The Librarian of Burned Books- A Novel by Brianna Labuskes
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Web ID: 16778005Fantastic!
One of the best books I have read in the last year, phenomenal storyline, characters you learn to truly care about, and historical references that are well-researched. Highly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction type stories and is not afraid of a story and characters that push the norm a bit. Brianna Labuskes has done it again with this book!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Dangers of Censorship
Three separate women in three different cities at three varying years leading up to and during WWII. Althea, an American bestselling author, has been invited to Germany by Joseph Goebbels just as Hitler becomes Chancellor. Hannah, a German Jew and resister, is in Paris working in a library of banned books. And Viv, a war widow and NYC socialite, is working hard to keep books in the hands of American troops. I loved the three women in this story. Althea is a bit naive, but once her eyes are opened, she can’t look away. Hannah is risking her life in resisting the Nazis and Viv is a tigress, doing everything she possibly can to stop a Senator’s amendment. The novel is about bigotry and censorship. For me, chapters 49 and 50, make the book. The moving speeches in those two chapters are relevant even today. I wish everyone would read them and understand just how important the battle against censorship is. ASEs (Armed Services Editions) was a remarkable program I had never heard of and it was interesting to learn about it and how much it meant to the troops. The author’s note explains which parts of the story are based on history and she also includes lists of additional reading resources for readers who are interested in a deeper dive into the past. Questions for book clubs are included too. 4.25 stars
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A wake up call for the US
The Librarian of Burned Books (Paperback) by Brianna Labuskes Paperback Edition "Books are a way to leave a mark on the world, aren't they? They say we were here, loved and we greaved and we laughed and we made mistakes and we 'existed.' They can be burned halfway across the world, but the words cannot be unread, the stories cannot be untold. They do live in this library, but more importantly they are imortalized in anyone who has read them." p. 44 "But as I said, words cannot be unwritten simply because you burn them. Ideas cannot be erased. people cannot be erased...Burning books about things you do not like or understand does not mean those things no longer exist." p. 130 - 131 "Fear...So much of this is because of fear, isn't it? All Hitler had to do was make people afraid: There is a monster out there who will attack you if you don't let me protect you...And if that requires sacrificing a few freedoms, then that's the price for law and order, isn't it? p. 239 "There are nights I lie awake wondering what the moment was that we lost the Germany I knew. Some might point to the invasion of Poland, the official act of war. Some might look at the Anschluss the same way. There are million such moments. Kristallnacht, the night of the Long Knives, the Jewish boycotts, the race laws, the opening of concentration camps, the November treaty that brought about so much bitterness. But sometimes I think it was the moment right before the gasoline was poured on the books. The moment the most educated country in the world willingly, joyously, wholeheartedly turned away from knowledge." p. 362 "I can tell you that banning books, burning books, blocking books is often used as a way to erase people, a belief system, a culture...To say these voices don't belong here, even when those writers represent the best of a country...I am here to tell warn you that it is so easy to let the fuel spill onto those pages. Once that spark catches, once the fire is lit and the flames begin to consume everything we hold dear, there is nothing that can put it out...We cannot stop individuals who read for the sole purpose of confirming their already closely held beliefs...But we can stop the dictators, the tyrants, the bullies who try to impose that method onto others." p. 363 This a book about three women, in three timelines, in three cities, in three different timelines that converge in New York City in 1944 to stop Senator Robert Taft - a Republican who hated President Roosevelt - from banning the Armed Services Editions (ASEs) from mailing small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II through his Censorship Act. The first timeline (Berlin 1933) and woman - Althea James, a newly published author of 'An Inconsolable Dark.' She was recruited by Joseph Goebbels and paraded by Professor Diedrich Miller as she was brainwashed by the Hitler propaganda. Althea gets involved with Deveraux (Dev) Charles an American filmmaker for the Reicht, who is a lot more than she pertains to be. Dev shows Althea a different Germany and opened her eyes to the real Hitler and the gay life in Germany's cabarets - introducing her to her lover, Hannah. The second woman and timeline (Paris 1936) - Hanna Brecht The Librarian of the German Library of Banned Books, and her involvement with Althea which she believes caused her brother, Adam Brecht to end in a concentration camp and his eventual death. The third woman is Vivian (Viv) Childs (New York 1944), a widow, who is working for Armed Services Editions (ASEs) as the publicity Director for the Council of Books in Wartime. 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. Narrated from the third person point of view, this is must read for everyone in the US, especially after Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are trying to establish a fascist state here in America. Call it a wake-up call for those who are not paying attention. The characters are so real, they keep coming out of the page and inviting you to care for them, their passions, their love affairs, and their love for books and knowledge. It is a very well-researched and conceived plot that is hard to put down. Highly recommended!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Very timely historical fiction!
