I loved this book. I liked that it featured Odile as a young woman and an old woman. I would have loved to work in the American Library in the past, although not during the war! I work in a library now and although technology is great, there's something romantic about libraries in the past . The story of full of love, loss, regrets and redemption. Brilliant!

So much historical fiction has been written about the Second World War that it is becoming difficult for a novel to stand out. However, The Paris Library offered an original story (based on real events) and a fresh contribution that I'm glad to have read.

I was particularly interested in the perspective the book gives on life in occupied Paris and the nuanced view of complicity and collaboration was especially thought-provoking. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and ensemble cast, which reminded me a little of 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' (one of my favourite books).

Sometimes, when a book has a dual timeline, the more recent section is more superficial and a mere device to tell the historical story. This was not the case here: the 1980s story was extremely engaging and relatable.

Although the book deals with some tough subjects (it is set during a war, after all) it still felt relatively gentle and uplifting.

The Paris Library is based on the true story of how librarians and volunteers for the American library in Paris used book distribution to stand up to the Nazis.

“Yes this war had divided us, but a love of literature would reunite us."

The Paris Library is a charming little book full of all the little quirks and descriptions that bibliophiles love but it is also character driven novel about friendship and betrayal.

The Paris Library is set in two different timelines and is mostly from the point of view of Odile and a young girl called Lily. Some of the other characters do pop up in there too for the odd chapter.

Odile is a young girl living in Paris prior to the WW2. She lives with her brother Remy, her mother, and her overbearing father. Odile’s dream job is to work in The American Library in Paris and when we meet her is on her way to an interview to work there. In preparation she is practicing the Dewey Decimal System which she often thinks in.

Odile and her brother Remy are very close, often united secretly against their father and his disparaging comments. Recently though Remy has been preoccupied with rumours of war.

“The only thing that made Remy forget his worries – which was to say the worries of others – was a good book.”

Once in the library Odile feels like she is home. She is a few minutes early getting to her interview and I loved her method of choosing a book.

“I ran my fingers along the spines. Choosing one, I opened to a random passage. I never judged a book by its beginning. It felt like the first and last date I’d once had, both of us smiling too brightly. No, I opened to a page in the middle, when the author wasn’t trying to impress me.”

The Directress of the Library Miss Reader is based on a real and impressive person, see the notes at the end of the book for more info.

One thing that endeared Odile to me was the internal dialogue that took place when she was asked her favourite author.

“Who’s your favourite author? An impossible question. How could a person choose only one? In fact, my Aunt Caro and I had created categories – dead authors, living ones, foreign, French, etc – to avoid having to decide.”

I think any true bookworm can understand the above quotation.

The author created a real sense of camaraderie between the characters within the library that helped me engage with the story and care about the outcome.

“It never mattered how low I felt someone at the library always managed to scoop me up and put me on an even keel. The library was more than bricks and books; its mortar was people who cared.”

The second timeline in the book is a young girl called Lily living in Froid Montana. Lily likes to snoop and is intrigued by her enigmatic and somewhat reclusive neightbour Mrs Gustafson.

“Her name was Mrs Gustafson, and she lived next door. Behind her back folks called her the War Bride, but she didn’t look like a bride to me. First of all, she never wore white. And she was old.”

When Lily’s mum becomes ill Lily gets the opportunity to know Mrs Gustafson better and their subsequent friendship is what made the book for me.

My only criticism of the book is that the ending felt a bit abrupt. I felt like after such a long book a bit more time could have been spent on it.

‘Libraries are lungs,’ she scrawled, her pen barely able to keep up with her ideas, ‘books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep her alive.

Subscribers depend on it for news, for community. Soldiers need books, need to know their friends at the Library care. Our work is too important to stop now.”

I found this book through an email I was sent by NetGalley and I knew I had to request to read it!!

I never knew I loved historical fiction until I read the Auschwitz books and I had to delve into this one because of those

I found myself overcome with emotion during the war narrative but also overcome with happiness at the pure determination these people showed to protect what they loved and to preserve the books for future generations

With it being based on a true story it really makes you realise more than a normal fiction novel

I’d like to being by thanking NetGalley and John Murray Press for approving me for an ARC of this book. This was my first buddy read with fellow bookworm and friend Meg Readz. Neither of us have read anything by Janet Skeslien Charles before but we both share a love for historical fiction, especially set during WWI or WWII.

