“Grief is a sea made of your own tears. Salty swells cover the dark depths you must swim at your own pace.”
Lily feels lost in the aftermath of her mother’s death and her father’s marriage to another woman just a year later. She then gains two brothers in quick succession and starts helping more at home than being with her friends. A neighbor, Odille, has taken a liking to Lily and starts giving her a place of sanctuary at her house where she can learn French and vent about her life. Odille is a Frenchwoman who married an American soldier at the end of WWII. As Lily opens up, she wonders what Odille’s story is and why she never talks about the family and friends she left behind in Paris.
I received an email about The Paris Library from NetGalley and requested an advance copy to read. All they ask in return in a fair review. The storyline looked promising as I love historical fiction and it was focused on the American Library in Paris during WWII.
The Paris Library flashes back to give the story of Odille who applies to work at the American Library in Paris before the war starts. She wants some independence after seeing her aunt be ostracized after divorcing a cheating husband. Her father, the police commissioner, brings home a new potential suitor once a week, but Odille has not interest. Her twin brother, Remy, is not being pushed to marry. Their world quickly changes as German troops approach France and eventually get to Paris. Remy enlists, Odille splits time between the library and the hospital and her father must abide by the German’s new laws. As Odille falls in love with a policeman, Paul, she starts seeing that their world isn’t simple and betrayal can happen in just a few words.
The Paris Library is a captivating read, especially since it’s historical fiction based on real people who worked at the American Library in Paris and kept it open during the entire occupation of Paris. There are rumors that the library was a possible hiding place of some Jewish patrons. The books gives a glimpse into an important part of what happened in Paris during WWII and will leave a reader wondering what they would do in Odille’s shoes.
Have you heard of the American Library in Paris? Are you putting this book on your to-read list? Share in the comments!
The book releases June 2, 2020.