historical fiction
It’s 1939 and 19-year old Sophie gets the chance to seek
safety in England but has to leave her Jewish sister and father behind in
Germany. Meanwhile, Juliet is a small-town British woman beginning an important
job in London as a library director, allowing her to escape her rigid parents’
expectations. And Katie, who works in Juliet’s new library, has a bright future
ahead of her when she discovers all her careful plans have been upended.
The Underground Library is the fourth novel I’ve read by Jennifer Ryan and it
felt different than the others. While she always focuses on the WWII time
period in Britain, particularly on the people left behind to find a way to live
at home, this one felt much more gritty to me. The protagonists were truly
dealing with devastating situations. The first chapter about Sophie having to
leave her family in an effort to find safety was so heartbreaking to read. I
don’t recall feeling so emotional after reading one chapter of a book before!
All three women had hurdles, two of them were particularly
difficult. I knew things would turn out for the best but I was still invested
in hearing their tales. They were all equally riveting. And, once again, Ryan
taught me about aspects of WWII which were previously unknown to me. I loved learning about the Underground Library in the subway station! And I always find it interesting to hear the stories about the women left to manage their families’ lives while
the men are fighting battles away from home. While women were given more
opportunities since the men were away fighting, they still had uphill battles
to gain any sort of freedom.
This novel moved me through the entire range of emotions. It
was up and down, happy and sad, tragic and wondrous, dangerous and safe. It was
about the importance of a support network and friends. I really enjoyed it and
would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it before
publication next month.
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