Recollections of a Civil War Medical Cadet
Burt Green Wilder and Richard M. Reid
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In July 1862, Burt Green Wilder left Boston to join Dr. Francis Brown, a surgeon working at...
If Hitler Comes: A Cautionary Tale
Christopher Serpell and Douglas Brown
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This novel was first published by Faber in August 1940 under the title, "The Loss of Eden". It was...
From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot: The World War I History, Memories, and Photographs of Leonhard Rempe, 1914-1921
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Twentyoneyearold Leonhard Rempe volunteered to serve Germany in 1914. By the time World War One...
ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Paris Library in Books
Mar 2, 2021
In 1930’s - 1940’s Paris, we follow Odile, a young woman who wants to be a librarian in the American Library. She gets her dream job - much to her parents dismay. She meets and falls in love with a young police officer, but life begins to get much more difficult when the Germans invade France, occupying Paris. Odile’s twin brother is imprisoned in a camp after he is captured on the front, and her Jewish subscribers at the library are forbidden from going there. Odile’s wartime experiences are fascinating to read about, and I really enjoyed these flashbacks.
We also meet Lily in the 1980’s - Odile’s neighbour in the small Montana town that they both live in. They become good friends when Lily decides that she wants to write a school report about France during the Occupation. Odile teaches Lily to speak French, and they share a love of books. Odile becomes a grandmotherly figure in Lily’s life, and I loved the relationship between the two of them.
I found this book so interesting: when I was reading about Lily, I was desperate to know what would happen in the next Paris flashback, and when I was reading about Odile’s Paris, I wanted to know what would happen to Lily in her next section. I would say that this is the sign of a good book!
The Parisian sections weren’t gratuitously violent - in fact the Nazi heading the library department of the invading forces seemed to be a reasonable man. It’s made clear that the characters don’t like the Germans, and we’re told that Jews go missing, but the German’s themselves are very low key. This is about Odile’s experience, and Lily’s life in the 80’s. And the power of books.
The bravery of the Parisian librarians was admirable, especially as they could have been imprisoned or killed if their acts of resistance had ever been revealed.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book - it was a pleasure to read.
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