The fact that this novel was inspired by the Council of Books in Wartime, which was a real WWII institution, had me intrigued from the beginning. As the synopsis states, many people came together to use books as “weapons in the war of ideas”, so people could gather factual knowledge instead of propaganda. And what a timely novel indeed, when we're in the midst of a cultural culling of books in libraries across the nation - where our First Amendment freedom of speech and press is being nullified before our very eyes. I absolutely understand the need to decide for your own children and families what is acceptable for them to read based on your own beliefs, but to snatch away that decision from others is unfathomable to me. My point is... read this book! WWII began with taking away the ability to read many books because of fear of "evil" influence. Just a thought... but if you're one of the people supporting book banning, have you considered that perhaps your fear is misplaced? Thank you so much, partners BiblioLifestyle & William Morrow Books for this lovely gifted review copy! Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! Brianna Labuskes, you killed it!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good mix of fact and fiction
The Librarian of Burned Books By Brianna Labuskes There are so many novels out there today about Nazi Germany and the 2nd World War – historical fiction – that I have come to think that, on this topic, there is "nothing new under the sun". This book, while it does deal with some of the same ideas, goes at it from a different angle. This is the story of three women, drawn together by world events, and how their lives connect. Althea James is a young naïve American girl from Maine who, due to the success of a first novel, is invited in 1933 by Joseph Goebbels as part of a propaganda initiative to influence America's opinions about Germany. Hitler is just coming to his power with the help of his thugs and the blindness of the German people as to what the Nazis really are. Hannah Brecht is a German Jew who loves her country but is afraid of what is coming as the Nazis gain control. These two women meet and become friends as the German introduces the American to the Berlin culture of Cabarets and Night Clubs where there is an attitude of live and let live. The two women feel their way toward a relationship more than just friendship; and just when their lesbian relationship comes to fruition, they witness together the Night of the Burning Books (May, 1936), The night opens Althea's eyes to the monsters of Nazism – but leads to a betrayal which ends whatever is between them. It is now 1944 and Viv Childs is an American war widow who works in book publishing and is working with the US Government to extend a program to send books to all servicemen who are serving overseas. A contentious US senator, trying to make a name for himself against Roosevelt, has added a censorship rider to an important bill which would damage Viv's program perhaps beyond repair. She must figure out how to turn this around and save the Armed Services Editions program. These three women, when they come together, must strive to undo censorship and restore hope in a bleak world. The author does a good job of creating a world where women of strength manage to hold their own and, little by little, reintroduce hope for the future. Based in part on historical events, the story combines facts and fiction with great success.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
must read for our times
In the current climate of censorship this is a must read. Labuskes weaves together the stories of three women and their experiences with Nazism and in Nazi Germany. Hannah was my favorite, though the three stories balanced well. This is one of my favorite books of the year.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Cool concept
I was super excited to read get this book, but the way it’s set up just doesn’t do it Justice. It bounces between 3 different story lines which made it hard for me to enjoy.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Live in a world without books?
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. 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. Author Brianna Labuskes does a fantastic job with this novel! The characters are brought to life and tackle racism, fascism, censorship, betrayal, courage, sexism, desire, and so much more. All of this is done is a beautiful novel that is extremely well written. This novel is perfect for those who love books, history and will leave a reader feeling thankful we live in a world with books. You will feel empowered after reading this novel. Thank you to William Morrow, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this historical novel. . All thoughts and opinions are mine.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com