A review by fictionallyina
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

5.0

paris, france is the city of light, but when the nazi germany marched into the city in 1940, the lights went out and once again, the darkest hours in its history began.

in every war, in every human nature to destroy each other, there's always an act of heroism. and in paris, it was found in the quietest of places— the library. this book is based on the true story of courageous librarians who kept the american library in paris open during the world war ii.

everyday, these librarians faced grave danger of getting arrested, or worse, killed by the nazi police officers, by hand-delivering books to jewish readers who were prohibited by the germans to come to the library.

this is another testimony of the power of the written word. for the victims of the war, books served as a refuge, a shelter, an escape. i also loved the fact that no matter how the war had divided the people, their love for literature reunited them.

i feel sad for the books that were seized and destroyed as an act of eradicating the history, culture and knowledge. i can't imagine my most prized possession— my books, taken away from me by force. and that's only one of the cruelest things the jewish people had suffered in the hands of the nazi. 

this book is about bravery, the power of literature, friendships, making mistakes and learning from them, and the different ways humans save one another.