First published 2009
Lieutenant Aldo Raine, an illiterate hillbilly from Tennessee's mountains, assembles eight Jewish-American soldiers into a guerrilla squad called "The Basterds." They operate behind enemy lines during the German occupation, hunting down Nazis with brutal efficiency. Meanwhile, Shosanna, a French Jewish teenager, runs a movie house where a Nazi propaganda screening is scheduled. When the Basterds discover this event, they see an opportunity that could change everything. Raine and his team devise an audacious plan to infiltrate the screening and strike at the heart of the Nazi war machine. The parallel stories of the vengeful soldiers and the young woman converge in a conspiracy that could end the war itself. Tarantino weaves together their fates in occupied France, where survival depends on cunning and the courage to seize an impossible chance for justice.
Genres: historical-fiction, military-fiction, thriller, action
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: France, Germany, Tennessee
Period: World War II
176 pages · Paperback · Weinstein Books
Content warnings: graphic-violence, war