Cover of Paris Library

Paris Library

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.

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Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.

A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.

Audience
adult
Length
long · 432 pages

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Liked Paris Library? Here’s where I’d start.

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  1. The Book of Lost Names Shares librarians, France, military
  2. The Giver of Stars Shares women librarians, librarians, women
  3. Blood Pressure Shares intergenerational relations
  4. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek Shares librarians, women, american

“If you want more of the same (war and military about librarians), start with these.”

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  2. One Man's War
  3. Crack of Doom
  4. The Big Red One

“If it was the Paris that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Upright Women Wanted
  2. Paris Noire
  3. And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris
  4. Is Paris Burning?

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library
  2. Unhappily Ever After
  3. Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile
  4. Miss Zukas Shelves the Evidence