There really is a lot to praise in The Librarian. Salley Vickers has written a wonderful, believable, and easily visualised story.

I enjoyed the 1950s setting and the focus on libraries, and how important they can be in children's lives. Sylvia was an intriguing character, although I did find myself disagreeing with some of her decisions.

This was the first book I have read by Salley Vickers and I really enjoyed it. It was written in a style appropriate to it's 1950's setting and I found it a peaceful and calming read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and intend to read more by this author.

This was an absolutely lovely read. Really well written with very well drawn characters. I liked Sylvia very much and would have loved if she featured more in the epilogue.

A rather average tale of small-town, rural life in the 1950s. It’s a pleasant enough read but neither the characters nor the writing offered anything fresh or new, even the centrality of the library couldn’t save it and the repeated references to I Capture the Castle left me wondering if the author was aiming for her own version of this classic but she failed to re-create the humour and charm by rather a wide margin. I honestly can’t pinpoint a single thing about it that could be classed as “subversive”. It may have affairs, banned books and children straining against convention but it doesn’t do anything original with them.

Several of the themes were a little tired, the class struggles, small-town gossip and obstructive locals and heaven save me from post-war plots where young, mousy ingénues are silly enough to get involved with married men and their sob stories. I quite liked teenagers Sam and Lizzie and the exuberant twins but even they were only just enough to hold my interest until the end. The one person who struck me as really interesting was Flee Crake but she had far too little time on the page and rather than exploring this interesting character she was relegated to a convenient plot device to solve a problem and did little else. Several of the peripheral characters alluding to pasts and stories that seemed frankly more interesting than the main vein with its tedious quasi-romance and convoluted dramas about the library and the secondary-school fate of the younger characters. I would have liked to see more of Gwen and Chris.

The sudden shift in the last part was a terrible error of judgement. Skipping fifty years into the future the writing is irritatingly coy about revealing who the returning character is, an odd decision because I couldn’t bring myself to care. This epilogue is so brief (and yet too long) that it seems obvious that Sally Vickers wasn’t sure what to do with it but felt compelled to tie up all the loose ends and tell us exactly what happened to all the characters we left in 1959. It’s painfully basic storytelling and a reason why this kind of flash-forward epilogue is never a good idea.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a book lover when you see this book with such a title and a beautiful cover you get very excited. I’m afraid the cover is what excited me the most.

Set in Britain in the 1950’s, the book is a very slow read about a librarian living in a small town where people gossip and males dominate.

The book to me read like a badly written Enid Blyton novel. I’m very sorry to say this but I couldn’t stand the simplicity of the characters, the basic style of writing and a book that has an outdated feel rather than capturing the time itself and making it interesting.

I would recommend it to people who love the author but with trepidation.

Another book that started so well for me but that ultimately petered out to be just plain annoying.
I couldn't quite buy into the central relationship or the changes it wrought in the main character.
The bits about the library & books plays the stress of the 11+ in the 1950s rang true but I found the end to be a cop out.
Some interesting ideas but not quite the sum of the parts for me.

Reading The Librarian was a opportunity to go back in time to the 1960's life seemed so simple then, but in fact it had different pressures, how a new comer into the town attracts attention. I enjoyed the book and the main characters interaction with the other characters in the book, i got slightly frustrated with her but i think it was due this being 'of another time', i clearly became absorbed. There are lots of little other back stories around the characters and their histories and the relationships with her boss. Its a gentle read and enjoyable.
I've purchased the Hardcopy and its a beautiful edition, and makes a lovely gift for a book lover.

You are quickly drawn in to this novel, the author paints a picture of a old dusty library so real you an almost smell it. With characters you believe in this is a really good read

I could hardly believe I was reading a book by Salley Vickers, an author whose novels I have always enjoyed, and who seems to me to write interestingly and with a sure hand. This novel, however, I found almost unreadable. Anachronistic language and attitudes, stilted conversation, stock characters, plus some didacticism added to the mix when Vickers feels impelled to interject her views on such matters as the importance of libraries or the 11+ and grammar schools. The plot concerns a young woman, Sylvia Blackwell, who in 1958 moves to the small town of East Mole to take up a position as Children’s Librarian. We follow her endeavours to get more children interested in the library and the support or opposition she has to face – all very predictable. There’s an unnecessary and far too long epilogue just when I was feeling relieved to be nearly at the end. All told this is simply not up to Vickers’ normal standard by any means and I was irritated both by the lazy writing and uninteresting storyline.

