Rilla of Ingleside

Rilla of Ingleside: Anne of Green Gables Series #8

In this novel, Anne is the mother. Most of the action revolves around her children. It is the time of World War I. Patriotism stirs in that part of Canada. People want to go help the British cause. However, things in the war are not going so well. They do wish the Americans would also join in. There are some references to American politics at the time. At home, one girl ends up watching a "war baby". His father is fighting the war, while the mother has dies. This is a significant sublot, that comes to a nice conclusion as he gets an inheritance from an old lady that they had met once. People back home were also interested in coupling, with some weddings made right before they go off. The novel provides a good exploration of what life was like when the Great War was going on.

Lines of Courage

Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The book starts with a Jewish family in Austria-Hungary. They see the events of the assassination of the archduke and the outbreak of the war. In the book it appears as a series of unfortunate events. The car ended up inadvertently back in a dangerous place. Then some warmongers helped encourage the start of war, in spite of the desire for peace. For the characters, the city they are in is one of the first to fall to Russians. They had tried to leave, but were not able to make it on time.

The book is told from the perspective of various parties from Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. This puts a human touch on the war. There were many struggles going on with the different people involved. There were also some interactions among the people. The book seems to have a bit of "historical revisionism". The atrocities of the Communists in Russia and Nazis in Germany are heavily foreshadowed. 

The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931

Deluge describes how the events of World War I ushered in a massive change in the world order and a dominance of the United States. Some of the early sections offer a strong condemnation of US policy towards "minor" players in the war effort. Some small policy shifts in American policy may have led to massively different outcomes in Russia and China which would have impacted events in World War 2 and the cold war.
The book is fairly harsh on president Wilson. He seemed to be too idealistic, yet patronizing. It seems a lot of the issues of the time rose from people thinking they new what was best for other people. Many of the various revolutions revolved around charismatic elite claiming they spoke for the peasants. It seems to be a similar problem we have today. Leaders get the "masses" to side with them, but their solutions are just crafted to "look good" to the masses. Often they benefit the "elite" who know their way around the restrictions.
The interwar period was also significantly impacted by debt payment. It seemed that even back then, the bankers were able to extract the needed concessions from the countries involved. Reparations were only a small part of the system of transfer of payments, with payments to allies often being more significant. There was also little attention given to those outside of western Europe. How would things be different today if a few small changes were made in the late 1910s?

Leviathan

It took me a while to understand what was going on in Leviathan. It sounded like a World War I novel. Were walkers and airships real things? Wait, they are creatures created by "Darwinists". There is obviously some science fiction involved. And finally once it is a third of the way through, I'm finally starting to get the characters and understand what is going on.

The story takes place at the dawn of World War I. One main character is a boy who is the son of the "guy with the funny hat" whose assassination started the great war. He gets to pilot a "walker" to a safe house on a glacier where he discovers that he is next in line to rule the empire. The other lead is a girl who is disguised as a boy to join the British military and work on a living "airship". The end up meeting and help each other out.

Once I realized what was going on, I liked it. The history is a million miles removed from the actual "real" history. However, it just took a few minor turns to get there. The story isn't much. However, the setting and the characters make up for it. We'll see if the next few books in the series start to focus more on plot.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Near the end of the novel, the narrator questions why they are fighting the war. He has no beef with the other side. He comes to the conclusion that the Kaiser is fighting it because all leaders have to have a big war under their belts to make it in to the history books.

This realization was a far cry from his initial enthusiasm. On the outset, he was driven by patriotic zeal to go join the army. Once there, he realized it was not all it was cracked up to be. (This reminds me of people who have been eager to enlist in the US military to "fight the terrorists", but then find that things are not so glorious [or even as cut and dry] once they get there.)

The novel provides plenty of portrayal of the fighting and the dangers in trench warfare. There is no glory in the war being fought. There are some minor adventures (like sneaking across a river or pulling pranks on a mean leader), however in these have a somewhat depressing air in the context of the war.

The trip home expresses some of this contrast. The people at home are eager to hear the adventures at the front. They also want to ensure people are properly cared for, even as they die. The soldier, however, does not think of them as "adventures", and has grown to have a 'distant' view of people. (At times he feels "attached" to a person, but then can brush it aside.)

War in this novel is depressingly hard work that abuses both physically and mentally. It is no wonder it was banned by Nazi Germany.