The Paris Library - Janet Skeslien Charles: Book Review

Title: The Paris Library

Author: Janet Skeslien Charles
Pages: 409
Publisher: Atria Books
Publishing Date: February 2nd
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4*

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is a Second World War novel set in Paris, but without much focus on the Holocaust aspect of it. It tells the story of a French librarian, Odile, who works at the American Library in Paris. The plot moves back and forth between the War years and 1980s in the US, telling the story of Odile, and a young girl, Lily. There's a colourful cast of characters who make the story interesting, in both timelines. 

One thing I didn't like is how at some points in the beginning the story seemed to skip a few sentences and it was almost as if I, the reader, had to patch things and figure it out. As the story progressed, though, it got better and it didn't stop me from getting invested into it. Similarly to the beginning of the novel, towards the end the pace started rushing to wrap things up. However, it was a nice story overall.

I liked the different aspect of the War that was described; I didn't know anything about the American Library or any of the other international libraries in Paris. It was a fascinating aspect, and it didn't bogge me down with administrative aspects. Oh, and I just loved all the books mentioned and how they were part of the characters' lives. I wish there was a list of tall the books mentioned in the novel at the end of the book.

All in all, I enjoyed the novel, I liked most of the characters, there were some twists and turns that kept me even more interested, so I recommend this to readers who like reading novels set during this time.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.