The Paris Library: By Janet Skeslien Charles

 

‘The library was more than bricks and books; its mortar was people who cared’. – The Paris library

 

 

 

Falling in love with books is not something anyone shall be confused or worried about, it’s a whole world of emotions and feelings that can be written and felt, but not spoken. This is the world every book lover and addict would die to be in and never leave, especially when the author’s plot is set in an era you were not even born at. You might have read about it, sure. But being there and experiencing it yourself was not an option. It was just a matter of time. 

Or, bad timing as we may say !

 

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles is THAT  book. The book that will make you fall head-over-heels for a publication you have not read, a library you have not visited and people you have not met. Yet.

 

This publication follows the story of Odile back in the 1940’s in France, at times of war and disassociation. Odile has an interesting story to tell which she has experienced and witnessed for herself. Its like a modern rollercoaster, but in form of reality. As a librarian during the world war, her life was at risk, but her love for books and knowledge made her take that risk willingly. Facing everything and everyone, even her own father. 

Day by day, as more prisoners were taken, and others living in fear of having their names enlisted to be taken away and eventually forgotten in the most hazardous of ways, Odile took matters into her own hands. As a police official, Odile’s father is the one responsible for the list that Odile will come to risk it all by collecting and destroying it. that particular action will lead her to leave France and everyone behind for a cruel act that requires getting rid of people whom she closely knew and worked with. Odile saw her very close friends live in fear, and others taken away without knowing anything about them. And that’s when she knew that she's destined to be thief. 

 

A thief of  Justice and humanity, something noble to live by and for. And she did . . . 

 

Diving deeper into the book, you will be amazed at how the plot will have its own twists and turns, every character will have something they either hide or shy away from. But their love for literature and books brought them all together, in a place that knows nothing about differences.

 

This is a romance-related book. But it's not only bound to  intimate relationships. Romance in this book falls under the sphere partners for sure, but it also includes family and friends. It encompasses all. And all will be learned throughout the book side by side with the characters who will have their own ways of surviving the brutality of a situation they have not chosen to be part of.

 

Friendships have costs too . . . yes those kinds of connections are meant to be treasured but sometimes the risk of one's own life comes beforehand. And that’s what we’re going to witness and see for ourselves. But on the gloomy side of friendship, young Odile's circle of friends are family to her. So strong is their bond, that she would do everything she can to stick by their side and assure their safety, even when her life was at risk. 

And she did.

Readers will come to meet Bitsie, Margaret and other characters who resemble the friendship-family circle for Odile. This connection is bold as a bullet, it's the circle of friends we all want to be in and have for ourselves. It shows the true nature of that friend whom we love and adore. And only at times of hardships that this could be proven. Odile's steps towards protecting her friends and other innocent souls resembles the true definition of loyalty. Loyalty to people, friends, family, and one's own principles.

Alas, when it comes to intimacy, we’re going to witness two heartbreaking relationships  being destroyed  due to war as in Bitsie's situation with Odile’s brother and others due to Loyalty, as with Odile and Paul’s.

 BUT despite all the pain and misfortune that they all, including Odile had to go through, loneliness was not a familiar acquaintance. 

 By herself, with her own mind and imagination. Books acted as a safe sanctuary for Odile, an escape,  to rest her mind and put her soul at ease. They saved her from the harsh reality, and gave her the courage to stand up for what she believes in. As she said

‘The book carried me to another world, to a place that let me forget’.

Odile’s journey did not end when she got married and settled in the U.S. It did continue on, providing us with more information and a glimpse of her world. Connecting the past with the present and creating the most precious mix that highlighted the true meaning of life and the connections we make on daily bases.

 

A curious teenager who lives next-door, will bloom, and come into Odile’s life as a shock. But a shock that will act as an alert, reminding her to live, reconnect and face whatever life has to offer. Lily lost her mother and was left with a father who remarried, conceiving two younger brothers. At that sensitive age of hers, she needed guidance and support, and she found all that with Odile. From her own past experience, Odile will guide Lily into the life of an adult, supporting  and encouraging her to do and be. Everything she lacked when she was in Lily’s age will come to life, through Lily and the plan she outlined ahead for her younger self. 

 

This book will make readers fall in love with Paris, papers and most importantly PEOPLE. 

But most importantly, you will learn A LOT about LOYALTY.

 

Loyalty to one’s own beliefs and ideologies, the two important things that define us as human beings. Without those two, one is nothing but a breathing soul. 

In end . . . please get your tissue boxes ready because you will need them. You will cry tears of joy and pain. You will scream and kick your legs for the goodbyes and the hellos. You will live and die with every pain and ache. you will feel every emotion spoken and others that were hidden . . .

 

 

Favourite quotes from the Book!

 

-       Reading offered escape. Something else to think about, a privacy of the mind.

 

-       If my life had been a novel, full of chapters both dull and exciting , painful and funny, tragic and romantic, it was now time to reflect on the final page.

 

-       I was skeptical about soulmates, but could believe in bookmates, two beings bound by a passion for reading.

 -       BOOKS-independence-happiness.

 -       Seasons go by. But I don’t miss the days.