Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Personal Librarian

A beautiful life story! I enjoyed reading this book. Bell is the personal Librarian of JP Morgan. She is responsible for curating most of his collection. Bell has a secret she is black and is passing for white in New York.

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kaycie51782's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book tells the story of JP Morgan's personal librarian, a Black woman who passes herself as Portuguese in early 1900s New York. It is a fascinating story that was incredibly eye opening. They tell the story of how they are able to live as a white family, not shying away from that trauma. The book talks about the immediate post Civil War South, and the hope that was sadly quickly dashed.

This book covers a lot of deep topics, and it doesn't hold much back. Be warned: there blatant racism, misogyny, heavy alcohol consumption, abortion, abandonment...

My main criticism of the book is that it's told in first person, but it very deliberately and overtly points things out. I think telling it in omniscient third person would have felt less like I was hearing a summary than a story. It's like in video games where the next person you need to talk to is highlighted, the author basically points and says "Look at this" instead of molding it into the story.

The book is less about what is in the library (though it is discussed) and more about how she loves through the world carefully, deliberately, and choosing to hide in plain sight. It was a fascinating look at life in 1900s New York as a woman, moving in orbit around the ultra rich (Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, etc.) but being constantly terrified of having it all taken away.

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bel017's review

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Slow but good. I'm happy to have learnt about Belle, and I appreciated how the book shines a light on some of the atrocities committed in the US in the early 1900s, but from the safe distance of the wealthy, white, elite.

Writing from a first person perspective when the character was a real person is tricky, and I have no idea why I found it more difficult in this book compared to *Half Life* (Marie Curie, where the author imagines both her actual life and an entirely fictional life) or *Z: A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald*. Still, an interesting subject and a fascinating life.

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readsbyrach's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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readbycarina's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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bookcasey's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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ashleyreads88's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The Personal Librarian is the story of Belle da Costa Greene. It's heartbreaking but hopeful. Belle was a young Black woman who passed as white. The Personal Librarian tells Belle's story as the librarian of J.P. Morgan. It's about her professional and personal life as Morgan's librarian, and the challenges she faced being a woman in a man's world. The way Belle navigated auctions and negotiated was inspiring. Were there times when she was manipulative? Yes, but it was to get deals done for the rare manuscripts for the library. I loved how strong and fearless Belle was, I loved watching her growth, how she loved the library and wanted what was the best for it. She had great attention to detail in making the library what it was. After reading this book, it made me want to go visit the library to learn more and see firsthand what Belle did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

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remie's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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