From Fiction to History: Book Recommendations ('In the Shadow of Blackbirds')

Fiction: In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

 

When 16-year old Mary Shelley Black is sent to live with her aunt after her father is imprisoned for refusing to fight in the war, she finds once familiar streets and people forever changed. The war and the influenza epidemic have cast a black shroud over every aspect of life, and people increasingly turn to the supernatural in their bleakest moments.  Mary agrees to sit for a "spirit photograph" for an old friend who proclaims he can contact the dead, though the science-minded Mary doesn't take much stock in the otherworldly. But when the ghost of a soldier begins to visit her, Mary is forced to reconsider her personal views--and find a way to ease his restless spirit.

History: Faces of the Living Dead: The Belief in Spirit Photography by Martyn Jolly

In 'Faces of the Living Dead,' Martyn Jolly takes a look at the development and practice of spirit photography from its earliest forms in the 1870s through the 1930s, when the practice finally fell out of favor. In addition to exploring the 'whys' behind people's desire to belief in photographs of their loved one's spirits, Jolly goes into detail about how photographers used various tricks and techniques to create their unique images.

History: The Great Influenza, The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed three to five percent of the world's population in just over one year and affected just about every corner of the globe. The pandemic is considered to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history and is notable not just for the sheer number of deaths and infections, but for the fact that young, healthy adults were more likely to succumb to the disease than children or the elderly. The Great Influenza by John M. Barry is an extensive, comprehensive look at how the pandemic began, why it was able to spread so far and fast, and what we can learn from the '1918 flu' in preparation for future pandemics.

Quick Picks: Three New/Upcoming Chinese History Books

Time for some quick picks! Here are three new or upcoming Chinese history books that have caught my eye:

Runaway Wives, Urban Crimes, and Survival Tactics in Wartime Beijing, 1937-1949 by Zhao Ma [Harvard University Asia Center, September 2015]


Women living in wartime Beijing faced many challenges, including threats from the Japanese occupational forces, poverty from political and social upheaval, and even civil war. 'Runaway Wives' uncovers the ways that women used underground networks and even criminal activity to keep themselves and their families alive.

Garden of Perfect Brightness: The Lost and Most Splendid Imperial Garden in China by Guo Daiheng [Shanghai Press, April 2016]

A look at the Old Summer Palace, built in 1707 and described as the "garden of all gardens"; the palace and its gardens, once heralded as the most beautiful in the world, were destroyed and looted by the British-French allied army in 1860.

City of Marvel and Transformation: Chang'an and Narratives of Experience in Tang Dynasty China by Linda Rui Feng [University of Hawaii Press, August 2015]

Chang'an (present day Xi'an) was the imperial capital of China during the Tang Dynasty; during its heyday, Chang'an was a thriving cultural center that inspired developments in technological, social, scientific and artistic circles. 'City of Marvel and Transformation' puts a special focus on the writings of educated men who came to the city seeking to take the civil service examinations.

From Fiction to History: Book Recommendations ('Revolution is Not a Dinner Party')

I love historical fiction. Historical fiction I read in elementary school (willingly or not!) played a large part in encouraging me to become interested in actual history, and even today I find myself picking up non-fiction books to find out more about the real events and history behind some of my favorite fiction novels! In the same vein, I've decided to start a series of posts recommending some non-fiction reads based on historical fiction favorites. I was checking over my Goodreads 2015 Challenge earlier today and thought that the historical fiction I've read this year would be an excellent place to start.

Fiction: Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine

Ling, the central character of Revolution is Not a Dinner Party, is only 9 years old when the world around her begins to crumble due to the increasingly heightened policies under the Chinese Cultural Revolution; her parents, two wealthy surgeons who have provided their daughter with a comfortable life and education, find themselves under increasing suspicion and ultimately punishment for their perceived anti-revolutionary lifestyle and beliefs. Ling, too, is increasingly ostracized for being "bourgeois"--for having long hair, new clothes, and a comfortable life. The events in Revolution is Not a Dinner Party were drawn from Compestine's own experiences as a young girl in Wuhan.

