The premise of a Catholic farm girl who ends up as a house maid for a Jewish family made this book an intriguing bit of YA fiction that provides a difThe premise of a Catholic farm girl who ends up as a house maid for a Jewish family made this book an intriguing bit of YA fiction that provides a different perspective from other books. However, the main character, Joan, was a bit too precocious and self-consciously virtuous for my taste. She had flaws, but they were generally of the "naive attempt to do good goes wrong" variety. Also, without spoiling, I'll say that I was not a fan of the plot elements that drove the climax. This isn't to say that the book was bad — I enjoyed reading it for the most part. However, I don't think this will be one that sticks with me....more
Despite being set in Paris during WWII, this is a somewhat relaxed slice-of-life / coming of age novel. I mean that in a good way. We see that even inDespite being set in Paris during WWII, this is a somewhat relaxed slice-of-life / coming of age novel. I mean that in a good way. We see that even in times of war, life goes on. It may go on with a bit more heroism, deprivation and moral compromise, but go on it does.
The main character, Odile, is a fictional character whose story is woven into the based-on-a-true-story narrative of the American Library in Paris. The staff of the library deals with the uncertainty of the coming war and its impacts both on their collection and on their patrons. It tells of their work to smuggle books to their Jewish patrons and to keep the library open as long as possible.
Throughout this, Odile is working, making friends, falling in love, and dealing with the grief that comes from life during a war. We see her character change in interesting ways. Her growth is very two steps forward, one step back, with some of her mistakes having dire consequences.
Oh right, Lily. Interwoven with Odile's story is Lily's story. Lily is coming of age in a rural American community in the 1980s. I didn't find her story that compelling. I mainly appreciated it in so far as it provided more depth for Odile's story. In the end, it did accomplish this, but barely: up until the last few chapters of the book, I felt that Lily's chapters could have been removed completely and the book would have been better for it. However, the narratives did come together in the end.
Overall, The Paris Library is a good, light (as can be for a WWII story) read for lovers of historical fiction....more
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