War, What Is It Good For?

This week on Book Swap, Liza and Cassandra dive into two unforgettable novels about war, memory, and survival. They discuss Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Painter of Battles, a haunting philosophical novel about a retired war photographer confronted by a man whose life was changed by one of his images, and A Summer Without Dawn by Agop J. Hacikyan and Jean-Yves Soucy, an epic story set during the Armenian genocide about a father searching for his lost family.Along the way, they talk about what makes war fiction so powerful, how readers navigate emotionally difficult books, and why stories about conflict can still feel essential. Plus, they shout out other unforgettable reads including All the Light We Cannot See, The Book Thief, A Long Way Gone, The Sympathizer, and more.