I Love Historical Novels discussion

Meticulously researched, this novel puts the reader inside the actual American Library in Paris in 1939 and after, mainly through the experiences of a fictional young Parisian woman, Odile. During the Nazi occupation Odile and the other librarians, some of whom existed in reality, managed to keep the library open, even delivering books to Jewish subscribers despite the dangers.

The story line alternates with that of Lily, a teenager in a small town in Montana in 1983, who makes friends with the mysterious Odile, now living there as a widow after marrying an American serviceman.

In the background of the novel is always the secret of how Odile, in love with the Parisian policeman Paul, happened to end up in Montana, married to an American.

Although the Paris story line during World War II sometimes goes into too much detail of the various relationships of the librarians for my personal taste, it does lay the background for the misunderstandings and betrayals that lead to Odile’s later life.

Recommended, not only for the tales of the personal courage of those who worked to preserve the books under their care for a community of readers, but also for the suspense and puzzle of the underlying mystery, and for the illumination of the importance of literature.