Let's take a closer look:-
Showing posts with label world war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world war. Show all posts
Friday, 5 December 2014
WW1, Imperial War Museum
As I've already said, the First World War galleries at the Imperial War Museum have recently been renovated.
Let's take a closer look:-
Let's take a closer look:-
Thursday, 4 December 2014
The Imperial War Museum, London
This weekend I went to The Imperial War Museum. It has recently been renovated to coincide with the centenary of the First World War this year.
I'm going to split up my photographs, to cover the different exhibitions in depth, but I just wanted to briefly give an overview if you are considering visiting IWM.
The museum is free to visit, open daily 10:00-6:00. Due to the high volume of visitor at the moment, it is timed entry for the WW1 exhibition, but again this free (but still very crowded).
Photograph is allowed in the museum, apart from (and rightly so) in the Holocaust exhibition. Another thing to note- the Holocaust exhibition is not recommended for children under the age of 14, and includes graphic photographs.
We spent about 4 and half hours in IWM and didn't manage to see all of the exhibitions. We didn't go in Truth and Memory or A Family in Wartime, simply because we ran out of time.
I'd recommend you bring your own food and drink. There was a poor choice of sandwiches and both the tea and coffee are horrible.
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Lest we forget
Like 4 million other people, I went to pay my respects at the commemorative art installation at The Tower of London.
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red comprises of 888,236 individually hand-made poppies planted in the moat of The Tower to represent a British military fatality during the First World War.
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red comprises of 888,236 individually hand-made poppies planted in the moat of The Tower to represent a British military fatality during the First World War.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
10 must read war novels
Today is Remembrance Sunday, so I've put together a list of novels that offer insight about the horrors of warfare, human resilience, and love.
In no particular order:-
1. Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds: written by a veteran to try and answer the question of 'what was it like over there?", this novel is a fictionalised account of a soldiers first tour of duty in Iraq and his return home. Full review here
2. Andrea Levy, Small Island: 1948 and England is trying to recover from war. Gilbert Joseph was one of several Jamaican men who joined the RAF and served the Empire, but returning to London as a civilian he is treated very differently. Profoundly moving and unafraid to tackle huge themes of prejudice, empire, war, love and love, this novel won the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction.
3. Eric Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front: The seminal novel of the First World War, visceral and harrowing. Remarque speak with such authority, poetry and sadness you'll be in tears.
4. Louis de Bernieres, Captain Corelli's Mandolin: Don't be but off by the dreadful Nicolas Cage film, the book is actually really good! Love blooms between an Italian army officer and the spirited local girl on the occupied Greek island of Cephellonia.
5. Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong: It has rather slow beginnings, but the chapters about the WW1 trenches are deftly handled. The narrative follow the life of Stephen Wraysford, before, during and after the war. The most interesting character for me is Jack Firebrace, a sapper.
6. Carsten Jenson, We, the Drowned: Full review here. A chronicle of maritime warfare from 1848 to the Second World War. The latter section of the novel has some of the shocking and distressing descriptions of combat I have ever read.
7. Joseph Heller, Catch 22: Touted as one of the greatest novels of ever written, it is a comical, cynical and original look at the madness of war.
8. Pat Barker, Regeneration: The first in a trilogy, a fictional account of an army psychiatrist attempt to heal his shell shocked patients, including the famous war poet Siegfried Sassoon. A sympathetic and knowledgeable novel about post traumatic stress, psychiatry and love.
9. Markus Zusak, The Book Thief: Narrated by death, Liesal is fostered by the stoic and kindly Hubermanns. As WWII progresses, the Hubermanns open their home again to another person in need, Max, a Jewish boxer. Love and hate in all its numerous forms are examined in this novel.
10. Ian McEwan Atonement: Robbie is imprisoned for a crime because of the testimony of a sensitive and creative child, he is released after 3 years on the condition that he enlist in the army. Robbie's conviction and the war fracture a family. Guilt, betrayal and redemption are all key themes in this beautifully written novel.
In no particular order:-
1. Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds: written by a veteran to try and answer the question of 'what was it like over there?", this novel is a fictionalised account of a soldiers first tour of duty in Iraq and his return home. Full review here
2. Andrea Levy, Small Island: 1948 and England is trying to recover from war. Gilbert Joseph was one of several Jamaican men who joined the RAF and served the Empire, but returning to London as a civilian he is treated very differently. Profoundly moving and unafraid to tackle huge themes of prejudice, empire, war, love and love, this novel won the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction.
3. Eric Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front: The seminal novel of the First World War, visceral and harrowing. Remarque speak with such authority, poetry and sadness you'll be in tears.
4. Louis de Bernieres, Captain Corelli's Mandolin: Don't be but off by the dreadful Nicolas Cage film, the book is actually really good! Love blooms between an Italian army officer and the spirited local girl on the occupied Greek island of Cephellonia.
5. Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong: It has rather slow beginnings, but the chapters about the WW1 trenches are deftly handled. The narrative follow the life of Stephen Wraysford, before, during and after the war. The most interesting character for me is Jack Firebrace, a sapper.
6. Carsten Jenson, We, the Drowned: Full review here. A chronicle of maritime warfare from 1848 to the Second World War. The latter section of the novel has some of the shocking and distressing descriptions of combat I have ever read.
7. Joseph Heller, Catch 22: Touted as one of the greatest novels of ever written, it is a comical, cynical and original look at the madness of war.
8. Pat Barker, Regeneration: The first in a trilogy, a fictional account of an army psychiatrist attempt to heal his shell shocked patients, including the famous war poet Siegfried Sassoon. A sympathetic and knowledgeable novel about post traumatic stress, psychiatry and love.
9. Markus Zusak, The Book Thief: Narrated by death, Liesal is fostered by the stoic and kindly Hubermanns. As WWII progresses, the Hubermanns open their home again to another person in need, Max, a Jewish boxer. Love and hate in all its numerous forms are examined in this novel.
10. Ian McEwan Atonement: Robbie is imprisoned for a crime because of the testimony of a sensitive and creative child, he is released after 3 years on the condition that he enlist in the army. Robbie's conviction and the war fracture a family. Guilt, betrayal and redemption are all key themes in this beautifully written novel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)