Noel's Reviews > The Paris Library

3 1/2 stars

Any book that has me googling for additional information gets my approval, and this book, based on fact, does exactly that.

The story finds us in Paris, France, where Odile, a young girl, finds work at the American Library. WWII is on the brink, but everyday life goes on, within the library and at home. Odile struggles to become her own person as so many young adults do and also to fit in and become a librarian.
Parallel to this story, thousands of miles and a world away in the 1980s, is Lily, a young girl also struggling to find her way, to become her own person, putting up with school bullying, a new stepmother, boys, jealousy, girlfriends, and figure herself out.

During the war, the library stays open and the staff does everything within its means to help not only their members but soldiers, to make sure they have the opportunity to read books. When the Nazis forbid Jews to enter the library (or parks or other public areas), the librarians sneak books to them risking their lives.

And life goes on even through the issues of the occupation. For a non-jew in Paris, the war was difficult, but not necessarily harrowing. Odile finds love, finds a best friend, finds meaning to her work, encounters tremendous family difficulties, and then loses some of what she has found. Not due to the war but due to human foibles and missteps.

In 1980s Montana, Lily grows up and also stumbles through stages of youth, helped along the path by the next-door elderly recluse, Odile.

The book was charming, but I found it lacked depth. The ending was disappointing as (without spoilers) there were events that were left hanging and the decisions made were, to me, not credible.

This was a book club pick. I've read so many WWII books that this is not one I would have picked on my own, but learning about the American Library - something I knew nothing about, was well worth the experience of reading this book.