In October, 2024, we spent a couple of days in a Dallas B&B that had its own version of a Little Free Library inside the rental. A sign on the container invited us to take a book or two with us when we left, and to leave something behind if we had anything to contribute. The Paris Library is one of two books I took home with me at the end of that weekend, but I’ve just now gotten around to reading it. I tend to read a steady diet of historical fiction, and was a little burned out on World War II fiction, so I ended up putting the book aside when we got home - and immediately forgot I even had it until stumbling upon it a couple of weeks ago. (I still haven’t read the second book.)
The Paris Library was published in 2021 by Atria Books (a Simon & Schuster imprint) and runs 351 pages long, including the Author’s Note. My impressions are mostly positive ones for this well-researched account of how the American Library functioned in Paris during World War II:
- Will appeal to a broad audience of readers
- Centers on a handful of nicely developed characters who evolve and change during the course of the novel
- Uses flashbacks to the main story while occasionally visiting the main character some forty years in the future
- The American Library almost becomes a central character itself
- Explores the difficult choices Parisians were forced to make during the Nazi occupation of the city - and the hypocrisy of those who sometimes benefited from the tough choices made by others
- Based on historical figures, letters, and memories of those who were there
- Intensively researched for accuracy
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| Inside The American Library in Paris |
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| Photo of The American Library featured in the novel |
My mother's book group read and enjoyed this recently. I read a different book by this author and found the overall concept appealing (although, like you, I have read too much WWII and need frequent breaks) but found the writing somewhat tedious and the main character unconvincingly drawn. But when an author offers me books and WWII, how can I resist? I think books and bookstores are being featured a lot to provide a hook to readers, and I almost resent being exploited in this way!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. So many titles that have either “bookstore” or “library” in them these days…and I keep falling for the trap. The author didn’t impress me as being a particularly good writer or storyteller, but this one was saved a little for me because she had the courage not to go for the “everyone lives happily ever after” ending.
DeleteGood to know not to quit on this one too soon. I get a little impatient with books lately and tend to DNF a book I'm not enjoying within the first 25 pages or so. But this story does sound like an interesting one. I've had in on my own TBR list for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to reading it. Yet.
ReplyDeleteThe ending is definitely the best part of this one. The characters never really came to life for me despite the author’s obvious effort to make them sympathetic ones. I don’t usually have this much patience with a book, preferring the old rule to abandon a book when I reach “100 minus my age" in pages. But the older I get, I’m finding that’s not enough pages to make a competent abandon or don’t abandon judgement. LOL
DeleteI like an intense strong ending, and Paris during WWII settings -- so I might add this to my TBR. I too get sucked into any book with library or book in the title. If you found it pretty authentically portrays that time period and setting, I think I'll give it a go.
ReplyDeleteI think what she says about Paris and its war experience is well researched enough to be authentic. Nothing terribly new is explored, though, and the writing is a little bit dry at times. I had a hard time really “feeling” the humanity of most of the characters until near the end. The book, I think, is saved by its ending.
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