When I embarked on this read I was drawn into the library and the fascinating characters we were introduced to. I loved the strength shown in Odile’s first chapters where she fought to gain the job at the library, despite her father’s objections. Unfortunately after the start I found Odile’s naivety grated on me, I couldn’t warm to her as a protagonist and felt she was very self centred. Her treatment of Bitsi and Margaret was unnecessary and in my opinion showed her childish side. I preferred older and wiser Odile who played a grandmother role to Lily. She had clearly learnt a lot and had an air of mystery about her that intrigued me.

When Lily’s story was introduced I immediately felt a warmth towards her and her family, her tale was interesting and felt very authentic. I was desperate to find out what happened next in her part of the story and couldn’t wait to see how her friendship with Odile evolved. Eleanor was an interesting addition to this area of the book. In her we found a character that exhibited all new mothers fears and worries as well as the trials of becoming a step mother.

My heart broke for Margaret and what she went through, her story was one of my favourites. She was a loveable character from the start, who was a great friend to Odile and always managed to ‘leave her worries’ at the front door. She put others before herself and unfortunately put her faith in the wrong people.

Whilst there was plenty to enjoy in this book there were a few niggles that brought my overall enjoyment down. Unfortunately I found this to be a slow burner and struggled with the middle part of the book. There were a few moments when I could feel a storyline building and then instead of a big revelation or a twist there was this anticlimactic resolution that didn’t satisfy me as a reader. I also felt that there were too many characters with similar names and found it difficult to remember who was who. The number of subscribers could of been cut down and some of their added storylines, in my opinion, could of been left out without effecting the story.

Once I got over these little niggles and persevered the remaining 30% was an easy read that I breezed through. From crow letters to Paul’s actions there was so much to sink my teeth into and made the remaining part of the book very enjoyable. Odile and Lily’s story was a great example of friendship and kindness that impacted them both in very different ways.

The Paris Library – Janet Skeslien Charles


Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.
Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.
Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them. A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.

Ok – a book mostly set in a library and featuring bibliophiles? WW2 era? The French occupation?? On paper, The Paris Library is legit the perfect book for me and I did thoroughly love the story, but I did struggle with the writing style a little.
This has a dual narrative and a dual timeline. First, we meet Odile, a young woman who loves books and has just started working at the American Library in Paris and how her life changes during the Nazi occupation of France. What follows is the true story of how the staff at the American Library helped keep stories alive during the war.

Alongside Odile’s story, we have Lily, a teenage girl living in small-town America in modern times and how she gets to know her next door neighbour, a much older Odile. Together they widen Lily’s horizon and explore Odile’s past.

The story was right up my alley and I loved the characters and their parallel lives, but the narration wasn’t to my taste, it was a bit too much tell rather than show for me at times but that might just be because I read a lot of historical fiction set in this time period and I did still enjoy the book overall. If you’re looking to get into historical fiction or learn more about this period, give this a try.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the John Murray Press for providing me with this egalley in exchange for a review.

If you love libraries and a story set in a library, then you have got to read The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. It is a story about Odile Souchette- a Parisian librarian and how her and her colleagues at the American Library of Paris stand against the German Occupation of Paris. I loved the plot of this book, the author's narration technique, and her writing style.

The story of this book is heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. First, I liked the setting of the book, which is Paris and the American Library of Paris. The places described are so beautiful, although they are described during the WWII period. I think the setting, especially the library shows that even if places are threatened because of war, they continue to exist. The abandonment that seizes the setting during the war symbolizes the desolation that gripped people during that time. Second, I liked the focus on the American Library of Paris in this historical fiction because it shone a different light on WWII period for me. It emphasized the importance of books during that era because these helped console people during that horrific time. In addition, it also emphasized that the continuance of such institutions is significant because a library erases gaps among different groups of people.

