Even though she had lived in Froid since 1945 she is shrouded in mystery which intrigues her 12-year-old neighbor, Lilly, who is writing a paper on France and discovers Odile came from Paris. Odile Gustafson was called the War Bride by folks in the small town of Froid.

As early as Chapter 2 the author propels us forward to 1983, where we find Odile, now an elderly widow, living in, of all places, Montana. The winds of war whirl closer to Paris and while Charles does an admirable job describing the building tensions which permeate all her characters’ lives, she uses a conceit which interrupts the flow of the story. Jews were harassed, forced to wear identifying gold stars on their clothing and eventually sent to internment camps where many died.Īs Odile settles in at her new job at the American Library she meets and falls in love with Paul, a policeman. Foreigners who are natives of Allied countries were urged to flee the city. Charles captures the transition of Paris from a naive enclave believing it safe from the German Army’s advance across Europe into a cautiously optimistic city, confident in the strength of the French Army and the impenetrable deterrence of the Maginot Line, and finally, tragically, becoming a place of occupation and acquiescence. The American Library’s staff is populated by an eclectic cast of characters Boris, a Russian emigre, Margaret, wife of a British diplomat, and the library’s Director, Miss Reeder from Milan via the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Odile also separates people into categories. She has made it a goal to memorize the entire numbering system. Odile is a lover of literature and thrives in the neat orderliness of leather-bound books stacked on shelves in perfect Dewey Decimal sequence. Odile Souchet, Charles’ protagonist, lands a job at the American Library in Paris, much to the chagrin of her police superintendent father who believes young women should marry, not work. Allegiances, partnerships, friendships and family fealty are all severely tested as the war first creeps towards, then consumes Paris. These five years comprise one of the most complex and divisive spans in French history. The main setting is Paris from pre-Nazi invasion 1939 thru the City of Lights liberation by the Allies in August of 1944.

Janet Skeskiien Charles’ newest novel, The Paris Library, strives to be historical fiction but often slides into romance novel and Young Adult modes.

Review of the paris library