The Paris Library
By Janet Skeslien Charles
(353 pages, fiction, 2021)
On a February day in 1939 in Paris, young Frenchwoman Odile Souchet goes for an interview at the American Library in Paris. She has memorized the Dewey Decimal System, and reviews it on her way. She ends up being late for the interview because she stops to read a book. “Reading is dangerous,” says Miss Reeder, the Directress. She understands. Odile is awarded the job and she enjoys it. She gets to know the other staff members, and the colorful frequent visitors such as Professor Cohen, who wears a signature purple shawl and is said to have a scandalous past. Odile befriends a wealthy and lonely English woman, Margaret, and they become good friends. Odile starts going out with a handsome young policeman, a reader! When the war comes, Odile and her coworkers resist when they can, getting books to their patrons. Many heartbreaking things happen during the war, beloved family members and friends are killed and friendships are betrayed.
Lily is a young, lonely teenager in Montana in 1983. She is intrigued by the French woman, Mrs. Odile Gustafson, who lives next door. She goes to Odile to take French lessons, but in the end, receives so much more. And Lily encourages Odile to take a brave step and contact someone from her past. The book alternates between Odile’s and Lily’s stories, which are connected. This is a charming and often poignant story of love, war, betrayal and lessons about treasuring your friends.
There was, and still is, an American Library in Paris, located within a few blocks of the Eiffel Tower. The author, Janet Skeslien Charles, worked there as a programs manager. You can find out more about the Library at americanlibraryinparis.org. From their website: “The American Library in Paris was established in 1920 under the auspices of the American Library Association with a core collection of books and periodicals donated by American libraries to United States armed forces personnel serving their allies in World War I.”
This is a fascinating tale, a blend of history and fiction, that shows how important the American Library in Paris was to its community of staff and friends during World War II. And it looks like they are continuing in that tradition to this day.
Visit Concord Public Library online at concordpubliclibrary.net.
Robbin Bailey
