The Librarian of Burned Books

A Novel

By: Brianna Labuskes

Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt, Eleanor Caudill, Karissa Vacker

For fans of The Rose Code and The Paris Library, The Librarian of Burned Books is a captivating WWII-era novel about the intertwined fates of three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war.

Berlin 1933. Following the success of her debut novel, American writer Althea James receives an invitation from Joseph Goebbels himself to participate in a culture exchange program in Germany. For a girl from a small town in Maine, 1933 Berlin seems to be sparklingly cosmopolitan, blossoming in the midst of a great change with the charismatic new chancellor at the helm. Then Althea meets a beautiful woman who promises to show her the real Berlin, and soon she’s drawn into a group of resisters who make her question everything she knows about her hosts—and herself.

Paris 1936. She may have escaped Berlin for Paris, but Hannah Brecht discovers the City of Light is no refuge from the anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathizers she thought she left behind. Heartbroken and tormented by the role she played in the betrayal that destroyed her family, Hannah throws herself into her work at the German Library of Burned Books. Through the quiet power of books, she believes she can help counter the tide of fascism she sees rising across Europe and atone for her mistakes. But when a dear friend decides actions will speak louder than words, Hannah must decide what stories she is willing to live—or die—for.

New York 1944. Since her husband Edward was killed fighting the Nazis, Vivian Childs has been waging her own war: preventing a powerful senator’s attempts to censor the Armed Service Editions, portable paperbacks that are shipped by the millions to soldiers overseas. Viv knows just how much they mean to the men through the letters she receives—including the last one she got from Edward. She also knows the only way to win this battle is to counter the senator’s propaganda with a story of her own—at the heart of which lies the reclusive and mysterious woman tending the American Library of Nazi-Banned Books in Brooklyn.

As Viv unknowingly brings her censorship fight crashing into the secrets of the recent past, the fates of these three women will converge, changing all of them forever.

Inspired by the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime—the WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as “weapons in the war of ideas”—The Librarian of Burned Books is an unforgettable historical novel, a haunting love story, and a testament to the beauty, power, and goodness of the written word.

©2023 Brianna Labuskes (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

A read chosen for our book group

Good content and particularly relevant , but I felt the writing could have been tighter. Sometimes I felt like the author explored too much of the obvious instead of letting the reader draw their own conclusions.

Slow start but great story.

This one was a challenge for me. I had to make myself listen but about halfway through that all changed. I ended up liking it.

Disappointed

There was not enough of a story about WW2, books and that storyline. Too much fluff. Also, the voice of Viv, kept whispering. I was listening to this in the car and had to keep rewinding, turning the volume up, then turning the volume back down. SO annoying!

Lovely Story

A reminder how easily freedoms are lost when we allow only one side to be heard.

I really wanted to love it.

This was my first foray into historical fiction and it may be my last.

love this book

We need to pay very close attention to the message in this book. Who ever would have thought we would have the same things going on in America today by a leader who promises to be a dictator and will impose the "unified reich". like she says in this book, both sides are sure they're right, however it's important to actually listen and hear what's going on in politics and find the truth. i will listen to this book again

History matters, books matter.

A great read that makes you want to become active in someway so that history doesn’t repeat itself.

Amazing historical novel

The story was heart wrenching and I opening. Loved every minute, even when parts of it were painful. Beautifully written and read.

This story which goes back to 1933 has a lot of similarity to the United States today.

I liked the history in this novel. Somethings I had no idea were going on in the 40s in the US.

Thought provoking.

I really enjoyed this book. Kept finding time to get back to it and stayed up last night to finish it. I think it is a timely reminder of what small acts can lead to. Book banning is in the news right now. We don’t want to let history repeat itself.