one of my favorite reads from 2022 and it's set in the Korean War. 100% recommend!

I'm planning on reading First they killed my father about the Cambodian genocide or We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families about the Rwanda genocide.

Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones

Set during the 1988-1998 civil war on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Angela wrote: "Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones

Set during the 1988-1998 civil war on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea"

I LOVED that book.

Alex and Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz
Set during the American Revolution

I was going to read a book on apartheid as this was a time of political warfare but not sure if counts…

Paige wrote: "I was going to read a book on apartheid as this was a time of political warfare but not sure if counts…"

Your challenge, your rules. If you feel it fits the prompt, go for it!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Girl at War by Sara Novic

You Don’t Know What War Is, a 12 year old’s experience in the Ukraine war.

A Long Petal of the Sea - Spanish Civil War (also a book about a refugee)
Peach Blossom Spring - Chinese Civil War
In the Shadow of the Banyan - Cambodian civil war/genocide


I'm reading Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall - set during the Cold War

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

I'm reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

For a great Romantic Era classic, try The Last of the Mohicans, set during The French and Indian War.

Seana wrote: "The Island of the Sea Women was one of my favorite reads from 2022 and it's set in the Korean War. 100% recommend!"I
I loved this book and learned about events that I had no prior knowledge of.

A Christmas Far From Home by Stanley Weintraub. Korean War

Act Of Oblivion by Robert Harris. We had a civil war in the UK too, which is the backdrop of this book

Seana wrote: "The Island of the Sea Women was one of my favorite reads from 2022 and it's set in the Korean War. 100% recommend!"

I agree. This was my first read of 2021 and in the top 5 of favorite books.

It was not the book I originally planned for this prompt, but I read Dancing on Bones by Ross Gordon, a memoir that is set partly during the Rhodesian Bush War (also known as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation), which took place all around the author and his family from 1964 to 1979, and the political aftermath. I won the book in a Goodreads giveaway in December.

Abraham Lincoln's World, by Genevieve Foster

I read The Quiet American by Graham Greene which is Vietnam War based and under 200 pages.

I read Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov for this one. Set in the “grey zone” between Ukraine and Russia after Russia invaded Crimea but before it escalated into the current conflict, it’s a mild-mannered beekeeper’s story about carrying on in a village where there is only him, his bees and his old frenemy from school left following increasing conflict in the surrounding area. Charming yet sad.

I read Walk in My Combat Boots: True stories from America’s Bravest Warriors by James Patterson

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Vietnam War

“Napoleon’s Run” by Jonathan Spencer. First book of a series and ends with Napoleon’s occupation of Malta. If you enjoy the Sharpe series, give this one a shot. Enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next two in the series.

Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer set in the Battle of Waterloo a lot of respected military detail in this fictional story.

Where the Wandering Ends: A Novel of Corfu by Yvette Manessis Corporon! Set in Greece, post WWII at the start of the Greek Civil War. Lush and lyrical and great if you like Ruta Sepetys' approach to underserved history!

I read The Briar King by Greg Keyes, 2 Stars

I am reading Mademoiselle Revolution.

Hell Divers #7: Warriors
By Nicholas Sansbury Smith

I I just finished The Milagro Beanfield War set in New Mexico. Water barons and power brokers vs small time farmers and sheepmen in dirt poor Milagro.

The Girl in Green by Derek B Miller for this one.
Set at the end of Gulf War (1991) and at the end of the Iraqi War (2013) 2.5 stars

I loved the movie!

A Battle of Love and Glory - Reyna Grande (Mexican-American War)

I read "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War that Changed American History" by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger which was about the Barbary Wars

I’m going to read the Island of Sea Women too!

I'm halfway through Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders for this prompt and I have to say I'm flying through it!

Finished Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders and it was wonderful. There's a reason it won the Man Booker prize in 2017.

I read The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters which is set during the 1640s during England's Civil War.
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2023...

The Mountains Sing by Qué Mai Phan Nguyan

I read The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, set in the first Jewish-Roman War (AD 79) -- about the siege and fall of Masada. not exactly cheerful, and I think my least favourite of Hoffman's novels.

I read March it takes place during the civil war and is a companion book to Little Women telling the father's experience in the war, while he was "away" in the original book

Between Two Shores by Jocelyn Green

Lincoln in the Bardo

The Open Arms of the Sea by Jasper Dorgan takes place during the North Yeman Civil War.

I listened to Grant by Ron Chernow. Who wrote the biography of Alexander Hamilton. Grant was over 48 hours snd was filled with details of his life. It was fascinating! Parts of it took place during the Me I am-American and Civil Wars. I learned so much about this general and president and found out how much good he had done with the people and country. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vietnam War memory story A Christmas Memory by Richard Paul Evans is quite an emotional tale. Enjoy.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is AMAZING 😻