This novel alternates between two settings, one an occupied Paris in 1939, the other in the small town of Froid, Montana in 1983-84. In Paris, Odile Souchert is a young woman who is employed at the American Library, living at home with her parents while her brother is off helping to fight against the Germans who occupy their city. The story here describes Odile's daily life at the Library, where she finds comfort and acceptance with others who love literature as she does. The author adds depth to this story by creating characters who are regular patrons of the library, people with whom Odile develops friendships. Some of these patrons are Jewish, and when their safety is threatened and their movement around the city becomes endangered, Odile devises a plan to deliver library materials to them in their homes. She is able to stay connected to them, to give them news about the outside world, and to check on their on-going well-being. It is not only the patrons who are facing the threat from the Nazis; the very library itself, and many of the books found there, are in jeopardy. Odile plays a role in attempting to keep the library, and its books, safe and out of Nazi hands.
The other setting in Froid, Montana finds Odile living alone, having moved there in 1945 with her husband, after the war. Her life there has become a lonely one, as her son was killed in Vietnam, and her husband has subsequently died. Odile is befriended by a young teenage girl who is her next-door neighbor, and Odile becomes a lifeline for this girl when she faces a tragedy in her own life.
I enjoy historical fiction that covers split eras in time, and did so with this story as well. But I did find the parts of the story set in Paris during the occupation more compelling.
My thanks to the author, to Atria Books, and to Netgalley for the copy of this book I was provided.

I truly enjoyed this story. The writing was excellent and the storyline had several surprises that I just couldn’t figure out until they were revealed. I listened to this book via VoiceView on my Kindle and my only con was the switching between chapters was not well defined and either it would take me a few minutes to figure out which timeframe we were in or I would have to re-play to get the point.
Otherwise, I feel like I learned a lot, I’ve read many WWII books, even ones on the book burnings but I never really thought about what the libraries had to do during occupation for saving the books or getting the books out for people to read. I fell in love with Odile, what a story she had to tell. I highly recommend for historical fiction lovers. Very well done.
I was given the opportunity to read an ARC from Atria Books and NetGalley for my honest unbiased review. This one comes in with 5 stars.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. The story did not flow well and the pacing was off. There were several perspectives that stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn’t particularly identify with or like any of the characters. The story was obviously well researched though and the plot was interesting at certain points. I just personally could not find much to like about this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for granting access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I will post this review today to my Bookstagram and companion Facebook page @thatreadingrealtor.

💕A book that centers around Paris AND a library? SWOON! 💕

As soon as I saw the description for The Paris Library, I knew I needed to read it. Not only do I love Historical Fiction, I adore Paris and libraries. The library setting in this book, described so lovingly by the author, perfectly captured my feelings for this magical place. The library patrons and their love for books quickly wormed their way into my heart. This is a dual timeline story and I loved both! Set in Montana in 1983, as Lily comes of age during a tumultuous time in her life. And also in Paris in 1939, as the Nazis march into Paris. Both timelines were equally fascinating and they were woven together seamlessly. Equally heartbreaking and hopeful, I loved The Paris Library! 4⭐️ My thanks to @atriabooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

A couple years ago I totally overdid it on WWII novels. They were all good, but maybe 5 in a row was excessive? Since then, I've tended to shy away from that genre. But it's hard to resist Paris and Books so I gave The Paris Library a pass and I'm glad I did. Janet Skeslien Charles has written an absorbing dual-timeline novel that celebrates female friendships, resiliency, forgiveness, and the power of literature. 

I was equally taken by Odile, the opinionated young librarian who lands her dream job at the American Library in Paris, and Lily, the lonely neighbor of a changed Odile living in Montana decades later. Their stories intertwine in a breath-catching way. 

I enjoyed the fresh WWII angle of German-occupied France and was charmed by the character's love of books. 

"But seriously, why books. Because no other thing possesses that mystical faculty to make people see with other people's eyes. The library is a bridge of books between cultures."

Often times, though reading is a joyous pastime that brings a smile to my heart, we get so rushed by our daily lives, and schedules (self imposed or not) that we end up rushing through a title like it's a race to get to the end. This time, I self indulged and took my sweet time to read every page, every word of this beautifully rendered story filled with heartbreak, betrayal, love, war, friendship, and just simply...life.

