The Paris Library
the bestselling novel of courage and betrayal in Occupied Paris
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4.5 • 50 Ratings
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- £0.99
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- £0.99
Publisher Description
HEROISM CAN BE FOUND IN THE QUIETEST PLACES - HOW LIBRARIANS DEFIED THE NAZIS
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK
'A wonderful novel celebrating the power of books and libraries to change people's lives' JILL MANSELL
'Heart-breaking and heart-lifting and always enchanting' RUTH HOGAN
'An irresistible and utterly compelling novel that will appeal to bibliophiles and historical fiction fans alike' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'I devoured The Paris Library in one hungry gulp . . . charming and moving' TATIANA DE ROSNAY
'An irresistible, compelling read' FIONA DAVIS
'Paris and libraries. What's not to love?!' NATASHA LESTER
'Compelling' WOMAN & HOME
'Delightful, richly detailed' PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
PARIS, 1939
Odile Souchet is obsessed with books, and her new job at the American Library in Paris - with its thriving community of students, writers and book lovers - is a dream come true. When war is declared, the Library is determined to remain open. But then the Nazis invade Paris, and everything changes.
In Occupied Paris, choices as black and white as the words on a page become a murky shade of grey - choices that will put many on the wrong side of history, and the consequences of which will echo for decades to come.
MONTANA, 1983
Lily is a lonely teenager desperate to escape small-town Montana. She grows close to her neighbour Odile, discovering they share the same love of language, the same longings. But as Lily uncovers more about Odile's mysterious past, she discovers a dark secret, closely guarded and long hidden.
Based on the true Second World War story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable novel of romance, friendship, family, and of heroism found in the quietest of places.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Charles (Moonlight in Odessa) delivers a delightful chronicle of a woman's life in WWII-era Paris and rural 1980s Montana. Shortly before the Germans invade France, Odile Souchet, a young Parisian who has adored the American Library in Paris since childhood lands a job there as a librarian. During the occupation, the library remains open and delivers books to soldiers. After Odile learns that her friend Margaret has become enamored with Felix, a Nazi soldier, she tells her fianc , Paul, a policeman, of Margaret's folly, and is shocked when Paul beats Margaret, leading Odile to leave and volunteer at the American Hospital. Charles then skips forward to 1983 Froid, Mont., where seventh-grader Lily befriends her widowed neighbor Odile Gustafson, who teaches her French and reveals secrets about her life in Paris. Their bond strengthens throughout Lily's teenage years. Charles's richly detailed plot incorporates historical figures from the American Library and highlights the perils of occupied Paris. Historical fiction fans will be drawn to the realistic narrative and the bond of friendship forged between a widow and a lonely young girl.