Charles uses a first person narration, however she switches the narration between the characters, mostly between Odile and Lily-the two protagonists. This switch of narration happens in order to show what Odile was like during WWII and what she has become in the present time. It also focuses on Odile and Lily's friendship and its development is nice to read about; a relief from the tension of the past. Furthermore, the narration's switch highlights the parallels between the two protagonists' lives, which emphasizes that the past influences the present. The switch to the side characters' point of views is also important because they give a detailed insight into important moments of the plot. I think this aspect of the narration is beneficial because I liked some of the side characters a lot, so a peek into their lives was really needed. Nonetheless, this overall narration technique focused the story on the two protagonists and helped with the development of their characters.

For the books I have read up till now, I barely comment on the writing style of the authors because I am either too consumed by other aspects of the book or not really impressed with the writing style. However, in The Paris Library, I love Charles' writing style because it drives the story home. First of all, the author's use of books and reading as metaphors, which help the reader empathize the character's feelings and experiences. Second of all, the use of direct quotations from different books to sum up the mood and feelings of characters in a scene or a moment. Third of all, the use of the Dewey Decimal System, which Odile always refers to not just as a librarian, but even in other moments of her life, act as a source of solace. I do not like numbers a lot, but this story enlightened me about the Dewey Decimal System and the American Library of Paris and how these two things became a source consolation and a pillar of support for Odile during WWII. If you love historical fiction and if you love books, you got to read The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.

Thanks to NetGalley, John Murray Press to send me a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is a great discovery, it took me a long time to read it (thanks to 2020), but I don't regret reading it. I dive into this story from the first chapter to the last one.

In this novel, you have different viewpoints and two significant timelines: WWII and the end of the eighties.

The thing that surprised me the most was the view of the war that the author chose. I was an emotional mess while reading this book even if it was the eighties.

In fact, but it's a personal liking, I wasn't fond of the eighties parts as I found that it tells too much, too fast and I didn't quite understand the utility of this and the link with the war.

In this book, the characters were all unique, and they all surprise you at some point or another. The library is also living through the librarians, making it so vivid that it becomes a character in itself.

Advice: read the Acknowledgements, you will thank me.

This was a fantastic read, I'll remember it for a long time to come. I loved Odile, the was a wonderful protagonist one that fitted the tale to perfection. I loved the premise, of delivering books, even to forbidden recipients ,one after they were told not to. Miss Reeder founded the Soldiers Service to deliver books to service men and delivered to eager Jewish readers once they were not permitted to enter libraries. She is such an interesting character. The Paris Library was a beautiful read. Odile was an unforgettable lead protagonist. She was a champion of love, full of ideals, head strong, emotional, impetuous, stubborn and human. She had a big heart and loved easily. She took chances and ignored the possible consequences of her actions. She made mistakes, some which she regretted forever. This novel moved from present to past, from Montana in the eighties to Paris during World War 2. The insight she gave into the life of Parisiennes during the war was excellent. Historical fiction is a favourite genre of mine and I'd highly recommend this read.

The Paris Library is a love letter to books and if you’re someone who is saved by reading, by escaping inside a book and another world, this may be the read for you.
This book tells the true story of the role of the American Library in Paris during the war and how the librarians distributed books to persecuted Jews who were no longer allowed to use the library and were forced into hiding. The story is broken into 2 timelines, 1939-1943 with a young Odile starting as a librarian before the war, and 1983-1989 where Odile is a French, older neighbour to Lily, a school student who wants to interview her for a project. In this she is a recluse, troubled and keeps to herself and as the book goes on we find out how she happened to be that way and how the war marked her.