A charming novel which sent me on a journey of nostalgia of early library visits and 11+ preparation.
When young Sylvia takes up the post of Children's Librarian in a quaint small town in Wiltshire, she faces opposition from the senior librarian and wonders how well her ideas will be received by her new community. Her interactions with a neighbouring family is at the core of her life, and offers her the happiness her potentially lonely life needs. I found her relationship with the local GP to be portrayed in a rather dully repetitive way, but the complications of his daughter's behaviour and friendship with other children kept my attention and pleasure.
The cover picture fairly reflects the charm and period of the book.

Sylvia Blackwell is excited to move to the village of East Mole in Wiltshire. She has been appointed to her dream job as children's librarian and has big plans, even her damp cottage and difficult boss do not challenge her enthusiasm. When Sylvia takes her landlady's granddaughter under her wing and coaches her for the 11+ exam Sylvia begins to see a different side of East Mole society - the lines of demarcation based on class and perceived intelligence, and the very conservative attitude to modern views. As Sylvia falls in love with a married man she sees her world begin to fall apart however she has planted seeds that will grow in the future.

I found this a very odd book, somewhat of a split personality. On one side there is the charming tale of Sylvia trying to promote reading in a village just awakening after the war. This side of the book is twee and pleasantly humorous. On the other side there is more politically conscious tale of prejudice and a fear of the modern as exemplified by the Henry Miller part of the plot. I find this a little forced and not quite as enjoyable. Perhaps it is my interpretation but I found the two themes somewhat discordant at times and I hated the last 10% of the book. If there is to be an update codicil then that's fine but it just seemed too long and introduced several other plot lines which weren't needed.

A lovely, warm bath of a book.

Sylvia is a young librarian who moves to a new town and sets about encouraging children to use the library. Her naivity and enthusiasm are sorely tested by the older townsfolk who have firm views and prejudices. A scandal occurs when a book from the 'restricted access area' disappears and the finger of suspicion is pointed at Sylvia's young neighbour.

The author makes many interesting points, highlighting the importance of libraries and reading, and the pros and cons of grammar schools.

The second part of the book sees two of the children meeting up many years later when they are both grandparents. They still have not fully understood what occurred during that period of their childhood and they reflect on the people involved and what they now know happened to them.

An most enjoyable tale.

Sylvia Blackwell moves to a small town to be the children's librarian. She has an odious boss who feels threatened by her capabilities. However she makes friends with the next door but one neightbours - the Hedge family, school teachers, some ladies from the WI, local children & the GP. Sylvia sets about making the library an integral part of the community.

I really liked the start of this. It almost felt like a Miss Read or Rebecca Shaw with the details of the community. There were nice characters, not so nice characters, a few laughs and some general ambling along. However then the book started to change with some accusations at the children Sylvia had befriended and Sylvia herself. The library was threatened with closure and the feeling in the town was less friendly and more antagonistic towards Sylvia. I wasn't quite so keen on this and would have preferred it to remain as a gentle book about a small town.

Sylvia herself was a nice enough character though she did seem to do some things that were very out of character at times ( I won't explain or I'll give the game away!). The local children were fun - the exhausting young twins and their precocious brother, Sam. Poor Lizzie who struggled from a difficult home and Marigold who struggled from a wealthy home.

Part two of this book looks at the people around 50 years later. I liked this idea and appreciated what the children had done with their lives. It was a very positive ending.

Although this book didn't turn out to be quite what I was expecting (or hoping for) I did enjoy it. It flowed well with many likeable characters. The focus on the children gave this a lighthearted outlook.

A received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

This is book is so interesting and well written that I couldn't put it down and was sad when it was finished.
I was fascinated by the heroine, the settings and the descriptions.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Penguin Books and Netgalley

Really enjoyed The Librarian and will be recommending in store. plan to have a single title table highlighted in store along with some key backlist titles. Believable story and true to the 1950s era. And Part 2 offered interesting dynamic.

