Janet Skeslien Charles: The Paris Library (July 2026)

This is a work of historical fiction and, although the main protagonist, Odile, is fictional, her colleagues at the American Library in Paris during the Nazi occupation are based on real people, as is their unlikely protector Dr. Hermann Fuchs.

Her story unfolds in two alternating timelines and places: wartime Paris and in Montana forty years later, a lonely reclusive widow whose only son died in Vietnam. Her solitude is partly due to being an outsider but she also seems to be troubled and has turned in on herself. We reflected on the impact on someone unable to use their native language.

At the Paris Library the staff continued their work of supplying allied troops with much appreciated books and they smuggled reading materials to their Jewish subscribers who were forbidden to use the library. This put them in grave danger and Odile showed great courage and defiance but was quite naive when it came to her policeman father’s and her policeman fiancé’s collusion, however reluctantly, with the persecution of the Jewish people.

In Montana, Odile befriends teenage Lily, sensing a kindred spirit. She teaches her French, shares her love of reading and tries to guide her away from making the same mistakes she made as a young woman.

We discover what became of Odile’s first love, how she came to marry someone else and how a thoughtless remark about a friend had disastrous consequences.

This novel examines both sides of the power of words, written and spoken. They can entertain, provide escape from harsh reality, teach and heal. Unfortunately, they can also do untold harm. We were shocked to learn of the extent of so-called Crow letters that were written to denounce fellow citizens to the Nazis.

This was a well-researched novel and the appendix told us what became of the non-fictional characters, although there was a suggestion that they didn’t really leap off the page in the book.

Most of us felt that the first part was a bit slow but it picked up later.

It was thought-provoking and we considered the destructive power of jealousy and envy.

We enjoyed the literary quotes and references and the use of recommended reading as therapy by one of the characters.

The American Library is still in Paris and its motto remains: Atrum Post Bellum Ex Libris Lux. After the war, the light of books.

4/5