The Librarian of Saint-Malo

Mario Escobar is a Spanish author who writes very historically accurate novels that are well-researched with relatable characters and plots that give quite a bit more insight to the  times.  

The Librarian of Saint-Malo is a hard book to read simply because of the subject matter--which is the subjugation of France by the Germans during World War II. While reading in a history book about the German occupation of France during World War II gives a wide-angle picture of the situation, reading this book gives a nitty-gritty look at the day to day lives of people who are in the thick of the turmoil. 

Jocelyn and Antoine are newly married when Jocelyn finds she has tuberculosis.  She is not quite totally recovered when Germany begins their invasion of France.  Because of the invasion, Antoine is called up to go fight.  It isn't long before he is wounded, captured, and taken to a German POW camp.  While Jocelyn works to keep the library of their town open and usable, she also has to house a German officer who is arrogant, narcissistic, and power- and money-hungry.  

There aren't many happy moments in this book, it is a book of realities and hardships that converge to tell a story.  It is a deep novel that requires a lot of cogitating and digesting for the reader, and that's a good thing.  Jocelyn's ideal is that libraries are important to preserve the thoughts and philosophies of the writers, to preserve the histories of those who have gone before, and to give power to the readers. 

Books don't have owners; they're free agents we just happen to hold for a brief time. . . . Every time someone opens a book, it comes alive once more.  Its characters wake up from their nap and start acting all over again.

This quote is one of my favorite parts of the book because it states so eloquently my feelings about books and reading.  It is this thought that carries Jocelyn through all that she experiences in this book. 

This book is worth every minute it will take to read it and digest it.  Five stars, two thumbs up, and a thought-provoking book to read in your free moments. 

Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.