Memorial Day Reads

Our selection of Memorial Day Reads highlights the voices of writers with experience serving in the military or living through conflict. Exploring the concepts of war and peace, these selections expound on the nature of conflict and its impacts on the people affected by it.

God Grew Tired of Us

by John Bul Dau

Publication year 2007

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family

Tags Military & War, Immigration & Refugeeism, History: African , World History, Biography

God Grew Tired of Us, published in 2007, is a Christian memoir that chronicles John Bul Dau’s 1,000-mile journey from his home village of Duk Payuel in Sudan to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. This study guide refers to the 2008 first paperback printing edition.In the Introduction Dau states that although he is just one of thousands of Lost Boys, he wanted to tell his story in hope of using his education and experiences... Read God Grew Tired of Us Summary

Going After Cacciato

by Tim O'Brien

Publication year 1978

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Shame & Pride, Guilt

Tags Military & War, American Literature, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, is a novel about a young soldier’s experiences in the Vietnam War. However, as the New York Times noted in its initial review of the novel upon its publication in 1978, “call[ing] Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby Dick a novel about whales.” The novel does not simply recount the events of the war; it dives into the inner life of its protagonist, Paul... Read Going After Cacciato Summary

Going Solo

by Roald Dahl

Publication year 1986

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Nostalgia, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Globalization, War

Tags Social Science, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement, World War II, Military & War, Action & Adventure

... Read Going Solo Summary

Gone With The Wind

by Margaret Mitchell

Publication year 1936

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Femininity, Perseverance, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Romance, Military & War, American Civil War, Southern Literature, World History

Gone with the Wind (1936) is the only novel by author Margaret Mitchell published during her lifetime. It is an enduring but controversial classic of American literature, and according to one poll, its popularity among American readers is only exceeded by the Bible. Thirty million copies have been sold worldwide.The novel’s tale of the Civil War is told from the perspective of the wealthy planter class that ruled the antebellum South, a class from which... Read Gone With The Wind Summary

Goodbye to All That

by Robert Graves

Publication year 1929

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes War, Mothers

Tags Military & War, World War I, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

English poet and classicist Robert Graves wrote his autobiography, Good-Bye to All That, in 1929, at the age of 34. Graves undertook the writing of his autobiography with the hope of crafting a best-selling book that would support his career as a writer. Good-Bye to All That details Graves’s life from his upper-middle-class childhood in England to his service as a military officer in World War I, and on to his first few years as... Read Goodbye to All That Summary

Goodnight Mister Tom

by Michelle Magorian

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Gratitude, Love, Childhood & Youth, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Community, War, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World War II

Goodnight Mister Tom is a work of historical fiction written by Michelle Magorian and published in 1981. The novel is aimed at an audience of middle grade readers. It tells the story of eight-year-old William Beech, who, at the start of WWII, has to move with his abusive mother from an impoverished suburb of London to the countryside, where they are in the care of an elderly recluse, Thomas Oakley. The novel explores the impact... Read Goodnight Mister Tom Summary

Grant

by Ron Chernow

Publication year 2017

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, US History, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Biography

... Read Grant Summary

Gravity's Rainbow

by Thomas Pynchon

Publication year 1973

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Science & Technology

Tags Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, World War II, Satirical Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, American Literature, Classic Fiction

Gravity’s Rainbow is a 1973 historical satire by American novelist Thomas Pynchon, who is known for complex narratives that are often dense, fragmented, and episodic. The story is set during the last days of World War II as characters search for a mysterious rocket developed by the German military. The novel has been hailed as one of the most important English language works of the 20th century.Pynchon, disinclined to engage with the press or public... Read Gravity's Rainbow Summary

Great and Precious Things

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Disability, Mental Health, Aging, The Past, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Military & War, Contemporary Literature, Dramatic Literature

... Read Great and Precious Things Summary

Greater Love

by Wilfred Owen

Publication year 1918

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, War, Death, Masculinity, Truth & Lies

Tags Lyric Poem, Military & War, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, European History, World War I, British Literature, The Lost Generation

... Read Greater Love Summary

Grenade

by Alan Gratz

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, War, Siblings, Place, Race, Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, World War II, Military & War, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Asian History, US History, Religion & Spirituality, Children`s Literature, World History

... Read Grenade Summary

Ground Zero

by Alan Gratz

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Teamwork, War

Tags 9/11, Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, World History, Action & Adventure

... Read Ground Zero Summary

Gulag

by Anne Applebaum

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Social Class, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags European History, World History, Military & War, Politics & Government, Incarceration, Russian Literature

... Read Gulag Summary

Gunga Din

by Rudyard Kipling

Publication year 1890

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Disability, Masculinity, Race, Death, Colonialism, War, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, Military & War

... Read Gunga Din Summary

Half-Blood Blues

by Esi Edugyan

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music

Tags Music, Arts & Culture, World War II, Military & War, World History, French Literature, Historical Fiction

Published in 2011, Half-Blood Blues is the second book by Esi Edugyan, a black Canadian author. The novel won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2012 and was also shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. As historical fiction, the story examines the lives of a diverse group of jazz musicians during World War II as they balance personal jealousies with the need to help each other amid mounting... Read Half-Blood Blues Summary

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, African Literature, African American Literature, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

Chimamanda Adichie’s second book, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set during the Nigerian Civil War that tragically occurred in her home country during the 1960s. The story masterfully revolves around an intricate web of shifting viewpoints, each of which centers around one of the novel’s five main characters: Ugwu, Odenigbo, Olanna, Kainene, and Richard. All of these characters find themselves affiliated with the Biafran rebels of the war, and this affiliation eventually has consequences... Read Half of a Yellow Sun Summary

Hana's Suitcase

by Karen Levine

Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Justice, War, Love, Family, The Past

Tags Holocaust, World War II, Jewish Literature, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Biography

Originally published in 2002 by Second Story Press, Hana’s Suitcase is a historical text by Karen Levine that weaves together the story of two young children in the Holocaust with the narrative of a Japanese museum curator in the early 21st century. Levine, a radio journalist and producer, first heard about Hana Brady’s suitcase from a news article and subsequently produced a radio show about the story. This launched what would become Hana’s Suitcase and... Read Hana's Suitcase Summary

Held

by Anne Michaels

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Death, Future, The Past, Family, War, Art, Music, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Military & War, World History, Literary Fiction, Historical Nonfiction

... Read Held Summary