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.

Important read

This story speaks to the heart of what is so important to remember; books are more than just words.

Timely story

Historical novel about freedom of expression denied in Hitlers Germany; book lovers’ delight. Well told.

Excellent

Thank you! I needed this encouragement to continue to stand against injustice. Love love love!

Interesting and relevant

This was a beautifully told story. Interesting characters, And history is doomed to repeat itself if we don’t pay attention.

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.

Shattered by the ending

This is one of those books that is likely much easier to follow in physical form than in audio because of its structure and changing perspectives. I spent the first half of the book thinking there was only one main character, and the story took place at different times and places in her life. Part of this was that the narrators’ voices were similar enough, it could’ve been one person changing her speech patterns and accents. Once I understood there were three woman and their interconnectedness, it became easier to understand and to engage with the characters. By the end, I was all in and ugly crying. I’m so glad I pushed through.

Germany Burned v. ASE Books for USA GIs

For a fictional novel, The Librarian of Burned Books tells the story of three women whose lives and understanding of the importance of books is strongly affected by the 1933 book burnings of banned books with the German students lighting the first flames. The librarians and citizens in the USA answered a call for donations but quickly found a need for the GIs sent overseas to have more portable reading material, so the ASE books were created. The ASEs were a hit but then Washington, D.C. got in on the action with censorship and election laws. I recommend a book, When Books Went to War, by Molly Guptil Manning for the research on archives for some of the authors like Betty Smith that were published in the ASEs, plenty of research on the ASE formats, and then all that messy censorship. Of course recommend the fiction book here for students. Everyone should remember that great libraries all over Europe were destroyed or dismantled for many reasons and there are good books about some of those efforts.

Beginning Problematic / End make it worth while.

The beginning was confusing.... because the story jumps between different times and locations. It took awhile for the story comes together.... once that happened the book made sense....

I almost gave up listening to this book... ⁴I read a few of the reviews...  I found that I was not the only one who struggled at the beginning of the book and I was encouraged to continue...

I'm grateful I finished the book and recommend this wonderful story..