History:  Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

Life and Death in Shanghai is a deeply personal and detailed account of one woman's long, terrible imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution. Cheng's life made her the perfect target: she was the widow of an official of the last regime, formally educated in London, employed at Shell Oil, and enjoyed a comfortable, wealthy lifestyle. Cheng's imprisonment began after she refused to admit that any of this made her an enemy of China, and what followed were 6 years of horror--and many more years of seeking justice.

History: Blood Red Sunset: A Memoir of the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ma Bo 

As a Red Guard, Ma Bo did not hesitate to do the work that Mao's government demanded of its soldiers: ransacking homes for anything that went against the party's guidelines, beating suspected anti-communists in order to make them confess, and even participating in . But when Ma Bo made a careless comment about a party leader, he found himself on the other side--imprisoned for eight years while enduring severe beatings, physical torture and psychological abuse. Blood Red Sunset is Ma Bo's memoir of those terrible years.

WWII Historical Fiction from Gudrun Pausewang

I read a lot of WWII historical fiction aimed at teenagers and middle-grade readers and through the years I've noticed an interesting trend; namely that many HF books set in this era written by European authors tend to be more realistic, dark and even bleak, while many books written by American authors tend to shy away from some of the grittier details and usually end with some kind of hopeful note or message. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but as a general trend I think it holds true.

Out of all the European authors to pen books set in WWII for younger readers, Gudrun Pausewang is my favorite. Her books do not shy away from realistic, even shocking, details nor do they gloss over the terrible circumstances experienced by the characters in her stories. The following three books are, as far as I am aware, the only three of her WWII-era novels which have been translated into English.

I highly recommend all of them for readers interested in WWII historical fiction, although I do think that most younger readers should be guided through the books (particularly The Final Journey) with an adult due to the subject matter. Pausewang does not sugarcoat, and the books can be difficult to get through--and difficult to forget once you've read them. But that is precisely why I consider her books some of the best WWII historical fiction out there, whether you're 13 or 93.

Dark Hours by Gudrun Pausewang

 Dark Hours is set in the dying days of WWII Germany and follows a young teenager named Gisel who is fleeing the city with her two younger siblings, including an infant, along with her pregnant mother. Gisel and her brothers are separated when their mother goes into labor and they must attempt to travel to the countryside on their own. They are at a train station when an air raid siren goes off, and find themselves trapped in the air raid shelter bathroom, unable to leave because of rubble blocking the way. But they are not alone: an injured soldier is trapped in the men's bathroom on the other side of the wall, and as the hours tick by, Gisel, her brothers, and the soldier must do all they can to survive. As Gisel fights to keep herself--and her siblings--alive, she must confront the realities of the war, the Nazi Regime that has crumbled away, and her own hopes for the future.

Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang

Traitor begins in 1944 with a young teenager named Anna returning to visit her family in the small village of Stiegnitz, Mysterious tracks in the snow lead her to her family's barn, where she discovers an escaped Russian prisoner-of-war who is starving, ill and helpless. Anna is faced with an impossible decision: If she turns him in to the police, he will be killed. If she does nothing, he may be found and her family could be marked for not turning him in. She ultimately decides to hide the man, named Maxim, and care for him, even though it means her own life is forfeit if she were to ever be discovered. As the months of secrecy drag on, Anna becomes weighed down by the knowledge that each step she takes to save Maxim brings them both closer to discovery.

 

The Final Journey by Gudrun Pausewang

The Final Journey opens with an 11-year old girl named Alice being forced into a cattle car with her doting grandfather and almost 50 other people. Alice does not know where she's going, nor why they have been forced onto the car, although her grandfather attempts to placate her with answers that she knows aren't quite right. As the journey on the train continues, Alice and the other men, women and children forced into the car must deal with the mundane details of human life in an extraordinary setting: basic bathroom functions become a fiercely debated topic, a pregnant woman goes into labor and must give birth without any real medical care, and food and water become scarce and violently defended resources. Alice, who has been kept naive to the real circumstances of her parent's disappearance weeks earlier, begins to learn the secrets of life--including her own life--as she takes what will be her final journey.