Historical fiction book · Curated
The Bridge over the River Kwai
Pierre Boulle · historical fiction
In 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson marches his British prisoners into Camp 16 beside the River Kwai and refuses Colonel Saito’s order that the officers labor, so Saito shuts Nicholson and his officers in iron boxes. Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel, in Xan Fielding’s English translation, is World War II military historical fiction of the bridge Nicholson then builds, as a point of honor, on the line between Bangkok and Rangoon—and of the Force 316 team sent from Calcutta to destroy it.
Why read it: A widely searched war novel—the Boulle title readers look up by name (Prix Sainte-Beuve, and the David Lean film), and a Burma Railway counterpart to Empire of the Sun already on the shelf.
About this historical novel
The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle is historical fiction set around 1942–1943 in the World War II era period with key settings including River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Burma Railway. In 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson marches his British prisoners into Camp 16 beside the River Kwai and refuses Colonel Saito’s order that the officers labor, so Saito shuts Nicholson and his officers in iron boxes. Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel, in Xan Fielding’s English translation, is World War II military historical fiction of the bridge Nicholson then builds, as a point of honor, on the line between Bangkok and Rangoon—and of the Force 316 team sent from Calcutta to destroy it.
On HisFic we tag it under 5. Military & war so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include war, prisoners, duty, honor, and sabotage. A widely searched war novel—the Boulle title readers look up by name (Prix Sainte-Beuve, and the David Lean film), and a Burma Railway counterpart to Empire of the Sun already on the shelf.
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Plot summary
In 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson marches his British prisoners into Camp 16 beside the River Kwai and refuses Colonel Saito’s order that the officers labor, so Saito shuts Nicholson and his officers in iron boxes. Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel, in Xan Fielding’s English translation, is World War II military historical fiction of the bridge Nicholson then builds, as a point of honor, on the line between Bangkok and Rangoon—and of the Force 316 team sent from Calcutta to destroy it. A widely searched war novel—the Boulle title readers look up by name (Prix Sainte-Beuve, and the David Lean film), and a Burma Railway counterpart to Empire of the Sun already on the shelf.
Subgenres
Eras
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- Das Boot · Lothar-Günther Buchheim
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- From Here to Eternity · James Jones
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- The Narrow Road to the Deep North · Richard Flanagan
In 1943, Tasmanian surgeon Dorrigo Evans tries to keep Australian POWs alive on the Thai-Burma Death Railway—cholera, beatings, and a Japanese command that measures men in sleepers laid—while the memory of an affair with his uncle’s wife follows him from the jungle into a decorated postwar life he cannot inhabit. Richard Flanagan’s 2013 novel is WWII military historical fiction of the Pacific war, and the Booker Prize winner readers still search by its long title.
- Catch-22 · Joseph Heller
On the Mediterranean island of Pianosa in 1944, bombardier John Yossarian is told he can be grounded if he is crazy, and that asking to be grounded proves he is sane, while Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions again. Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel is World War II military historical fiction of an American bomber squadron, the rule they call Catch-22, and a man the paperwork will not let leave the war.
- Empire of the Sun · J. G. Ballard
In December 1941, eleven-year-old Jim Graham is separated from his parents when the Japanese army takes the International Settlement in Shanghai, and he survives the streets until he is interned at the Lunghua camp. J. G. Ballard’s 1984 novel is World War II military historical fiction of the years he spends there—hunger, American air raids on the field beside the camp, and the march out of Lunghua as the war collapses.
Regions & places
Asia
River Kwai · Kanchanaburi · Thailand · Burma Railway · Calcutta
Themes
- war
- prisoners
- duty
- honor
- sabotage
Tags
war · classic