We get to know Odile both then and now as her history is revealed through present interactions, memories that play out in her mind, and the steps she is willing to take to try to put the past to rest. Both versions of this character, young and older, are fascinating. She lived a life some would be envious of, while others would see the undercurrents she swam against and run for the hills. She was bookish and sought out her soul's delight, a job in the hallowed halls of the American Library, and while first impressions with the powers that be were not what she had hoped, the support she received from the cast of characters already laying themselves at our feet was heartwarming, and just the boost she needed to let her written words express what in person she initially could not. It's funny actually how someone who found it hard to express what she held deeply as a part of her self, should have to learn the lesson of holding her tongue in the coming years. Yes, my friends, the war taught them many things, and many lessons that should never be witnessed first hand or otherwise, but putting trust in the wrong person, speaking out of anger or frustration in lieu of from the heart, THAT was something that would come to haunt her in so many ways. But I digress...

It all begins and ends with a curious neighbor girl knocking on Odile's door at just the right moment, and turning both their world's upside down. Lily would never know just how much she was a force of good in Odile's life, though their connection, their love and fondness for each other grows with every coming-of-age lesson learned along the way. She would know how cherished she was. She would know that someone was there for her, come what may. She would know that life goes on, even after the darkest of nights, and that there is always something or someone worth reaching for.

Honestly, I can't wait to see this one actually in print because I know despite having read the eARC, I'll have to have a copy on my own shelf. It was just that good. So, if you like Historical Fiction with both heart and lessons to be learned, or are even perhaps bookish yourself, this is a title I'd be setting my sights on come February for certain.

What a fantastic novel! I love historical fiction based around WWII, and this one was no exception. This novel has a dual timeline that focuses on Odile while she works at the American Library in Paris during the Nazi occupation, and Lily, an American teen in the 1980s in Montana who wants to get to know her mysterious French neighbor. The tale focusing on the American Library in Paris was great, and a part of history that doesn't get enough attention. This novel was well-researched and the two timelines came together so well at the end. The cast of characters, most based on real people, were wonderful and the story brought out so many emotions.. If you are a lover of historical fiction, I would definitely recommend this!

I am a self proclaimed history nerd. I wear that title proudly. I'm also an avid reader. This book was the perfect to fill both those interests. I have read a lot of fiction set during World War II. Some of them you can tell that the author did not research their topic and went with the stereotypical story of what happened. Not this book. Charles weaves a heartbreaking story of love, loss and amazing courage. Not only does this book speak to the strength of those who worked in the American library in Paris but the strength of Odile and Lily and the strength and power of forgiveness and how we need each other. One of the best books I've read in 2020 for sure.

This book is about one main character, Odile. Her time in Paris as a librarian during the war, starting in 1939 and her elder years in Montana with the young and lonely neighbour, Lily, starting in 1983. I enjoyed the two timelines and I think the author did well in combining them and the information given in each timeline. I did not feel like I was rushing through one timeline to get to the other like is often the case with dual timeline stories.

I enjoyed that this book was about characters. It was about people and relationships Odile has - during the war and during her time in Montana. There are no super grisly bits about the front line or camps, though they are referenced. You can tell the author took the time to really research the material well and it shows in a authentic feeling novel and characters you instantly feel connection too.

The ending I wish had been a little longer. I wanted to know more about if she wrote her old friend and her trip to see another war bride, and I wanted to know more about what happened to Lily. I can see why the author ended things where they did. BUT, I was still curious about some of the characters from the 1939 timeline and wanted to see another chapter with Lily perhaps tying up some of the 1939 timeline details and characters...

Overall I'd give this book a solid 4 stars. I really enjoyed the characters and relationships, and that the characters in the novel were not stagnant feeling but really did grow and change as the story evolved. I also enjoyed the quirky dewey decimal tie ins! My mother was a librarian in my childhood and when I was a kid every book that came into the house got a dewey decimal number and had a spot in the bookshelf!

ARC provided by Atria Books via NetGalley

Based on factual accounts of real people and places, "The Paris Library" is a story of friendship, resistance, betrayal, love, and courage. Told in split perspective, the narrative follows Odile as she lands her dream job as a librarian at The American Library in Paris in the 1940's, cataloguing her love affair with a policeman as well as her and her colleagues' efforts to smuggle reading material to patrons and subscribers even after it becomes illegal to do so during the German Occupation. It then flashes forward to mid-1980's Montana where Lily, a high school student, lives next door to Odile. The two strike up an unexpected camaraderie whereby they're able to connect over literature, language, loss, and loneliness.

What transpires as a result is a deeply intimate and moving character-driven tale. Some might call the pacing slow, but it needs to be in order to show Odile and Lily's coming-of-age growth and understanding with the delicacy it deserves.

The emotionality this book conjures is more of a cloying whisper mixed with a silent tear rather than one which detonates sobs with the devastating multiplications of war. All that occurs feels personal, subjectively intense. The flaws the characters exhibit are the kind that flash back at you from a mirror, recognizable on your own face, scabbed beneath your own skin. Since the plot progresses with such screeching softness and intricacy you lean in closer to examine these flaws instead of retreating away from them. It's humanizing to know that these characters, like us, are simply out there doing the best they can.

