Dear Historical Fiction: Stop Romanticising World War I

This is the book that first made me stop and think about how we romanticise war, especially World War I. Rilla of Ingleside is the eighth book in Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series and turns the focus to Rilla, Anne’s youngest child. Rilla watches as her siblings each leave to help the war effort, either as soldiers or nurses. Rilla’s home perspective filters World War I through the experiences of the families ‘left behind’. It’s a slice of everyday life as they manage the news, the rations, the hopes and fears, and so much more. When I first read it, I was grateful for not reading the graphic details of battle, but I was not prepared for the emotional insight given by Montgomery. To date, I still think this is possibly the best in the series and is my top pick for a World War I book that doesn’t hero-worship.

Alfred’s War is a rare book that doesn’t shy from the trauma of war but still keeps it readable for children.  This children’s book tells the fictional story of Alfred, an Indigenous Australian who enlisted and fought in the Australian Army during WWI. It’s a bit strange to know Indigenous Australians could enlist to fight in WWI when Australia’s own racist laws prohibited Indigenous people from receiving military training because only ‘Australians’ of European descent were allowed to. Nevertheless, Alfred is shipped off to Gallipoli until he is injured and returns home. It rises to another level in sharing the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans after the war. Their story is part of ANZAC and WWI history, however, they are not shared as prolifically. This is a book we should read when we are 6 years old, not 46.

WWI was not the first war in history, but it was the first global war with soldiers travelling far from their families. When they returned home, they brought the war home with them. Without any connection to the place or purpose, it was hard for families to understand. This historical YA novel captures a lot of this and neatly wraps it in with an interactive mystery. Natty, the 12-year-old protagonist, meets two young soldiers still suffering from the effects of WWI. Huw cannot forget and Johnny cannot remember. The story is moved by Natty’s empathy and care for her friends, but as the reader, I was moved by Parr’s empathy for families and communities recovering afterwards. All of the propaganda pamphlets talk about travel and bravery, but they never talked about the help needed afterwards.

Full disclosure: I have only read the English version and would love to hear if there are any elements that may have been lost in translation. After growing up with the ‘glory of the ANZACs’ and their stopover in Egypt, I always wondered what impact this had on the Egyptians who lived there. Mahfouz’s work is a masterpiece in capturing the everyday lives, humanity, and the atmosphere of Cairo during World War I. This time period was more than the war; Egypt had its own social issues leading into the 1919 revolution against British rule. We see this through the lens of Al-Sayyid Ahmad and his family. They are not the average family, and they are not even likable. However, they are part of the climate of the time and their story is an essential part of a bigger picture.

Sometimes the only way to understand someone’s life is to walk around in their shoes. Seventeen-year-old Riki suddenly has the opportunity to do exactly that. Riki starts the story hit by a bus and wakes up 100 years earlier in Egypt circa 1915. He’s living through his great-great-grandfather’s experiences in the Maori Contingent of the ANZACs. This is not your standard historical fiction, mostly because Hereaka doesn’t focus on the battles or campaigns. Instead, she focuses on the people and especially the young Māori who believed in their strength and cultural pride. There are few stories shared about Indigenous people sent to fight in a war for a ‘crown’ which has been fighting them for so long. Word of warning: There is no neat closure, but then again, the same can be said of World War I.

Lovely War also made it on to fellow Book Rioter Rey’s list of Historical Fiction YA Books About War, and for the same reasons I loved it. It is told through the voice of Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, as she recounts the tale of four mortals to her husband Hephaestus and her lover Ares. She tells the tale of Hazel and James, Aubrey and Colette, during the height of WWI. It is a tale filled with passion and prejudice, yet with the same essential premise Aphrodite always believes in: That war is no match for love. Now, to be fair, I’m not a fan of “The Power of Love” during war times because it can tend to glamorise survival as acts of bravery. However, Lovely War delivers a message of hope; not just for love, but for surviving in a world worth living in after the war.

Okay, this one is going to kick you right in the feels, and it still resonates with our society 100 years later. It is the true story of George McQuay, a man from Taranaki, who was a soldier in Gallipoli during WWI despite being deemed physically and mentally unfit. Ten years later, an international campaign is launched to determine the identity of an unknown soldier in a Sydney psychiatric hospital. The only clue is the Australian military hat he was wearing when found wandering the streets of London. Reading this book is like looking back in time at how people romanticised the idea of war to encourage predominantly young men to enlist. The same grand gestures of heroism belie the lack of support given to soldiers, both during and post-conflict.