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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
haren_k's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War
moodreadswithmoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
- Found family trope and the cast of characters were easy to connect with.
- Multiple POV
- The examination of grief and it's crossover/resonance to today.
- The bookish theme was spot of and carried throughout very well
- The authors note and bookclub discussion on extended context of the wartime library the book was based on.
Things that were a miss for me:
- Past/present setting and the ending was 'wrapped up' in a bow.
- Multiple relationship tropes to follow.
- The time period & language (this is always a miss for me and part of why historical fiction is not usually my go-to.
- Predictability of plot
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicide
harmonygracie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
readingwithcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and War
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide
theadorek9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
shawnna_reads2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and War
bringmybooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and War
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It is told from the viewpoint of two women - Clara Button, the librarian of the underground library at the disused Bethnal Green tube station shelter, and her assistant, Ruby Munroe. Clara is a widow with a passion for making reading accessible to everybody, whilst hiding a tragic secret about her late husband. Ruby presents a cheery, devil-may-care attitude, but this is a front. She grieves the
If that wasn't enough, there are multiple bombing raids, a
Kate Thompson is an accomplished writer, and is clearly passionate about libraries and the role they play in society. The chief thing that I felt was really well done is depicting the changing roles of women (granted, mostly white women, but still) during this period in history - using the books they read as inspiration to make changes in their own lives. Also depicted well is the trauma of the bombing raids and the senseless loss of life, and also the glimpse we got into the lives of the East End's Jewish population. This novel had more depth to it than I was expecting, which was refreshing.
I mentioned earlier in my review that this novel was flawed. The reason for this, I feel, goes to the fact this novel was far longer than it needed to be, and there was too much of well, everything. Thompson, as I have already stated, is a highly competent author, but in my opinion, she tried to cram too many issues into the novel - which meant some of them weren't given space to breathe. The happy endings given to each character felt too predictable and in the case of
Overall, this novel has a lot of passion and heart - but it could have done with some editing.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Deportation
Minor: Cannibalism
This novel is set in and around London's East End during the Blitz. Bombings and rocket attacks are frequent occurrences and many people are killed, including children. There are also descriptions of