UK Book Club discussion

Looking forward to expanding my horizons once more!

My map so far,

I've decided to keep my summary up here but add notes in later posts so I can keep better track of where I've visited. I've also come to the conclusion that this challenge is going to take a really long time, mainly because I am finding that one book in most countries isn't enough for me and I want to read more and learn more about the history and culture.

1) - America - Uncle Tom's Cabin

- The American Civil War: History in an Hour

2) - Scotland - The Sea Detective

3) -India - The Tea Planter's Daughter

4) -England - Votes for Women

5) - Wales - Fall of Giants

6) - South Africa When the Lion Feeds

7) - Germany After Daybreak: The Liberation of Belsen, 1945

8) - Poland The Violin of Auschwitz

Good travels Vicky, I'm 15 counties in loving it and have definitely expanded my reading and cleared some of a huge pile of books I've not read, although ended up getting more! You'll definitely enjoy it.

Have fun Vicky. I'm making slow progress on my travels but finding it a great way to expand the variety of books I pick up. It is too easy to get stuck in the UK/US rut!

Jennifer wrote: "Have fun Vicky. I'm making slow progress on my travels but finding it a great way to expand the variety of books I pick up. It is too easy to get stuck in the UK/US rut!"

That is very true Jennifer! I like expanding my horizons. Love the genre challenge for that reason and also like the fact that there are no time limits and no specific reads. It just encourages me to read more and helps with the indecision of what to read next. I read it last year so can't include it unfortunately but I would highly recommend The Kite Runner which would cover Afghanistan

3) India - I've decided to use The Tea Planter's Daughter for India. It is set in both India and Northumberland but the scene is set in India and I feel the key characters are all defined by India.

Andrew wrote: "Good travels Vicky, I'm 15 counties in loving it and have definitely expanded my reading and cleared some of a huge pile of books I've not read, although ended up getting more! You'll definitely en..."

I will check out your thread for inspiration,

Enjoy the trip Vicky......if you sign up to follow the discussion on each individual's thread, you get an e-mail alerting you of a new post. This is where I get some ideas from. Feel free to browse my thread.....I completed the 80 at the end of December but will be setting off again shortly to Iran I think.

4) England - Votes for Women

I read history at university and have somewhat neglected it since graduation as I have been distracted by so many other things. However, I am currently reading Fall of Giants which is set during the period of the First World War, this has renewed my interest in history to a point where I want more detail to fill in the story by Ken Follet. 2 of the characters in the book are suffragists and so I thought I would combine a little historical reading with the round the world challenge. I'm glad I did.

5) Wales- I decided to put Fall of Giants under Wales but it could also count for Russia or England and lots of it was also set in America, Germany and France.

This one has inspired me to learn more about the period of the First World War and how the various countries were affected

So many good novels about WW1 - by Pat Barker, by Sebastian Faulks, by John Boyne, by Sebastian Barry or even the war poets like Wilfred Owen - .

There's also by Erich Maria Remarque, by Ernst Jünger, by Henri Barbusse and by David Jones just a few I've found doing the 1001 books.

Well that's Vicky sorted for a few weeks then.

Thanks Ian and Deane, a few to put on my TBR list there then!!

7) Germany - After Daybreak: The Liberation of Belsen, 1945

For me this was a fascinating book. I am the daughter of a retired British army officer and grew up in Germany. I went to school in the camp that is now called Hohne, but was once the panzer training school. I have been to Belsen more times than I can count but have to say that, as is the case with some of those mentioned in the book, I did not have the 'emotional intelligence' to fully comprehend what happened. Despite studying Nazi Germany to degree level I have never, until now really looked into Belsen and this book has put a lot in to context for me.

All told a very insightful book.

Went to Dachau about 30 years ago and that was incredibly moving and that place wasn't even a death camp like Belsen. I don't think many people can fully get to grips with the murderous inhumanity of the industrial scale killing of the innocent. Try by Martin Gilbert.....my review gives a flavour of it: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

Ian wrote: "Went to Dachau about 30 years ago and that was incredibly moving and that place wasn't even a death camp like Belsen. I don't think many people can fully get to grips with the murderous inhumanity ..."

Thanks Ian, another one added to my TBR list :-)

Belsen wasn't a death camp either, believe it or not. Dachau was originally set up as an extermination camp but for reasons I do not remember the kilns were never used so it was a concentration camp in the same vein as Belsen.

The horror of Belsen is perhaps worse for us in Britain for a number of reasons; Anne frank and her sister died there, making it more high profile, and it is the camp liberated by the British so was prevalent in our national media, more graphically so than any of the other camps, even Auschwitz which was an extermination camp. Also, when the Germans knew they were fighting a losing battle on the eastern front they started moving prisoners from the eastern camps in to Belsen, trying to cover their tracks. For that reason there were so many prisoners who had been forced into the camp via death marches, the camp was totally overwhelmed, disease and starvation took over and the German's lost control. The sheer number of deaths is unimaginable and the odd thing about the place now all these years on is the complete lack of life. You don't hear birds singing or anything, it's horrid.

Anyway, hope I haven't taught you how to suck eggs there, I'm a bit of- holocaust fanatic, if that's appropriate?!

Always wondered why Belsen was the most infamous when I was at school.

Vicky. Your description from your knowledge from your father is compelling. which book have you read do you recommend?
have to say this discussion what book clubs what all about

Robert wrote: "Vicky. Your description from your knowledge from your father is compelling. which book have you read do you recommend?
have to say this discussion what book clubs what all about"

Hi Robert, well I would definitely recommend the book listed above about Belsen. As for others I am ashamed to say I can't remember any off the top of my head. Most of my reading was done at school and university which was a long time ago now and much of what I know comes from museums and living in Germany for 16 years.

