✅ This book is very well researched and the sense of impending war or the sense of upcoming victory and freedom are very well documented.
✅ It was very refreshing to read about World War 2 through the eyes of the librarians and how and what they did to keep the morale of a war torn city. The best part is probably the fact that most of the characters in this book are real life characters who actually worked in the American Library of Paris during and after the war.
❌ However that’s the only good thing in this book. I know it’s a historical fiction and has to stay true to the history but anyone who’s well versed with the events of Paris that happened during or after the war can easily predict the outcome of various events and actions taken up by the characters. It’s too predictable. If you can predict the war events, ultimately the book just becomes a group of characters who lived during the war. The overall plot is too flat.
❌ The main characters are well defined and round however the flat characters are too flat to the point where sometimes you even forget that they existed.
❌ Probably my biggest complaint is about Lily in Montana. I don’t know why an entire set of new characters were created in Montana in 1980s to tell Odile’s story. They felt unnecessary and wanted, sometimes even boring. Although I do agree Odile’s life probably would have ended differently without the characters in Montana in 1980 but still I wish the book was written through the POV of Parisians during the war.
by Icy-Acanthisitta3299