The commitment to this book is remarkable, clearly the author researched and was passionate in doing so, the library comes to life and knowing so many of the characters really existed is a charming touch. While the atrocities of the war isn’t necessarily always at the forefront of the story, with you getting the atmosphere of fear and persecution (and an awful moment where a Nazi’s lover is punished), this book is about people, clinging onto what makes them who they are, whether that’s love, books, and the history and culture that those books immortalise, the family that the librarians form together and the goodness they still try to keep alive in a country becoming consumed by hate. You won’t always like what the characters do but this book helps you understand them, there’s real humanity in this as it follows the emotions and the scars of surviving.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Lily, and a scene where she violates Odile’s trust and goes aggressively through her belongings made me very angry, and I didn’t necessarily need the romance with Paul as much as we did, however Odile is a brilliant, complex, haunted character that I was glad to know, as well as the other members of the library, and this is historical fiction done incredibly well. Charming, painful and leaving a mark, thank you NetGalley for the early copy to review.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is an absorbing piece of historical fiction set at The American Library of Paris and inspired by both the place and the real people who worked there during World War II . Our protagonist is Odile , a young woman who begins work in the library shortly before the war begins, and through her eyes we get to meet her colleagues and experience the reality of life in occupied Paris with all its risks and acts of resistance both great and small.
The book has a second timeline where we meet Odile again, this time as a reclusive older woman, living alone in Montana following the death of her husband. A young girl from the neighborhood is fascinated by her and when she manufacturers an excuse to meet her in the form of a school assignment an enduring friendship is formed across the generation gap, one that will teach both some valuable lessons.
I really enjoyed this book, the library setting was fascinating and I thought the author did a wonderful job of portraying the constant uncertain of life under Nazi occupation. The characters were all really well crafted, multi layered and endearingly fallible which made them all the more credible. The writing was beautiful and at times thought provoking.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The book follows the story of Odile who worked as a librarian in the American Library in Paris during the German occupation. The story is told in the past during the occupation and the present where Odile is now living in America and makes friends with her teenage neighbour.
I enjoyed the story although there were parts which I found a bit confused. I much more enjoyed the parts based in the past and to be honest I’m not certain the present day bits added much to the story. I would have enjoyed reading Odile’s story without the added bits in the future.
Overall it’s a good read and I would recommend

A thoroughly enjoyable read. I lost myself in The Paris Library and loved every moment. The desperation and destruction of the characters' previously collaborative existence due to the war was intensely sad.

The Paris Library

I’d like to thank Netgalley, John Murray Press and the author for this advanced readers copy.

Breathing in the best smell in the world - a mélange of the mossy scent of musty books and crisp newspaper pages - I felt as if I'd come home

And so, we enter the world of Odile and the American Library in Paris.

We first meet Odile in Paris, in the late 1930’s when she is preparing to interview for her dream job as a librarian at the American Library in Paris. Fast forward about four decades, and Odile now lives in Montana in USA, a solitary life as a reclusive widow, but still surrounded by her beloved books.

Inspired by a true story, what follows, in the next 300 odd pages is a narrative that alternates between Paris and Montana, filling the gaps between these forty years, giving us an insight into wartime Paris, and how a handful of extremely courageous librarians stood up to the Nazis and the dreaded Book Gestapo.

"Delivering books will be our way of resisting"


What I Loved:

The Paris Library is written in a lyrical prose that is gentle and soothing. I felt at times that I was truly in a library in the company of books, sitting in a quiet corner, reading, taking notes and enjoying my solitude.

I also loved how Odile has been written - the author has delved deep into her background, her love for books and her relationships.

Additionally, although the author has spent considerable time setting up the scenes and the overall plot, Paris itself is described in little snatches – as a city on the threshold of a war, but charming as ever. I especially found this a really good way to ensure the reader gets a good insight into (one of the) main locations of the story, without wavering away too much from the main plot.

AND….!!!! The book is full of quotable quotes – one of my favourite quotes being:

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

If I could, I would take a highlighter to the entire book!


What was challenging:

Interestingly, what was challenging for me in this book was not what I disliked about the writing, rather, these were the bits which were challenging to read. I’m talking about the description of wartime Paris, and how Nazis looted libraries and destroyed books as they wanted to 'eradicate the cultures of certain countries', also how they seized and burned book collections of prominent Jewish families and the Bibliothekschutz inspecting libraries (loosely translated Library Protector but more commonly called the Book Gestapo).

Final Words:

The Paris Library truly is a tribute to book lovers everywhere.

Grab a cuppa, find your cosiest nook, and lose yourself in the world of books and libraries, and discover the power that books hold – the power to change lives, destinies and the world.

After the darkness of war, the light of books.

