The Paris Library

Any book that combines Paris, World War II and a library is going to be a hit for me but this had some lovely bits about books and readers that enthralled me.

Odile was introduced to the American Library in Paris by her aunt who took her there for story hour when she was young. After that exposure it is no surprise that she wanted to become a librarian. In 1939 when a job opening at the American Library was posted she hardly dared hope she could work there but she landed the job managing the periodical section and doing other odd jobs. Her twin brother, Remy, is studying law but he really wants to be a politician so he can effect changes in France. Odile's father is a policeman and he thinks Odile should be getting married instead of show more working. He brings home a different young police officer for lunch every Sunday hoping that one of them will appeal to Odile. Finally one does; Paul dares to stand up to Papa to support both Odile and Remy. When war with Germany is declared Remy decides to join the army. Paul and the other policemen are exempt from serving. Odile is happy that Paul remains in Paris but she is sick with worry about her brother. For weeks after the Germans take over France they don't hear anything from him but finally they get a notice that he is in a prisoner of war camp. At the Library the staff have been told that they can't allow Jewish subscribers to enter so they decide to deliver books to them instead. Paul and Odile chafe under the constant scrutiny of her parents so Odile asks Paul to find them some place they can be alone. One day he tells her to meet him for lunch and he takes her to a lovely big apartment where they finally make love. Odile never questions why this apartment is empty but readers will be able to guess why.

Interspersed in the chapters of Paris during the war is another time line from Montana in 1983. A young girl named Lily wonders about Mrs. Gustafson who lives next door who keeps to herself. One day for a school assignment she decides to interview her starting a friendship which becomes increasingly important to Lily after her mother dies and her father remarries. Mrs. Gustafson, who, of course, is Odile, introduces Lily to wonderful books. Odile also gets benefits from her friendship; in particular, she can finally uncover her past to someone.

Friendship is a major theme in the book. Odile befriends an English diplomat's wife who starts volunteering at the library. She also has a friend her own age named Bitsy who works in the children's section. When Remy meets Bitsy he falls in love and the feeling is reciprocated. Some times Odile resents Bitsy's involvement with Remy because, as twins often are, she used to be Remy's closest confidant. All of the friendships go through rough patches but in time the friendship blossoms again. This is so true to life. show less

Book on CD performed by Nicky Diss, Sarah Feathers,and Esther Wane.

This is a work of historical fiction based on the real story of the librarians and staff at the American Library in Paris during WW2. The author uses the de rigueur dual timeline to tell the story.

In 1939, Odile lands her ideal job as a librarian at the library in Paris. But the Nazi occupation soon makes things difficult. Fast forward to 1983 in small-town Froid, Montana, where a lonely teenager, Lily, befriends the widow next door, and Odile begins to teach her French.

Lily will uncover some of Odile’s long-held secrets, though not always understand their importance and true meaning. During the war, Odile will also be privy to secrets she doesn’t fully understand. show more In both cases there will be betrayals and the parties involved will have to come to terms with whether they can forgive.

I loved all the literary references and how Charles used the Dewey Decimal System throughout the book. She also did a fine job of exploring the various emotions and reactions to incredible stress. Some characters were virtually paralyzed by fear, others moved boldly, still others did their best to stay under the radar, hearts pounding while they tried to help the cause. The younger characters, especially Lily, were frequently impetuous and rash, not understanding until later how their actions / statements might impact others.

The author notes at the end tell us that, apart from Odile (our fictional heroine), all the people in the library were real; they all did what they could in the face of horrendous circumstances. Would that we all could be so brave and steadfast!

The audiobook is marvelously performed by a trio of talented voice artists. This certainly helped to keep straight both timeline and which point of view was being used in a given chapter. show less

"Paris, 1939. Odile Souchet is obsessed with books and the Dewey Decimal System, which makes order out of chaos."

I had read no further of the blurb when I added this novel to my to-read list. As a retired librarian and daughter of a WWII veteran I was engrossed in the storyline and my heart was captured by the friendship between Odile Souchet, a former librarian at The American Library in Paris during WWII now widowed and next-door neighbor to a family with a young girl named Lily in Froid, Montana, 1983-1988.

As the relationship grows between Odile and Lily the story of Odile's life is told which at times is heartbreaking, at times inspirational, at times filled by work commitments, at times solitary. Isn't that true of all of our show more lives? As Lily is on the cusp of decisions that will affect the rest of her life she has the unique benefit of Odile's friendship.

The story is breathtakingly mesmerizing and beautifully written. Due to my own bereavement I was deeply touched by the author's words,

"GRIEF IS A sea made of your own tears. Salty swells cover the dark depths you must swim at your own pace. It takes time to build stamina. Some days, my arms sliced through the water, and I felt things would be okay, the shore wasn’t so far off. Then one memory, one moment would nearly drown me, and I’d be back to the beginning, fighting to stay above the waves, exhausted, sinking in my own sorrow."

I would also like to encourage every reader of this novel to ensure that time is taken to read the "Author's Note" as the note provides a glimpse of the in-depth research and care the author took to bring this extraordinary novel to life. The highest compliment that I can share about this novel is that I would not hesitate to read this novel again at some future time. It is rare for me to feel that desire as I want the rapture of as many reading experiences as possible and there are only so many novels one can read in a lifetime. The novel also refreshes a travel dream that I've often had while reading that I will title Wouldn't it be wonderful? Wouldn't it be wonderful if one could travel around the world visiting libraries not only in the major cities but in small towns too?

A quote from the novel describes it best,

"But seriously, why books. Because no other thing possesses that mystical faculty to make people see with other people’s eyes. The Library is a bridge of books between cultures."

