I really enjoyed this book! Odile is a teenager living in Paris in 1939. She lands the job of her dreams in the American Library, but when war arrives the library struggles to stay open. As an act of resistance Odile and her librarian friends take books to their devoted Jewish readers who are not allowed to visit the the library. The people at the library become family to Odile and there are some wonderful character storylines throughout this book.

Fast forward forty years, Lily lives in Montana in the 1980’s and is a neighbour to an older reclusive Odile who mentors Lily, teaching her French. A strong bond develops between the two women which encourages Odile to re-engage with life. What led Odie to leave Paris and live a reclusive life in America? You’ll need to read this book to find out!

This is a wonderful book based on a true story. The writer has researched her subject well and has written a gripping novel. I received a free copy of this book, a favourable review was not required and all opinions expressed here are my own.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it at all. Supposedly based, in part, in Paris during WWII, but the Americanisms really niggled me; e.g. the use of ‘precinct’ rather than la gendarmerie, there’s no way a French would call it a precinct.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I wasn't entirely sure about this book initially, but it really pulled me in very quickly. It's a love letter to libraries, specifically the American Library in Paris. The role the library played in WWII seemed improbable, a metaphor for the importance of reading in a chaotic, dangerous world, so it was wonderful to read the afterword and see how much of this was based on fact.

I loved Odile - we meet her as a young woman starting out on her career as a librarian, falling in love, managing friendships, with the background of occupied Paris in WWII. Janet Skeslien Charles doesn't flinch from portraying the difficulties - hunger, threat of arrest - and the more subtle difficulties of surviving emotionally in an occupied city where betrayal becomes an act of survival.

Mirroring this is Odile's friendship with a young girl in MidWest America. She uses her experiences to guide and inspire her.

The American Library itself becomes a character, a sanctuary, a community. It is everything a library should be. And I loved the way books are used - and when I book I know and love was namechecked I felt thrilled, as if I had a personal relationship with the writer, and could also see how perfectly they fitted the plot. That means I've generated a whole new reading list...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

It's a good thing.

Odile, as a teenager living in Paris in 1939, gets her dream job - in the American Library. Her love of books shines through, and the people she meets in the Library become like family to her, all different ages and Nationalities. As the war progresses the Library struggles to stay open but everyone is determined it will. The story goes between wartime Paris, and 1980s Montana. An older Odile meets teenage Lily, who wants to know all about Paris and Odiles life there. Odile teaches her French and passes on her love of books.

This book is based on the real Library and the amazing people who worked there. It gives a very believable insight in to wartime Paris, the deprivations they suffered, and also their resilience.
I really enjoyed this book, so well written, and lovely to have such strong female characters. It has also obviously been well researched, and it was nice to find out what happened to the real people after the war ended. At times the split between the war years and Montana seemed a bit disjointed but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would give this 4.5*

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in return for an honest review.

An amazing story based on true life events. Tells about the war in Paris from a completely different perspective, of loves found and lost and the mistakes people made as a direct effect of the war. Very moving giving insight into lives of the characters

What a treat of a book. It has everything, love, hate, war, history, books! I couldn't put it down. I received it as an advance reader's copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review and an delighted to give it a clear 5 stars. One of the best books I've read this year
Set in Paris in the American Library (which I hadn't heard of, but now can't wait to visit as it still exists) the book is a fictional story based on fact. The fiction refers to some of the individuals rather than the wartime events.
It's one of the most realistic stories of life in that time that I have ever read, but it does not dwell on the actual war time atrocities. There are of course emotions, relationships and the very brutal realities of living in an occupied country.
The story alternates between wartime Pairs and the present day (which is actually the 1980's). The voices that of a young woman /girl in Paris and the present day voice is that of another of similar age in the States. The tensions in the book, the difficulty of categorising life into clear sections as books can be categorised, are familiar. The way your actions in life impact on both your own future and that of others are themes which run throughout.
I couldn't put this book down, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

War time novel set in a Paris library - should have had me hooked but it didn’t. I’m sure others may like it but it didn’t hold my interest enough to finish it

Just before the outbreak of WW2, Odile gets a job in the American Library in Paris. The book tells the story of what happened to the library and its staff during the war, interspersed with 1980s Montana and a young girl - Lily- who starts talking to her reclusive, elderly French neighbour.

The start was a little slow, but it was worth persevering. It's a really interesting story, although the parallel narratives didn't always help as they sometimes broke up a thread a bit too much. By the end though, it came together better than I'd been expecting when Lily was first introduced. I expect this book to be very popular!

