If you could save one book from being burned, which book
would you pick?
German expatriate authors gathered in Paris after
Nazis started to burn books in Germany.
They opened a library that has collected together all of the banned books
on the Nazis list. When the Germans
enter Paris, Christian Bauer, a former literature professor that has been
drafted by the Nazis is sent to close the library of banned books and to
relocate France’s other libraries. Once
there he meets Corinne Bastien, a professor and patron of the library who has
been using it to help to spread these forbidden ideas. What will happen to the library? Will Christian be able to protect the
literature that he secretly loves? Will
love blossom between the two?
My thoughts on this novel:
· I thought this was an interesting look into an aspect of WWII that I have always found disturbing, the burning of books and limitations put on the spreading of ideas.
· I enjoyed both the characters of Christian and Corinne. I loved their banter and witty conversations about literature.
· Everyone seems confused that Corinne is a professor. They think she looks younger than she is. The Nazis tell her she should be trying to get married and having children. They also say that this type of job should be left to the men. Unfortunately, this rhetoric seems prevalent still to this day.
· This novel expressed the importance of books and ideas. If you feel you need to suppress ideas and books in order to control people, what does that say about your ideology? We’ve seen a rise in book banning over the last few years in the United States and is concerning.
· This book did make me ponder, what would people do if this started to happen? If a politician told you that a book was “bad”, would you throw it away or burn it and go along with the crowd? Would you hide the book? Would you help keep the word alive? I have consistently been against book banning when it has unfortunately cropped up in my life.
· Christian was a complicated character. Further into the story, his motivations are revealed. Why would a man who loves the written word like him go along with the Nazis? He wants to help his friends, but he also has a much deeper and more personal reason.
· The ending of this book was perfect.
· There is a great authors note and discussion questions at the end of the novel. It was so interesting that there really was a library of burned books in Paris.
Overall, The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M.
White was a thought-provoking historical fiction novel with an intriguing story
and wonderful characters.
Book Source: Thank-you to @roseannamwhite
@tyndalehouse @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the
Austenprose PR Book Tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment