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A review by meganpbennett
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I don't read a lot of historical fiction, and I don't normally enjoy fictional books written about real people. This goes double when a large portion of the historical "facts" are presented through conjecture and inductive/deductive reasoning. Or when something important in the real person's real life is changed because it works better for the story.
This book has all of those things, following the fictionalized life of Belle de Costa Greene, the librarian for J. P. Morgan's library. Only, Belle de Costa Greene.... was a black woman, passing for white in a world where being caught meant death. Not much is known about her, though Morgan's life is rather well documented. My hometown library did a "one book, one community" read with this book, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to read a book I would not have otherwise picked up to read. It was a very interesting read, though I found it to be rather on the slow side.
This book has all of those things, following the fictionalized life of Belle de Costa Greene, the librarian for J. P. Morgan's library. Only, Belle de Costa Greene.... was a black woman, passing for white in a world where being caught meant death. Not much is known about her, though Morgan's life is rather well documented. My hometown library did a "one book, one community" read with this book, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to read a book I would not have otherwise picked up to read. It was a very interesting read, though I found it to be rather on the slow side.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, and Abortion