Welcome friends! Blog tours help me make time for authors I have long wanted to read. Today, I am excited to share about Madeline Martin’s latest historical fiction novel, The Booklover’s Library. With unforgettable characters and immersive writing, it is the first book I read in Year 31 and it’s already one of my favorites, to be bought and added to my home library. Here is what the book is about:
A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of the books that bring them together.
In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job to provide for herself and her beloved daughter, Olivia. But with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her.
When the threat of war becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In her daughter’s absence, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, as well as the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, and her work forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.
As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.
The Booklover’s Library – Book Review
The Booklover’s Library is primarily set during the Second World War. In the beginning, we meet Emma as a young girl working at her father’s bookstore. Unfortunately, it was lost to a fire. Some years later, she is a widow and lives in an apartment building and in the years since her husband died, she has been struggling to make ends meet. She comes across The Booklover’s Library, a lending library in a popular department store, and decides to try her luck at getting a job there. The manageress is empathetic to her situation and thus begins Emma’s employment and its effect on her little family as war times take over.
On Lending Libraries
As a newbie librarian of my little free library, I enjoyed reading about a lending library. Madeline did thorough research and her note at the end of the book highlighted when and where these services existed. They were different from public libraries as they had a membership fee pyramid. Based on the fee, a reader could get recommendations and time from the librarians. Class A readers for access to new books well ahead of Class B readers. I enjoyed the many personalities of the patrons of the Booklover’s Library. The characters and setting were so inviting that I didn’t want to leave. The presence of library detectives and Mr Beard taking notes after the everyday functioning of the place added mystery and quirkiness to the story. Emma’s interactions with everyone were enjoyable to read and eventually she found her footing in recommending books to readers as well as her daughter.
On Hobbies
The Booklover’s Library made me think about hobbies. Emma disconnected from reading after her father’s death and the loss of the bookstore. In the early years of motherhood when her baby needed all her attention were spent with little time for herself. By working at the lending library, she is able to rediscover her love for reading and find escape in it. In times of hard decisions, when she is lonely and sad, she is again able to get lost into books and enjoy the moment. The book beautifully portrays how books connect us with other people and the joys of finding a book to get lost in. I really liked how Emma’s grief impacted her reading and how she was able to find renewed pleasure in it.
On Women and England in the Second World War
I haven’t made a list of World War II books that I have read but I really should. Every single one of them has highlighted a different aspect of living. The Booklover’s Library combined pieces of information I had learned from books like The Nightingale, The Paris Library and The Children’s Train, offering new perspectives to situations. I felt Emma’s pain of separating from her child, sending her off to strangers and relatives alike, unable to protect her. Her struggles with rations and planning well in advance for a little celebration were bitter sweet to read about.
What was brand new to me was the restrictions on married and widowed women when it came to seeking employment. I knew from The Devil and Mrs Davenport that women did not get the right to manage their own finances until much after the war but I was dumbstruck to read first hand impact of such restrictions during the war, especially as more and more men left to join the war efforts.
Another new aspect that I hadn’t known about the restrictions on paper during the war. How daily newspapers were forced to reduce in number of pages and production resources were diverted to war essential things and eventually the paper quality in books was also impacted.
On Community – Judgement and Empathy
It is so easy to judge without knowing the nuances of someone’s situation. This is highlighted many times in The Booklover’s Library. While Emma’s neighbor is quick to scold her for leaving her child unattended, her co-worker gossips about one the library patrons, wondering why he hasn’t joined the war efforts. Sometimes, situations like these bring in doubt, other times, Emma’s resolve is solid and she does not waver from her decisions and stands up for herself and others. She is an empathic and loveable character, trying to survive in a world that does not want to support her.
Through her employment at the Booklover’s Library, Emma starts to open up. She makes friends with Margaret, a woman engaged to be married. She is able to accept help and eventually friendship from Mrs Pickering and Mr Sanderson who live in her building. In turn, they share their lives with her, teaching her valuable lessons, getting her involved as a volunteer in the war efforts and supporting her during the tough times.
The hardships make some people stronger and others only more bitter. The Booklover’s Library presents a balanced picture of people trying to live everyday in the face of great danger.
Emma’s daughter, Olivia, describes reading as hot chocolate for the brain. The Booklover’s Library was truly hot chocolate for my brain and reading it in the Fall season with a cup of hot chocolate was my favorite way to spend the evenings. Looking forward to doing this again!
Let me know if you add this book to your Goodreads shelf or what you thought of the review. Head to the end of this post for a full list of books mentioned in The Booklover’s Library.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for giving me a chance to highlight this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for reading my thoughts. 🙂
Check out other reviewers on the tour:
Check out all the books by Madeline Martin here.
Here is a list of all the books I noted as I read The Booklover’s Library.
- Emma
- Jane eyre
- The mask of dimitrios by Eric ambler
- Gone with the wind
- A tale of two cities
- Lady chatterley’s lover
- Wuthering heights
- The death of the heart
- Inferno
- The lady of red gables by Elizabeth carfrae
- Pride and prejudice
- Death on the Nile
- The death of the heart
- David copperfield
- A Christmas Carol
- Love in pity
- Alice’s adventures in wonderland
- murder on the orient express
- The nine tailors
- Little women
- Anne of green gables
- Anne of avonlea
- Oliver Twist
- Les miserables
- War and peace
- Middlemarch
- Mansfield park
- Little house in the big woods
- Pigeon pie
- The count of Monte Cristo
- Caddie Woodlawn
- The Swiss family Robinson
- Little house in the books woods
- The secret garden
- Hamlet
- Macbeth
- Peter Pan and Wendy
You can find the most impactful books in the book club guide.
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