I'm off work at the moment and have been trying to use my time wisely and intend to read more about nazi germany so will share with you when I find something good. Feel free to pick my brain, nazi Germany fascinates me and I love talking about it.

I went through a stage when I was younger of reading a lot of eye witness accounts and much of it stayed with me, particularly this one: A Cat Called Adolf which talks about life after the camps, I was lucky enough to meet Trude Levi the author and was totally entranced by her.

Primo Levi is another author and survivor I would also recommend, thinking about it.

P.S useless piece of information but these are the parts of history I love the most; not long after the allies arrived in Belsen they realised that one of the problems they were facing was that few of the prisoners recognised themselves as human beings anymore. They had reached the depths of despair and had to do, in some cases, terrible things just to stay alive. Some couldn't even remember their own names. In the midst of everything somebody thought they would order some lipstick, boxes of it. The result was many ladies with no decent clothes, starving but with bright red lips and even smiles. The lipstick reminded them, men and women, that they were human beings and they had once taken pride in themselves and it gave many their fight back. What was originally seen as a stupid idea, turned out to be pure genius I think!

Vicky. Just ordered a cat called Adolf. looks type book I would really like. May also get Hungary as country from it.

Really interesting discussion Vicky, I went to dachau in 80's on an inter rail and felt numbed to be confronted by such evil, It left me feeling very empty rather than distraught. I recently read Primo Levi 'if not now ,when' which got me Poland on world travel, I was struck by how resistant this group of Jewish men and women were and how desperate for life , it perhaps explains somewhat the strong sense of importance re Israel. I will prob now read 'If this is a man' which is Levi's book about Auschwitz although I have The periodic table sat in my TBR pile. I suppose Boy in the striped pyjamas is quite a good easy view on the innocence of children at the time. The Gilbert book The Holicaust Ian referenced is astonishing although from memory extremely hard to read emotionally. This was about my 3rd attempt at this post somehow words don't really do justice sometimes to feelings. Anyway interesting.

byWilliam L. Shirer is still I think the essential one history wise......bit dated in places, as written in 1960 and we know more now, but still compelling. Levi's is really good.

Ian wrote: " byWilliam L. Shirer is still I think the essential one history wise......bit dated in places, as written in 1960 a..."

Thank you Ian, Shirer was one of the main texts we used for my A levels. There was another one too and I can't remember his name for the life of me. I blame baby brain!

Andrew wrote: "Really interesting discussion Vicky, I went to dachau in 80's on an inter rail and felt numbed to be confronted by such evil, It left me feeling very empty rather than distraught. I recently read P..."

Dachau is very haunting, I think more so because there are things to see which makes it all the more real. Belson was all raised to the ground so there isn't anything there to actually help you contextualise.

I'd forgotten about

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I managed to read that before the film was released. A friend gave it to me and refused to tell me what it was about as he said i would spoil it. I think that Meant it had more impact as I really wasn't expecting the story to go in the direction It did.

Robert wrote: "Vicky. Just ordered a cat called Adolf. looks type book I would really like. May also get Hungary as country from it."

I would b really interested to hear what you think when you've read it. I migh have to read it again

I have not read Boy in Stripped Pajamas but saw film and In my opinion better than Shindlers list. think said this before in site.

I didn't like the film I have to say. But then it's always the way when you read the book first. The book actually mad me feel physically sick when I realised what was coming. Always good if it makes you think, whatever medium though.

Robert wrote: "I have not read Boy in Stripped Pajamas but saw film and In my opinion better than Shindlers list. think said this before in site."

Seriously controversial there young Bob. Schindlers was a harrowing but genuinely stunning film, perhaps Speilberg's greatest cinematic achievement out of many contenders, but I found the end of the film Boy etc wholly unbelievable and the production values of the final concentration camp scenes like something out of Neighbours. Not read the book but it was aimed at the older kids/YA market, so I presume it might work better in print.......discuss lol.

Ian wrote: "Robert wrote: "I have not read Boy in Stripped Pajamas but saw film and In my opinion better than Shindlers list. think said this before in site."

Seriously controversial there young Bob. Schindle..."

I found the book to be very clever. It was written from the perspective of a nine year old who doesn't understand what is going on around him. When I read it I didn't realise what was going on initially, he misunderstood words and meanings and only heard parts of conversations and i thought this was dealt with well in the book. This just doesn't come across in the film. The style in which it was written meant, for me at least that when you got towards the end it wasn't quite as far fetched as it was in the film. It then got you thinking about the irony of what his father faced.

The problem with the book, I think, is that it has lost the shock value now that it is both popular and a film. For me, the fact that it was so difficult to put down was largely because I was discovering what was going on at the same time as Bruno.

6) South Africa When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur A. Smith

I've just finished the one an loved it. I totally forgot how much I love Wilbur Smith and will be reading all of his novels at some point I'm sure!

8) - Poland - I'm going to include The Violin of Auschwitz as my first book for Poland, but I think I would like to read something else from Poland too. Although clearly the book is set in Poland, because of the subject matter it really says more about the culture of the Nazi's than it does about Polish culture.

It was an easy, quick read but not the most memorable book I have ever read.

I have just finished A Cat Called Adolf. I must say did not warm to her as a person. Even before war there were parts read into it that felt she may have been difficult person. example when grandmother fell and she laughed. Then just from that family thought she spiteful child. She also said about hardships after war but my mother still well and had more hardship from her memories. given chance of new start in four different countries!!

Robert wrote: "I have just finished A Cat Called Adolf. I must say did not warm to her as a person. Even before war there were parts read into it that felt she may have been difficult person. example when grandmo..."

I think I may now have to read it again as maybe I have a bit a rose tinted view of the book based on meeting her.....

Will post my copy to you if you like.