A European Referendum Special…
It is a real possibility that in 48 hours I will no longer be politically European. As I watched the final big televised debate last night, I began to relieve the tedium by seeing if I could find a book that I had reviewed for each of the 28 countries in the European Union. I failed with a few and had to stretch a bit for a few more, but here goes…
Austria – Vienna Nocturne
Belgium – 1914 Goodbye to All That
– about the impact of WW1 & 2
Bulgaria – The War that Ended Peace
– a history book about WW1
Croatia – The Skeleton Road
– war in Croatia
Republic of Cyprus – don’t have a book for this
Czech Republic – The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
– Jews fleeing the Nazis
Denmark – Redemption
France – An Officer and a Spy
– spying, anti-semitism and war
Germany – The Collini Case
– the aftermath of WW2
Greece – The Honey Trap
– a short story within the OxCrimes collection
Hungary – A Kingdom Far and Clear
– a fantasy based on the Austro- Hungarian Empire,
about the battle between absolute monarchies and dictatorships
Ireland – Nora Webster
– touches on The Troubles in Ireland
Italy – The Murdered Banker
– the author was killed for protesting against Italian fascism
Luxembourg – don’t have a book for this one
Malta – The Maltese Falcon
– a book about Nazi gold
Netherlands – The Night Ferry
Poland – Forest Ghost
– a horror story based on a real-life massacre in Poland in WW2
Portugal – The High Mountains of Portugal
Romania – The Black Church
Spain – The Sun Also Rises
– the aftermath of WW1 on the ‘lost generation’
Sweden – The Voices Beyond
– partly about the terror of life under Stalin
* * * * * * *
I don’t have separate books for the Balkan and Baltic nations within the EU but I feel this one covers them all, since they all spent time under the Stalinist yoke.
Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia
* * * * * * *
And lastly…
United Kingdom – Unfinished Empire
– I guess some people still haven’t realised… it’s finished now.
* * * * * * *
Hmm… so out of 28 countries, 20 of the books relate to European wars of the last century. Though none of the wars took place in countries that were members of the EU at the time.
(See how sneakily I snuck that political point in?)
Wishing peace and prosperity to us all! #Remain
Have a great Wednesday! 😉
