Historical fiction combines truth and fantasy.
Historical fiction attempts to capture both historical nuance and dramatic tension. Although works of historical fiction often contain invented personalities, authors try to maintain a fidelity to realism. Novels in this genre about World War II range from Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha," which details the life of a geisha in Japan during the war, to P.K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle," which invents an Axis victory in the war.
"The Thin Red Line." by James Jones
James Jones' "The Thin Red Line" re-creates the brutal Guadalcanal campaign in the Asian theater of World War II. With more than a dozen major protagonists, including Pvt. Witt, this novel details the emotional and psychological consequences of combat, including the frustration, anxiety, terror and anger it causes. The novel has been twice adapted for film, in 1964 and 1998. The latter, directed by Terrence Malick, was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
"To the White Sea," by James Dickey
"To the White Sea," by James Dickey, combines philosophical reveries and militaristic action. Over the course of the novel, the American gunner Muldrow parachutes into and attempts to escape from behind enemy lines in Japan. As American forces fire-bomb the country, the lone soldier must survive the elements and conceal himself from Japanese forces. This 1993 work was Dickey's third and final novel.
"Gravity's Rainbow," by Thomas Pynchon
Published in 1973, Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" is an experimental 760-page novel. Set in the final year of World War II, the story follows Tyrone Slothrop, who has been biologically conditioned to detect the detonation of V-2 rockets. Pynchon's novel draws on conspiracy theories, numerology, movie history and literary sources. It was chosen by the Pulitzer Prize three-member jury committee for the award but the decision was overturned by the prize's board members. No prize for fiction was awarded that year.
