Book: The Librarian of Saint-Malo
Author: Mario Escobar
Pages: 384
This is my 57th read for the year
This is the story of Jocelyn during WWII in St. Malo, France. Newly married when her husband gets called to the front, Jocelyn is left to protect her home and the library she works in. She has to billet a German officer who is crude and takes great pleasure in beating the towns people. Jocelyn looks for hope by writing letters to a famous author telling him how she plans to passively resist by doing her best to protect the towns people and her precious library. Not wanting to leave her precious Saint - Malo, even when things look so dire, shows Jocelyn's will to protect what she holds most dear.
This is just an okay book. I bought it for my mother and I because 1) I visited Saint Malo a few years ago to see the remaining devestation from that long ago war, and 2) my Uncle Joe was killed during the war in Saint Malo. This is a small town in France, so not much is known about it, so imagine my excitement when I saw a book about the town AND a library all in one? Except it is poorly written. It is hard to follow because the book streams through 5 years in 300 pages with very little substance. I didn't like any of the characters. The writing was juvenille. I was disappointed that there wasn't more about the city in general let alone a followable story. Just a shame.
Skip this one
Stars: 2
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