Library Staff Directory
Posted May 27, 2016
Celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend with some war-themed fictional reads.
Captain John Yossarian is baffled by the amount of strangers in the world that want to kill him. As a bombardier stationed on the Italian island of Pianosa, he only wants to fulfill his military obligations so he can return home. However, Colonel Cathcart, keeps increasing the amount of missions required before one’s service is complete. From there comes “Catch-22,” the double-bind paradoxical situation that one cannot escape. In Yossarian’s case, it’s insane for him to willingly continue in the missions yet if he asks to be relieved from duty, he will be viewed as sane thus having to fly. Funny yet complex, Heller’s black comedy masterpiece is still celebrated today as one of the best novels of all time.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Written with fined-tuned realism, psychological insight, and graphic imagery, Stephen Crane’s classic The Red Badge of Courage follows Henry Fleming, a Union soldier during the midst of the American Civil War. Henry joined the Union Army with beliefs of glory and patriotism, but he quickly experiences the horror, terror, and loss of the battlefield. Cowardice gets the best of Henry and he soon desires to be wounded so he, too, can earn his “red badge of courage.” Inspired by contemporary stories and based off published articles, Crane’s masterpiece is timeless in many ways and is still relevant to readers today.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
After being captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the Germans, Billy Pilgrim, a chaplain’s assistant is carted around Europe before he finds himself in Dresden. He and a few other prisoners of war were brought to a slaughterhouse for labor, however when Dresden is firebombed, Billy, the other prisoners, and guards survive by hiding in a deep cellar. After World War II, Billy finds himself back in Illinois where he is then abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Tralfamadore, exploring the fourth dimension and that of time being present. Told in a non-linear format, Vonnegut’s semi-autobiographical satire is a funny and imaginative view on the tragedies of war.
Share This: