by Janet Skeslien Charles
Overall: what an incredible love letter to libraries, books, and readers everywhere. The Paris Library moves back and forth in time between Paris in the late 1930s and 1940s and Montana in the 1980s. In Paris, the main character and primary narrator is Odile, a young Frenchwoman who gets her dream job working for the American Library. Surrounded by books and other people who love them, Odile tries to survive the increasingly difficult circumstance facing Parisians during World War II. In Montana, the main character and primary narrator is Lily, a young teenager who becomes fascinated by her mysterious neighbor, Odile, now an elderly widow who lost her only son in Vietnam. How did the young, vibrant Odile, in love with a Frenchman and a proud Parisienne, end up isolated and alone in a tiny town in America?
Likes: I devoured this book and loved almost everything about it! Both main narrators are charming without falling into saccharine caricature. Lily reminded me in the best way of another young teen narrator I encountered recently, Mary Jane in the book by the same name by Jessica Anya Blau. Both Odile and Lily are trying to find a place in the world where they belong, but they encounter different challenges, which keeps their stories distinct. Charles really shines when describing the unlikely friendships that can grow out of a love for books. And she did a tremendous amount of research into the stories of the real people staffing the American Library before and during World War II, which makes the story that much more intriguing.
Dislikes: really nothing.
FYI: Antisemitism, Naziism, sexism, death of a parent, death of a sibling, violent assault. Some moderately steamy/graphic sex scenes.
Liz Helfrich 