Happy Monday Friends :)
I hope you all had a great weekend, and that you're all looking forward to the start of another week. Happy Memorial Day to all of my US friends.
Yesterday, my province finally released some of the visitation restrictions that have been in place for the last couple of months, and it was so nice to finally get to visit my family again. I had a lot of fun with my nephews, and we spent a couple of hours getting to try out a new slip'n'slide and then getting to enjoy some pizza together for supper. I'm looking forward to getting to spend more time with them in the upcoming weeks.
I also had the chance to finish a World War Two fictional novel that I've seen greatly hyped by many reviewers lately, and today I'd like to share with you what I ended up thinking about it.
The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar:
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: June 1st, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
Through letters with a famous author, one French librarian tells her love story and describes the brutal Nazi occupation of her small coastal village.
Saint-Malo, France: August 1938. Jocelyn and Antoine are childhood sweethearts, but just after they marry and are hoping for a child, Antoine is called up to fight against Germany. As the war rages, Jocelyn focuses on comforting and encouraging the local population by recommending books from her beloved library in Saint-Malo. She herself finds hope in her letters to a famous author.
After the French capitulation, the Nazis occupy the town and turn it into a fortress to control the north of French Brittany. Residents try passive resistance, but the German commander ruthlessly purges part of the city's libraries to destroy any potentially subversive writings. At great risk to herself, Jocelyn manages to hide some of the books while waiting to receive news from Antoine, who has been taken to a German prison camp.
What unfolds in her letters is Jocelyn’s description of her mission: to protect the people of Saint-Malo and the books they hold so dear. With prose both sweeping and romantic, Mario Escobar brings to life the occupied city and re-creates the history of those who sacrificed all to care for the people they loved.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
Historical fiction books that take place during World War Two have long been some of my favorites, and I've read some pretty amazing stories set during this time period over the years. Unfortunately, as the genre gets more and more flooded with stories, I've also read some ones I definitely didn't end up enjoying, and this one ended up falling in the category of the latter.
A novel set during one of my favorite time periods to read about, a novel with books and a library as the central focus, and a novel told in epistolary style should honestly have been one I ended up loving. Unfortunately that just wasn't the case for me.
I really struggled to get into this story, and I ended up feeling like it felt like the plot was missing something, and was extremely lackluster. Even though action is happening in almost every letter, I struggled to stay focused on the story, and found it incredibly boring. I also really didn't sympathize or relate with Jocelyn as the main character. I love books as much as anyone, but risking your life and the life of others for the sake of books went too far for me, and I thought she mainly came across as selfish and entitled throughout most of the story.
I also struggled with the fact that this story is told in a way that is supposed to make you sympathize with one of the Nazi officers. I couldn't force myself to feel that way, and I was a bit turned off by the fact that this was such a big part of the narrative. I could see this bothering a lot of readers that choose to pick this one up.
Two of my least favorite World War Two novels of all time are The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski, and this one honestly reminded me heavily of both of those.
I only really ended up enjoying the character of Pierre, the fact that I walked away having learned some new things about a place I haven't read about before, and learning more about the Nazi occupation of France, and especially the fact that I do really enjoy reading novels that were originally published in a different language. Other than that, this one isn't one I really enjoyed, and I don't personally recommend it.
Final Rating: 2/5.
Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this!
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
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