Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Kirjasto sodan keskellä by Kate Thompson

1 review

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

The Little Wartime Library is a heartwarming - if flawed - fictionalised look at life during the Second World War for the residents of London's East End.

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
loss of her sister in a tragic accident
and constantly worries about
her fragile mother, married to Ruby's stepfather, who is an abusive, violent alcoholic
.

If that wasn't enough, there are multiple bombing raids, a
would-be rapist on the loose
, a misogynistic, small-minded bully of an administrator
making Clara's life hell
, and two young evacuee sisters fleeing the Nazi occupation of Jersey.

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
Clara's relationship with ambulance man Billy
, very problematic.

Overall, this novel has a lot of passion and heart - but it could have done with some editing.


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