A moving and engrossing read. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

The Paris Library is based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris. In Paris 1939, young and ambitious Odile Souchet has everything she could want, a handsome police officer beau and her dream job at the American Library in Paris (ALP). When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including the library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. Yet, at the end of the war, Odile doesn't have freedom but unspeakable betrayal.

Odile is a typical twenty-something year old. She feels her emotions just under the surface and is quick to speak without thinking first. While she knows and loves words and books and the power they have, she has yet to see how her words have power to do anything. It took a bit for me to get into the book, a couple of chapters, but so worth it and would definitely tell people to keep going.

Once the Nazis arrive, Odile's job changes. Since Jews are not allowed in the ALP (along with certain materials no longer being allowed to circulate), the librarians, Odile included, take turns delivering books to their patrons who are longer allowed into the library. While the summary has it seem that the focus is on the Resistance work of the librarians, there's more to it than that. It's about what people are willing to do during horrible times and what they are pushed to do. Through anger and fear and sadness and jealously, we are all our worst enemy at times.

Odile learns that her beau, Paul, is part of the officers rounding up Jews. One of the people he brings in is her beloved patron, Professor Irene Cohen. Not only is Paul working to bring in Jews, but Odile's papa is a captain (I think) of a police station and is tasked with investigating "crow" letters. Crow Letters are sent in by people who turn in those who are Jews or say bad things about Germans or listen to the BBC. They are people who turn in family members, friends, neighbors. Odile soon starts to take the letters from her father's office and burning them during her lunch break, but she is soon found out by him and has to stop. It is all horrible business.

Along with hearing about Odile's story, we also have Lily's story. In Montana 1983, Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. She soon forms a friendship with her elderly neighbor, Odile. Throughout Lily's teenage years Odile reveals stories of her life in Paris and her time during the war. I was a bit let down by Lily's story and didn't much get the point of including it in the novel. There wasn't anything bad and I could see the similarities present in Lily that Odile had when she was young. Other than that, there wasn't anything connecting the two, (besides the random fact that they were neighbors), and from the summary, I was left with the impression that there would've been a family connection or someone in Lily's family tree that connected her to Odile.

Other than that, the novel was gorgeously written and was a great window into a time period that I know about but didn't know about the work the librarians at ALP did. I definitely would like to learn more about them. I absolutely love and agree with what Charles writes in her author's note at the end. She explains about the real life of some of the characters, along with bringing up how people like to ask themselves what they would have done during World War II. She thinks a better question is to ask what we would do to ensure that libraries and learning are accessible to all and that we treat people with dignity and compassion. Definitely a book that has you think and one I would recommend to all!

The Paris Library
A Novel by Janet Skeslien Charles

I was so excited to read this book about a library in Paris in 1939. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Historical fiction, especially anything to do with WW2, is my go-to genre. I was especially interested to read about a library in Paris after recently finding out that my Grandmother lived in Paris in the late 1930’s. It was there that she worked for Sylvia Beach in her famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop and lending library. I hoped that reading this novel would give me some insight into what the feeling in Paris was like in the years leading up to the start of WW2.

In The Paris Library there are actually two points of time in this narrative: one being Paris in 1939, the other being Montana in 1983. The novel jumps back and forth between the two time periods. In Paris we find Odile, a lover of books who manages to find her dream job working in an American Library, however this comes during the Nazi occupation. We see the effects of Fascism on the library and the world. Years later, in the 1980’s we catch up with Odile, now an old lady, living in Montana. She is introduced to Lily, the lonely teenage girl nextdoor who is navigating so much more than just high school in America. An unlikely and beautiful friendship ensues.

Although at times I found it to be a bit slow paced, I did find The Paris Library to be a heartwarming read and the parallel time lines were easy to navigate. Overall it was a beautifully told story and I thoroughly enjoyed being transported to Paris.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #TheParisLibrary #NetGalley

Publication Date February 2nd, 2021 : Historical Fiction

The Paris Library is a dual perspective/timeline book set in modern day American and German occupied Paris during WWII. It is definitely a slow burner of a book, kind of quiet, but it beautifully details the day to day experiences of life in a war. The American Library provided a place of normalcy, safety and an escape to all of its patrons throughout the war, even when Jewish people were banished from visiting they still smuggled them books. After all isn't escape the reason we all read? Within the pages of a book are endless possibilities, and within the library it seemed there were too. I loved all the literary references and the use of the dewey decimal system to organize Odile's thoughts and experiences was genius. It's amazing how you can grow so attached to the people in a book, and learning that they were real put the icing on the cake for me. Great read!