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I wasn’t expecting a lot from this novel, since on the surface it looks like a typical historical fiction “book club pick” driven by the expected cast of female characters and light romance mixed in to a backdrop of World War II, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got caught up in the story. Yes, there are predictable thematic notes around the young Parisian protagonist, Odile, since we see her fall in love, struggle against the Nazi occupation of the city, and resist via her job with the American Library in Paris, but her story is none-the-less highly engaging. Obviously for me, a lot of the initial intrigue comes from the fact that she’s a librarian (and we all know librarians are not-so-secretly protestors and anarchists), show more but the truth of the real story of the American Library in Paris during WW2 gives the book a realism and uniqueness that hasn’t been explored elsewhere. In truth, the librarians did resist the Nazi occupation, and while I’m sure that certain parts of the story are exaggerated or wholly fictional, the book does what any good historical fiction should: it acts as an inspiration for further research, now that we’ve become invested in the characters and events in the story. Charles’ writing and characters bring us right to the heart of Paris’ citizens during the occupation, telling a story that explores a common, but extraordinary, experience within the City of Light. show less

A historical story about the people who ran and visited the American Library in Paris before, during and after WWII when the Germans occupied Paris. A sad, but heartfelt story well worth knowing. Kirkus: orld War II Paris during the German occupation forms the setting for an intelligent and sensuously rich novel of a young woman's coming-of-age.In 1939, Odile Souchet, the daughter of the captain of a police precinct, has just finished library school. She lands her dream job assisting patrons of the American Library, which serves both foreigners and Parisians, and falls in love with one of the police officers her father brings home for dinner. As the war proceeds and the Nazis take over the city, she fears for her twin brother, who has show more been captured by the Germans, places herself in danger by transporting books to Jewish patrons who are forbidden to visit the library, and begins to question some of her boyfriend's actions. Her story is juxtaposed with that of a teenager named Lily who, in 1983, lives in a small rural town in Montana. When Lily's mother becomes ill, Lily grows close to her previously frosty next-door neighbor Odile, who moved to Montana as a bride immediately after the war ended. While the chapters featuring Lily are snappy and often amusing, especially as she begins to adopt Parisian airs, they play a distinctly secondary role to those concerning Odile's life during the war. Structurally, the novel sometimes sags: Charles tends to move into the points of view of secondary characters, which leads to some repetition. But the author has a clear affection for both Paris and the American Library, where she worked as a programs manager in 2010, and she integrates the stories of many of the real-life employees and patrons of the library into the story with finesse, earning the novel its own place in the pantheon of World War II fiction.A novel tailor-made for those who cherish books and libraries. show less

In Janet Skeslien Charles latest novel, The Paris Library, she broaches the themes of guilt and redemption in a matter that remind me of Ian McEwan's Atonement.

Young Odile Soucher snags her dream job as a librarian at the American Library in Paris just before the Nazis move into France circa 1939-1940.

She experiences all the heightened emotions any young woman feels when standing up to her overbearing family, when selecting "unsuitable"� friends, and when falling in love. The Nazi invasion requires a unique response from Odile as she and her library colleagues find ways to subvert the will of Germany's Bibliotheksschutz (Library Protector), a euphemism designed to hide the Nazi intent to control and terrorize France's reading populace show more and the library's subscribers (patrons).

Along the way, Odile's youth and youthful jealousy work to undermine her essentially good intentions leading to catastrophic events. Odile is so appalled by her own [XBR] actions that she flees to Montana (of all places) and, with the benefit of hindsight, helps a young Montanan avoid some of the same youthful pitfalls.

This book is well written, the characters well drawn, and both elegant Paris, France and claustrophobic Froid, Montana suitably realistic. A novel well worth a reader's time and energy. show less

We meet Odile Souchet in two stages of life, first in 1939 in Paris, where she has just accepted her dream job at the the American Library in Paris and again in 1980s Montana where a lonely girl named Lily wonders what brought her unusual neighbor to her tiny country town all the way from France. Young Odile is emotional and impetuous and entirely unprepared for the years of war and occupation that soon overtake her beloved Paris. Even as she clings to normalcy at the library, where she befriends a rich and quirky cast of characters, her world is changing. Determined to keep providing books to soldiers and Parisians alike, the staff of the library bands together to stay open, daring even to deliver books to their Jewish subscribers who show more have been ordered by the occupying Nazis not to enter.

As the war wears on, Odile finds that she doesn't know anyone as well as she thought she did, including herself. Slowly Odile's eyes are opened to the cold realities of the wartime world even as her blinders to her own privilege fall away. Unfortunately, when stubborn, outspoken Odile, causes irreparable harm with just a few thoughtless words, her life takes on an unexpected trajectory.

In more modern day Montana, Lily endures a tragedy at home and takes refuge in her newfound friendship with the town's outsider, Odile. Together the two will finish the learning the same lessons that Odile began to learn in wartime Paris. Together they'll learn the power of forgiveness and what it means to truly put yourself in someone else's shoes.

Admittedly, I've been a little tired of the dual narrative historical fiction with a modern day perspective thrown in, but I warmed to it over the course of the book. What's remarkable about this plot device in The Paris Library is that the modern day perspective really pulls its own weight and doesn't become an interlude to hurry away from to get back to the historical story. Lily is an honest, genuine character and her budding friendship with and curiosity about Odile provides a generous framework for the historical story.

Charles beautifully brings to life her Paris Library characters who are based on the real people who heroically kept the library open through the years of the occupation. She excellently captures their comradery and the magic of the place Odile loves so much. Odile herself is a bewilderingly naive character that it took me a little work to like, but as the story proceeds, her coming of age, while slow, is ultimately believable.

The Paris Library should satisfy World War II fiction lovers and book lovers alike. show less