Set in the 1950s, a young librarian, Sylvia Blackwell, comes to run the children’s library in the small town of East Mole. Her arrival and relationships with several local children open their minds to literature but also cause serious unforeseen consequences. Sylvia also falls for the local doctor, a married man, a move bound to cause scandal.
Sylvia is keen to make books accessible and interesting to all children but faces resistance from her manager and, as the story progresses, certain elements of the community. It reminded me of Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Bookshop where Florence struggles to make her bookshop successful in the face of closed-minded people who cannot comprehend the value of literature. Sylvia faces similar efforts to close her library and strives to make people understand its importance.
The novel also looks at the importance of grammar schools to social mobility in the 1950s. Sylvia’s young, exuberant neighbour Sam is incredibly bright but if he doesn’t manage to get into the grammar school he will lose out on so many opportunities. Sylvia sees books as gateways to a better life.
This is beautifully written and a delightful read.

This novel reminded me a lot of Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop. In both books a young woman goes to a small town with a small mind and tries to introduce its inhabitants to the wonders of literature, not altogether successfully.

Sylvia in this book wants to open young minds to the power of books in her role as Children's Librarian. She does succeed in interesting her promising neighbour young Sam and an overlooked mouse of a girl called Lizzie. Sam reminded me of Davy in the Anne of Green Gables series in being spirited. His twin sisters are entertaining in their demands.

However Sylvia faces opposition from narrow minded members of the community in this post war society and this increases as she embarks on a clandestine romance. Will she be able to overcome this prejudice?

There is a part of the book at the end which moves forward in time to present day and "updates" some of the characters and what they are doing now. I know many readers will enjoy this more "satisfactory" ending rather than the ending of the main plot which leaves many things unresolved.

This book shows Vickers in a lighter mood in some ways with many humorous touches and an appreciation of the British countryside. However, it lacks the emotional intensity of Cousins or the complexity of Miss Garnett's Angel.

Of course her love of books is deeply embedded within this novel. In her Author Note at the end Vickers makes a case for the treasure house that a Children's section and libraries in general can offer and why it is so important that they stay open. For that and the case makes for children's literature being able to speak to adults too, I will be supporting this novel.

Sally Vickers is a firm favourite and this is a lovely novel, very easy to read as a result of highly skilled writing and a light touch with the plot, which flows along without hitch. There is an excellent sense of time, those early, Post War years, where expectations were still fairly low and people seemed to be expected to know their position in life and stick to it.

The very important role of the new Grammar schools is highlighted and their role in social change particularly emphasised in the final section. The interactions of hesitant Sylvia, gradually gaining in confidence a and then becoming the victim of local gossip, are beautifully drawn.

I read this in a single day, absorbed from start to finish and recommend it highly.

A difficult book to review, especially since I came to it with high expectations. The first half is devoted to setting the scene - rural middle England in 1958. The innocent 24-year-old Sylvia arrives to take up a post as Children’s Librarian and settle into small-town life after a city upbringing. The author creates a lovely sense of time and place. Sylvia is entranced by the natural world around her and by some of the people, young and adult, she comes to know during one year. The story reads as (and her afterword would confirm her intention for it to be) a vehicle for the author to catalogue all the children’s books her character Sylvia loved as a child and a celebration of the (sometimes unintended) effect a librarian’s recommendations can have on young minds. Nothing to object to here and I could appreciate her passion for her subject but, goodness, it takes a lot of pages (the entire first half of the book) and becomes a little dull.

I was relieved that the action picks up at the midway point. I began to engage properly with Sylvia and the other characters’ interaction and predicaments, and there are some thoughtful insights into people’s behaviour and relationships. There are plenty of references to mid-20th century social and moral attitudes, some dealt with in the detail of the story but just as often issues are mentioned almost as random asides and not explored further. I found this frustrating as there are hints that several characters have hidden, interesting depths but we learn no more.

Towards the end of the book, though, I was rather pleased with the way it was turning out, not too neat or predictable an ending and scope for the reader to imagine the future for the main characters. Then comes a final section when we jump to the present day. Two of the characters meet up after the intervening decades and chat about what happened to everyone after we left them in 1959. Surely I can’t be alone in disliking this sort of wholesale tying up of loose ends? Its uncharacteristic lack of subtlety left me feeling cheated and undermined the whole experience. I’ve been a fan of Salley Vickers’ writing for many years and have enjoyed most of her novels, but I don’t think I would recommend this one highly.