Thank you to John Murray Press and Netgalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

I love how this story related to literature and books ! Love the dramas created in here. Love some french words taught in here. Love how there are two eras , two main character that learned from each other. It's just nice.

This novel definitely give us on overview of the library all around the world during the WW2. I found some of sentences that are nice to jot down, remember and even quote it one day.

Overall, what can I say else, I truly enjoyed. The love of books and library are engraved very well in the story. Reader should read this and imagine. The life of Parisian librarian in WW2. Period.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, John Murray Press, and the author Janet Skeslien Charles.
I really enjoy historical fiction based around the lives of ordinary people during WW2, and 'The Paris Library' definitely ticked that box. However it wasn't as absorbing as some others I have read.
Very interesting to learn more about the American Library in Paris and its employees efforts during the occupation, but would have liked a bit more detail and for the characters and story to be a bit more developed and fleshed out. Would still recommend if you are interested in this genre or period of history. 3 stars.

Thanks to John Murray for letting me read The Paris Library in advance through NetGalley. The Paris Library tells the story of Odile, a young Parisian who starts working for the American Library in 1939, and her experiences throughout the war. The other narrative strand is Lily, a young teenager growing up in Montana who is intrigued by her mysterious neighbour, Odile Gustafson - who came to America as a war bride in 1945.

I think I have been a bit spoiled by books about the German occupation of France, by reading authors like Irene Nemirovsky. This is definitely more reading-group historical fiction than literary - Odile and characters like her boyfriend Paul didn't have a lot of defining characteristics and it verged on the melodramatic at times. But I still enjoyed this - it was a super quick and entertaining read, despite its 400+ pages, and I was impressed with the amount of historical research the author must have done - the book always felt authentic to the period. It also felt very tightly plotted in an interesting way - each event very much led to the next, and I enjoyed the little Easter eggs I spotted throughout the book! I would have liked more of Buck, and more resolution to Odile's story - it felt quite quickly wrapped up. 3.5 stars.

The Paris Library is a book that convinced me to love it from the first word. The first chapter hooked me and I never wanted to let go. Odile as the main character was just so lovely to read - she's so stubborn and headstrong in the best ways and loves with her whole heart. Her relationships with all the characters were so well-written, such strong bonds to the point where they became a little family away from home.

Sometimes there's an issue with large casts of characters where some characters get more depth and development than others. This wasn't the case for The Paris Library - every character was their own person with their own story that somehow connected to Odile, which is a surefire sign of a great writer!

There was a 'plot twist' (more of a character development) that I didn't fully see coming. I predicted that person would do something rash but not exactly what they did! I appreciated that, even though it was historical fiction and partially romance, there was still this air of suspense and action to the book which really elevated it for me.

I knocked one star off my review for two reasons: first, the book jumps between timelines (1940s and 1980s) and I simply wasn't a fan of the 1980s storyline. Lily and Eleanor didn't interest me nearly as much as Odile's story, perhaps because I just don't enjoy stories about teenagers coming of age; second, there's a line in the book that felt a little... wrong to me. The author writes from Lily's point of view about Odile: 'If Odile had hidden Anne Frank, she'd be alive today.' It felt a little insensitive, so I couldn't exactly rate this book as perfect!

Excluding this, I did really enjoy The Paris Library. I thought the characters were great and the plot was constantly intriguing. I laughed at times and got emotional at others. Janet Skeslien Charles is genuinely an amazing writer and I think I'm going to have to read Moonlight in Odessa soon! This is one I'd recommend for fans of The Giver of Stars and/or The Book Thief.

Trigger warnings: war, mentions of rape, death, adultery

Thank you to Janet Skeslien Charles, John Murray Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Loved this book, engaging characters social history and entertainment all in one. Couldnt put it down
Thank you

I didn't realise until I'd finished the book that it was based on the true story of the librarians who risked their lives during the Nazi occupation of Paris during WWII. Going backwards and forwards the story is told by two narrators. Odile in Paris starting in 1939 and Lily in a small town in Montana in 1983. An engaging book that kept me interested and engaged. I wanted to finish this to discover the ending but at the ssme time wanted to keep reading. Definitely recommend.