A fantastic and delightful book.....which allows the reader to to find out about a little known chapter of WW2. The author writes with compassion and this allows you to become immersed in the Paris Library.
Beautiful writing, strong female characters and an addictive storyline which you never want to end. Even the harrowing scenes are written in a empathetic style.
A must for fans of WW2 and books!
Could not put it down!

Brilliant book that had me hooked from the beginning. It evoked the time and gave an unusual perspective from an endearing librarian. The way the book moved from the war to the 80s to show how the war and what happened shaped the main character's life and how it led to a teenager neighbour growing as a person kept me hooked. I had never heard of the American Library in Paris before but the book contained a brief history of the library and some of the characters I met in the book who worked there n real life. Highly recommend this riveting story.

I am always drawn to books about the second world war, and I have always loved war films. I was excited to be given the opportunity to read and review this lovely book.
I can understand why the author recognised what that there was a good novel to be written about the American Library in occupied Paris. I was charmed by the way she included the books classification numbers and so many wonderful literary works into the story. Split between two timelines, we meet librarian Odile in 1939 in Paris, and in the 1980s in Montana, where she meets a teenager called Lily, who needed a friend and some books in her life. . This took a little bit of getting used to, but it provided a way of adding reflection and the longer term impact of what happened in Paris during the war.
Based on a true story, the author introduces us to some amazing characters who are based on people who really worked in the library. Her research was clearly extensive and detailed. It would be hard to leave any of it out, but it made the first quarter of the book quite factual, as we got to know the characters and their stories. Saying this, I really liked them all.
Thank you to Janet Skeslien Charles, the publishers, and #NetGalley for the early copy. It has made me want to return to Paris and find the American Library. I will certainly be recommending this book. I would have give in a 4.5 if possible.

What a captivating story this was. I became enthralled in the story of the American Library in Paris really quickly. It is really well written and evokes the life and times of Paris during World War Two, so much so that I felt I was there and could see through their eyes. I loved the additional story running through the book too, of Odile and Lily, it gave another perspective of seeing things from the more recent time, looking at the past in the present. Brilliant.

I felt I knew the characters in the story personally, they were so well portrayed. The way they were woven into the backdrop of Nazi occupied Paris was very personal and I became very involved in their story. Odile was probably my favourite but I loved them all and wanted them to succeed and survive.

It takes a good storyteller to take the facts and weave a story around actual people and places and make a fascinating story. However, Janet Skeslien Charles has definitely succeeded in doing just that. I struggled to put it down. I cannot recommend reading this book highly enough, you really will not regret reading it.

I loved reading The Paris Library and it is one which I'll remember. I had previously been unaware of the existence of the American Library in Paris but once I'd started the book, I wanted to satisfy my curiousity and googled it! It was then that I realised some of the characters were actually real people.The author actually elaborates on some of them at the end of the novel and tells us what became of them after World War II.

The story itself is very poignant at times and becomes more so towards the end. Don't let that deter you, however, as the experience of immersing yourself in occupied Paris and observing the day-to-day lives of the library and its staff, is worth it.

Set in Paris and Montana, the book has a dual time line, both of which involve the character of Odile, who is the protagonist. As a reader, I was able to relate to her because she was portrayed so vividly. She is likeable, yet, like all humans, she is far from perfect and makes numerous mistakes and errors of judgement along the way. She tries to atone but, as in real life, this is not always possible.

The Paris Library is a very moving book, without being sentimental and Janet Skeslien Charles has successfully combined history with fiction in what is a unique tale.I highly recommend this book and thank you for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Really interesting book switching between 1940's Paris and 1980's rural America. The Paris Library is where Odile works all during WW2 - its based on a true story of the library in the face of the war staying open to help people to still have access to books whilst all around them a war was happening. Odile is a lovely character and so is Lily whose story is set in the 1980's alongside Odiles - they are neighbours and you eventually find out how Odile got there.
There are some lovely references to other books that made me stop and think - the one I was really touched by was the Laura Ingalls Wilder book - reminded me of when I read it as a child.
If you are a lover of books then I think you will really enjoy this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC

