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whoozica 's review for:
The Librarian of Burned Books
by Brianna Labuskes
This book jumped out at me on the shelves of my library and I’m so glad I picked it up. This book is surely the most important I've read this year.
With just the premise and dedication line itself, I knew this book was going to hit hard - "To librarians, the guardians of books"
This book is a love letter to books, the power of the written word and the dangers of censorship, book banning, and book burning.
I love historical fiction for the way it reminds us that these things aren't just words in textbooks but real events with real people not unlike ourselves. Who loved and laughed and doubted themselves and either acted or didn't, and lived with their decisions for better or for worse.
I was not aware of the Council on Books in Wartime before reading this book and although Vivian’s story may be fictional, the impact of the ASEs, and the concept of the comfort a book can give at even the worst of times, was very real. The fictional letters from soldiers in the book gave me chills on several occasions, as did many other parts in this book.
The parallels of 1920s and 30s Germany and current American politics are a subject that has compelled and fascinated me for the past few years. As such I was highly invested in Althea and Hannah POVs at such a time. Hannah's speech in Chapter 49 resonated so deeply with me. I highlighted good chunks of it as the parallels were painfully obvious. If you read nothing else in the book, read that chapter.
Vivian and the ASE program and their battle against Senator Taft as well Hannah's initial thoughts upon arriving to America and seeing the way African Americans and Jewish people were treated as up there with her home country paint WW2-era America in a realistic light.
This book takes so many relevant topics and historical events and puts them all into about 300 pages of easy to read, thoughtful and understandable language that immerses you and really makes you feel in tune with the actual types of people that lived these times. It educates on a time period we often look at as unrepeatable by putting it in a lens that's easily relatable and asks the question - what would you do?
It also takes time to remind us of the good times amongst the bad, and manages a little (Sapphic!) romance as well. The Berlin Cabaret scene of the 1930’s, the baseball game in Brooklyn, as well as other “reprieve” moments endear the characters even more, really cementing their lives as ones that feel real.
The three timelines and POVs in this book really help keep you interested and guessing how they will all come together, there was no dull moment for me. Highly recommend.
With just the premise and dedication line itself, I knew this book was going to hit hard - "To librarians, the guardians of books"
This book is a love letter to books, the power of the written word and the dangers of censorship, book banning, and book burning.
I love historical fiction for the way it reminds us that these things aren't just words in textbooks but real events with real people not unlike ourselves. Who loved and laughed and doubted themselves and either acted or didn't, and lived with their decisions for better or for worse.
I was not aware of the Council on Books in Wartime before reading this book and although Vivian’s story may be fictional, the impact of the ASEs, and the concept of the comfort a book can give at even the worst of times, was very real. The fictional letters from soldiers in the book gave me chills on several occasions, as did many other parts in this book.
The parallels of 1920s and 30s Germany and current American politics are a subject that has compelled and fascinated me for the past few years. As such I was highly invested in Althea and Hannah POVs at such a time. Hannah's speech in Chapter 49 resonated so deeply with me. I highlighted good chunks of it as the parallels were painfully obvious. If you read nothing else in the book, read that chapter.
Vivian and the ASE program and their battle against Senator Taft as well Hannah's initial thoughts upon arriving to America and seeing the way African Americans and Jewish people were treated as up there with her home country paint WW2-era America in a realistic light.
This book takes so many relevant topics and historical events and puts them all into about 300 pages of easy to read, thoughtful and understandable language that immerses you and really makes you feel in tune with the actual types of people that lived these times. It educates on a time period we often look at as unrepeatable by putting it in a lens that's easily relatable and asks the question - what would you do?
It also takes time to remind us of the good times amongst the bad, and manages a little (Sapphic!) romance as well. The Berlin Cabaret scene of the 1930’s, the baseball game in Brooklyn, as well as other “reprieve” moments endear the characters even more, really cementing their lives as ones that feel real.
The three timelines and POVs in this book really help keep you interested and guessing how they will all come together, there was no dull moment for me. Highly recommend.