This book starts on a light note, a young Parisienne woman gets a job at the American Library in Paris. She quickly befriends a young English woman and finds love with a policeman. But it’s 1939 and war clouds are looming to the east.
Charles makes you feel a part of the library, taking me back to the days of the Dewey decimal system, citing lots of classic books. All of us who love books will recognize the comfort a library brings. I loved how Charles uses quotes from classic stories to bring home certain points.
As seems to be the norm with historical fiction, we have two timelines. The first, during the war and the second in the 1980s, with an older Odile who obviously married an American and moved to Montana. The second section is narrated by Lily, her young neighbor. “In Froid, she stuck out like a sore thumb, but maybe in Paris she was just an ordinary finger.”
For me, the mark of great historical fiction is that I learn new things. This book didn’t do that, probably because I’ve read so many WWII stories. But I totally enjoyed the characters and the story of perseverance. It’s an easy read and the story flows quickly. Charles does a good job setting the stage for both periods, and it was easy to imagine the scenes playing out. Yes, the earlier time period is more interesting than the latter, but the latter is necessary to bring home certain resolutions and to impart quite a few life lessons. Many of the characters existed in real life and the author’s note details how much of the book is based on true events.
My thanks to netgalley and Atria Books for an advance copy of this book.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2

I was so excited to read this- any book that takes place in a library is my jam, even a book with a grim subject.
This book has duel timelines and follows Odile in Paris in the 1940's, before and during WWII. It also follows the story of Lily, in the 1980's in a small town in Montana (who happens to be the neighbor of Odile).

Odile works at the American Library in Paris, quickly making friends with all the patrons and subscribers (and, eventually, meeting and marrying her husband). Then war is declared. Many of the patrons are forbidden to go into the library as they are Jews. But, Odile continues to help them and provide them with reading material... even though illegal.

We follow the story of Lily, a lonely teenage girl going through some family issues. She becomes friends with Odile.

I loved learning how these two stories would combine together and the various twists and turns they would take.
The reason I gave it three stars (and a half) is the lack of connection I felt with the characters. I loved the story, but felt... nothing in my heart for the two main characters. I don't know why. I especially felt this with Lily's story line. I just had no cares about her. I think her story line wasn't as developed as Odile's. In the end, i liked learning more about Paris and the war (which is why I wanted to read this book) but almost felt like Lily and Montana could have been thrown out of the story.

All in all, it was good. Not my favorite WWII book but I enjoyed aspects of it.

The Paris Library was beautifully written. I loved reading Oldie's story and about her work in the library and its occupants during WWII. I also enjoyed the present day where Oldie is in America and we are learning her story. I would highly recommend this book to any book lover but especially those that enjoy historical fiction.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I so loved this book. Early on it was a bit hard keeping track of all the people in the library but soon, their personalities emerged and I was invested.

Odile loves the library and is ecstatic when she gets a job there. With the Germans invading Paris, it soon becomes apparent that they must do whatever they can to keep the library open and books in the hands of their subscribers. Even if they are Jewish.

Lily is a high school student who lives in Montana next door to Odile in the 1980's. How did Odile end up there?

I loved how the story went back and forth revealing the story from both sides.

Based on historical fact "the Paris Library" is the story of the courageous people who kept The American Library of Paris functioning through the occupation of Paris during WWII. Odile has always loved books and against her parents wished takes a librarian position at ALP. There she meets Bitsy and Margaret who become her best friends as the Germans take over Paris. Moving forward to 1983 Odile now lives in Froid, Montana nest door to Lily and her family. Forever the curious teenager Lily snoops into Odile's past and the lessons she learned growing up in Paris during the war. As they help each other come to terms with one's past and the other's future they form a bond that cannot be broken. An engaging read for lovers of historical fiction. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC. #The Paris Library#Net Galley#Indigo Employee

Based on the true story of the librarians at the American Library in Paris this is an amazing book of courage to improve the lives of others with books during a difficult time and of the friendship between a teenager and an older woman. Janet Skeslien Charles did a wonderful job of using Odile’s past experiences during WWII in Paris and tying the past and reviling Odile’s story into Odile’s friendship with Lily a teen struggling to come to terms with her situation. I enjoyed learning about the American Library’s impact during WWII and Paris during the Nazi occupation. In Lily’s character it was easy to understand the desire to escape where one is and to also treasure the connections with friends and family. If you are a historical fiction fan, this is one to read!

Alternating timelines make this story fantastic. Odile and Lily are both great characters and I liked watching their relationship unfold.