15 amazing books about the great Patriotic war

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Novels about the exploits of ordinary people and the memories of survivors of the siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Stalingrad.

1. "Not on the lists", Boris Vasiliev

The author of one of the most famous works about the Great Patriotic War "The Dawns Here Are Quiet …" Boris Vasiliev voluntarily went to the front when he was only 17 years old. After finishing his military career in 1954, he became a writer and devoted his work to the war.

“Not on the lists” - the story of those whose feat remained in the memory, but whose names have been lost. About soldiers who went into battle, not counting on glory. The action takes place in 1941 in Brest, a city that was one of the first to take the enemy's blow.

2. "In the trenches of Stalingrad", Viktor Nekrasov

The author went through almost the entire war, and was only sent home after being wounded in early 1945. He participated in the Battle of Stalingrad and was one of the first to write a book about it.

The story "In the trenches of Stalingrad" was published in 1946 and amazed readers with its honesty. The main character enters the city shortly before the Germans attack and manages to catch the peaceful life of people who do not even suspect that they will soon have to experience.

3. "Seventh Symphony", Tamara Tsinberg

The writer's father was a renowned publicist and connoisseur of Jewish literature. In their family, books were read, therefore, when Tamara had the opportunity to leave the besieged Leningrad, she did not use it, since she could not leave the family archive. It is to this difficult and terrible period that the story "The Seventh Symphony" is dedicated.

The main character, a teenage girl, rescues a newborn, abandoned by her mother. Zinberg put into the image of the girl what she saw the city - steadfast, brave and unbroken.

4. "Young Guard", Alexander Fadeev

The book is written based on real events in the city of Krasnodon. Alexander Fadeev restored the history of the underground organization "Young Guard", which resisted the German invaders. It included very young guys who fought to the end, but the enemy turned out to be stronger. Fadeev carefully worked with documents and interviewed residents of the city, before creating a work about the heroic feat of adolescents, so that he would not go unnoticed.

5. "The Story of a Real Man", Boris Polevoy

Boris Polevoy worked as a correspondent during the Great Patriotic War and even took a pseudonym reflecting this period of his life. But the author went down in history thanks to his fictional prose. It covers events witnessed by the writer.

"The Story of a Real Man" tells about the brave and strong-willed pilot Alexei Meresiev. Despite the fact that he lost both legs, the hero finds the strength to continue the fight not only for his life, but also against the fascist enemy.

6. "The fate of man", Mikhail Sholokhov

With the outbreak of war, the life of the protagonist completely changes. He leaves work and family and goes to the front. Soon he was taken prisoner by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. Only by a miracle does the military man manage to survive and escape. But the hardships follow him even after returning home.

The book is based on the fate of a real person whom Sholokhov met. The writer was so imbued with history that he decided to devote his work to it.

7. "War has no woman's face", Svetlana Aleksievich

Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksievich collected in her book the stories of girls and women who went through the war. They went to the front, strengthened the rear, fought the enemy and endured inhuman conditions.

The book reflects one simple thought: there is nothing natural about war. All around is pain, fear, tears and dirt. And in the minds of people there is only one hope and a dream - to survive.

eight."Cursed and Killed", Victor Astafiev

The writer volunteered for the front when he was only 18 years old. The experience convinced Astafyev that war is a crime against everything reasonable that is on earth.

In the novel Cursed and Killed, the author shows the path of young, frightened conscripts who are to become brave and strong soldiers. Only besides the fascists, there are other enemies in their lives - brutal commanders, hunger, fear and disease.

9. "The Living and the Dead", Konstantin Simonov

Simonov went to the front as a correspondent for the newspaper "Battle Banner", became a participant in the offensive of the Red Army and reached Berlin. During the war, the author kept a diary, which then formed the basis of the trilogy "The Living and the Dead".

The first part of the cycle of the same name shows the very beginning of the war through the eyes of a direct participant. Therefore, there is a place for both heroism and simple human feelings - love, friendship and fear.

10. "Hot Snow", Yuri Bondarev

The enemies have already approached Stalingrad, and reinforcements are hurrying to them. Two artillery platoons will have to prevent them from reaching the city. The soldiers must repulse hundreds of German tanks, because the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad depends on the result of this confrontation.

Against the background of the battle, Bondarev shows the relationship between very different people who were brought together by the war. Fight and belief in victory unite them despite their differences.

11. "Moment of Truth", Vladimir Bogomolov

The novel also has other titles, for example "In August forty-fourth …". This is one of the most famous works about the Great Patriotic War. It was translated into dozens of languages, and the total circulation exceeded a million copies.

On the territory of the Byelorussian SSR, already liberated from the enemy, German spies are located, obtaining valuable information. The operational-search group SMERSH is to find and neutralize the agents. The book shows not only battles and military operations, but also the subtle analytical work of counterintelligence officers.

12. "The Blockade Book", Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin

Ales Adamovich fought as part of a partisan detachment. Daniil Granin was in the tank forces. Writers united to tell the story of besieged Leningrad.

"Book of Siege" is primarily a story of incredible heroism, but not what is shown in films about invulnerable warriors. Residents performed a feat every day by surviving and not surrendering, defending their city. They poured out their weary souls in diaries and oral retellings. The authors have collected these stories and preserved the memory of the people who suffered severe trials of war, hunger and death.

The 2017 edition includes archival photographs of the blockade years.

13. "Sotnikov", Vasil Bykov

Vasil Bykov himself took part in the battles and wrote many stories about them. Sotnikov is notable for the fact that the author blurs the line between black and white, good and evil. Bykov shows that in war it is not so easy to separate friend from enemy. Anyone who was at the same time with the hero yesterday may turn out to be his executioner today.

Two soldiers are captured, but each has its own path. Soon the life of one is in the hands of another. The story focuses on an internal choice, which, against the background of the war, develops into pangs of conscience and attempts, not always successful, to preserve dignity.

14. "Life and Fate", Vasily Grossman

The book "Life and Fate" was published only 28 years after its creation. In 1961, the manuscript was confiscated and banned from publishing with the wording “anti-Soviet”. In this novel, Grossman draws parallels between the ideologies of Germany and the USSR. But in fact, the writer is looking for the origins of evil, which led to a terrible and merciless war.

In the center of the plot is the Shaposhnikov family and their acquaintances, whose fates are ornately intertwined. The Battle of Stalingrad, bombing and shelling rush into their lives. But many manage to preserve humanity and kindness, for example, Soviet and German soldiers, who in the same trench flee from bullets.

15."Son of the Regiment", Valentin Kataev

In the story, Kataev raises the terrible topic of children during the war. The book was written in 1944, when there was still a whole year before Victory Day.

The main character, Vanya Solntsev, lost his entire family: the Germans killed his parents, and hunger took the lives of his grandmother and sister. But the boy does not want to sit in the rear, he wants to serve the Motherland. A twelve-year-old orphan becomes a soldier. The story is sometimes bitter and sad, but not devoid of humor and kindness. This reflects the duality of the hero's nature.