What a wonderful book. I dreaded the end coming and tried to slow down my reading. At around two a.m. I put my light out and before three I put the light back on. I couldn't bear to be parted from the powerful story. I finished it two days ago and can't stop thinking about it.
It is a book for all bibliophiles. It is based on an incredible true story of the librarians in the American Library in Paris during World War II who stood up to the Nazi 'Library Protector'. Anyone who loves books will see libraries in a new light as they read the awe-inspiring commitment of these librarians. The power of friendships made within the library walls, their passion for the library, their courage in taking books to Jewish subscribers who were banned from using the library. Above all, the healing power of books.
The strength of character and of friendship shines out in the portrayal of Odile, Margaret and Bitsi in Paris in the 1940s and of Odile and Lily in Montana in the 1980s.
Janet Skeslien Charles shows how the war brought out the best and worst of humankind in this cameo of Paris life. In an unforgettable period of recent history, The Paris Library highlighted how easy it was to become judgemental and then the lifetime of regret suffered because these judgements could not be taken back. How collaboration was not just an open and shut case of evil, lust and greed but one that could encompass love and need.
To this day the books in the current American Library in Paris carries an ex libris plate "After the darkness of war, the light of books."
Oh how I loved this book. A must for the top of 2020 Book Club recommendations. A natural story for a television series or film.

This book appealed to me as the story is centred around the American Library in Paris, during WW2, and it's a new take on WW2 fiction. It has a dual timeline, not something I usually like, but I think it works in this novel. I still would have preferred to have stayed with Odile, the main protagonist in the war years, but still, that's just a personal preference.
The book is beautifully written, well plotted and paced, although pacing a little slow in places and there is a lot of information. Vivid scenes, evocative throughout. There is a lot of talk about books - the library is at the heart of this story, this world, and it's so fascinating.
The characters are well developed, intriguing, and realistic. As a reader, I cared about them and couldn't wait to see how life for them was too unfold.
The reader steps between the dual timelines of Odile in 1939 Paris, and follows her through the war years, and Odile and her neighbour, Lily, in 1984 Montana. Lily's mother grows sick and eventually passes away and it is Odile that she turns too. Odile is an enigma in 1980s Montana, where she lives alone since the passing of her husband. Her neighbours know very little about her and Lily is intrigued. Odile helps to shape Lily's life, and in turn, Lily does something similar for Odile.
It is a novel with many themes and makes you think. Would definitely recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher and author for this review copy.

Gentle novel switching from wartime Paris to rural Montana 40 years later. Many of incidents in the library, and Paris are based on fact, which adds to the novel's realism.

Would recommend to anyone who loves books, libraries, history and pondering 'what would I have done faced with the same circumstances?'.

With thanks to NetGalley and Two Roads for an advance copy.

I have really enjoyed this book. As someone the author acknowledged, I was lost when I first read the Dewey classification numbers being used to locate books. I also liked the way quotes from books were used throughout. I have always liked the idea of there being a book for everyone given their current mood. It is an idea echoed in "The Little Paris Bookshop" written by Nina George.

The characters in the book are well drawn and the life of the library and the Parisians seemed authentic. There is an element of a quiet sleepy library balanced by a few elements of suspense, mystery and moral questions. How can anyone judge the rights and wrongs of collaboration? There are so many comments I should like to make about the plot but feel that to make them would mean I would be guilty of spoiling the book for others. It would be an excellent book for a Book Club read and discussion.

The character of Odile in war torn Paris is balanced by Lily in America in the 1970s and 80s. By this time Odile is in small town America living next door to Lily. She becomes a mentor for Lily, who has to cope with an ill Mother and later a Step-Mother and brothers. Odile seems so worldly wise in these later years that along with Lily the reader wonders how Odile ended up in America? Where does her wisdom come from? What did she experience in Paris? This is slowly explained.

A rewarding read based on a large amount of fact which I did not realise until the end.

Yet another WWII book? This one is a little different in that it’s about books!

Two timelines shift between 1939 Paris and 1984 Montana. In 1939 Odile works in the American Library in Paris during the German invasion of France. In 1984 she’s a friend to a young girl, Lily, who is struggling after the death of her mother.

I very much enjoyed the older timeline, reading how the librarians formed a community to aid both Parisians and visitors alike. It felt very real and researched (and it was!), which helped build the world and the characters.

My biggest problem was that I didn’t care as much about the Montana timeline with Lily. I’d have preferred the time given to learning more about Odile in wartime.

Overall this was a gentle, heart-warming novel.

Wonderfully escapist and full of joy. It made me want to immediately move to Paris. This is the kind of book to enjoy with tea, heavy blankets and a crackling fire. Long may the winter last.