Historical Fiction Book Review: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

´Delivering books will be our way of resisting´.

In the occupied France, the American Library remains a beacon of love for books. Based on true facts and persons working at The American Library in Paris during WWII, the bestseller book by Janet Skeslien Charles is a work of historical fiction built around the story of French Odile, a once young lady enthusted for books. Now at an old age, living alone in Montana, she reveals and shares her well hidden story to the young neighbour Lily.

´Books are like people, withouit contact they cease to exist´.

The timeline switches between 1939 and 1983, between Paris and Montana. The beautiful part of the book has to do with the power of books, any kind of books, during hard times, both personally and at the society level. Books and libraries can play this role of uniting people and creating a camaraderie which far from escaping reality, it creates in fact a reality of its own, without barriers and obstacles. The books and authors mentioned though are recognizable names, pertaining to the categories of books everyone seems to read.

Paris is invaded by the ´boches´ and people switch sides, denounce their Jewish neighbours or the potential resisters. Some just switch sides and women prefer to enjoy the company of Germans, securing a piece of chocolate or some luxury goods. I understand very well the human lows and the fact that survival instinct always prevail, but both accusing and excusing may go wrong. There are facts and attitudes and we, as humans, we may observe, judge, do the same or avoid doing the same. I was not terribly impressed about some hints about trying to explain why was it so easy to end up in bed with the enemy.

Another aspect of the book that did not fully resonate with me was that for me, the voice of Odile and the voice of Lily was almost the same. The 1980s setting - with the Cold War looming, among others - was useful but not necessarily intrinsic to the story. It could have been Australia of the 1970s or Italy of the 1990s. As a reader, I couldn´t figure out clearly the Montana from the book. 

I may confess that I am stricter with historical fiction books than with a contemporary novel. It may be my concern for accuracy, but also because I am still far from being a regular reader of this genre, therefore, I am tempted to be cautious and apply higher evaluation standards. One of the aims of my summer is to read much more historical fiction, therefore, maybe I will hone both my reader and reviewer skills. 

The Paris Library made me miss France and Paris - honestly, everything that has the word Paris in it does it, so it is not a relevant, objective observation - but interested me more in reading more French story of WWII. France and books about Paris, that´s a generous slice of paradise, anyway.

Rating: 3 stars