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The Paris Library

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The Paris Library

By: Janet Skeslien Charles
Narrated by: Nicky Diss, Sarah Feathers, Esther Wane, Janet Skeslien Charles
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In the darkness of war, the light of books...

Paris, 1939

Odile Souchet is obsessed with books, and working at The American Library in Paris for the formidable Director Dorothy Reeder is all she has ever dreamed of. The Library and its thriving community of students, writers, diplomats and book lovers provide her with a safe haven. When war is declared, the Library is determined to remain open. But then the Nazis invade Paris, and everything changes. The Nazi 'Library Protector' changes the rules overnight, declaring a war on words and making the librarians risk their lives to do their jobs.

Under the courageous guidance of Miss Reeder, Odile and her fellow librarians defy the authorities to make sure all their subscribers, even those deemed no longer desirable, get access to books and remain part of their community, whatever the cost.

Choices as black and white as the words on a page become a murky shade of grey - choices that will put many of the wrong side of history, and the consequences of which will echo for decades to come.

The Paris Library illuminates a seldom-seen slice of history: the role of women and their fate during the war. It also recounts the consequences of unspeakable betrayal, when the people we count on for understanding and protection fail us.

©2020 Janet Skeslien Charles (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 20th Century Fiction Historical Fiction Women's Fiction War
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Critic reviews

"I devoured The Paris Library in one hungry gulp...charming and moving." (Tatiana de Rosnay, author of Sarah's Key)

"An irresistible, compelling read." (Fiona Davis, author of The Chelsea Girls)
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This will be a great read for someone who likes easy reading romantic fiction. I found it pretty lightweight and particularly hated the French accents that the reader adopted. From the blurb I expected something a bit more substantial- I got about 30% in and abandoned it. Just not my kind of book.

Irritating chick lit

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This book has been incredibly well researched and put together.
It's been an utter joy to discover all the characters (real or fictional) that shaped the ALP in WW2 and inspired this chapter of it's life. I've already got the second book waiting for me.

Superb storytelling

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I found quite slow the first part (of the story in general, not the audiobook), at times I almost gave up but I am glad I didn't. It's a book that grows on you and explains relationships well, especially during hard times such as a war.

it grows on you

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A slow start, but it quickly grew on me,
A sweet romantic story, touching on some very tough times of the past, all the while trying to teach the moral lesson that ‘words can be dangerous’.

“Words can be dangerous”

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This book sounded promising, but it was not a well developed plot, the characters had no depth and it became cliched chick lit. I could not invest in the characters as there was not a chance to get to know them, they were never fully developed and other than Odile they all were annoying characters. The narration was poor, alternating between hackneyed French accents to a petulant sounding teenager, it really ruined the story for me. Other reviews were so positive I was perhaps expecting more, but this was not for me

A good story badly told

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