(Book for review courtesy of NetGalley)
Ballantine ~ 12 Mar 2024
In Jennifer Ryan's The Underground Library three women face different wartime experiences. Two lose sweethearts and one is a young German Jew. All three bond over a love of books. Juliet and Katie are librarians. When the library is bombed, they move their reading club and books underground - literally. They set up in the underground tube station, where a whole community exists. Sofie joins them until an unfortunate circumstance forces her away from London.
Each of the women search for something missing in their lives: Juliet longs for a career to support her love of books, Katie the education her gender denied her and Sofie for the sister and father she left behind in Germany. Ryan's novel is populated with colorful characters, from literature living spinster sisters to a mother who sent her children to the safety of the country. While London is blitzed, books unite the women and offer an escape from a grim reality awaiting them above ground. I love Jennifer Ryan's books because her stories come from real life. We are so far removed from World War II we have no idea what it was like to carry a gas mask with us everywhere, or to have to drop everything and find shelter as bombs rained from the sky. The Underground Library puts readers into those fearful moments, as well as the moments of small joy the characters find in everyday life. Ryan's work highlights the way women bond in these moments, giving readers a realistic portrait of wartime life.
No comments:
Post a Comment