An Unforgettable Story

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar is the kind of story that wraps you up in a time period, its characters, and the storyline in a way that leaves readers unwilling to separate from the experience when the book is done, similar to viewing a powerful film that engulfs you completely. It is an unforgettable story about a period when the best and worst of humanity gathered on a global stage to fight a war so staggering in it’s breadth and brutality, it haunts us today. After finishing this book, I couldn’t start another one for a week; it lived inside the core of me, and I needed time to process the experience.

A friend sent me an Amazon prepublication promotion about this book in May. That is when I discovered author Mario Escobar, and fell in love with the cover art of his three other most recent historic fiction books released in the US: Auschwitz Lullaby (8/7/18), Children of the Stars (2/25/20), and Remember Me (9/15/20). As I begin the book,  I am struck by parallels of how the narrative unfolds as librarian Jocelyn Ferrec is writing to an author she admires, Marcel Zola. She hopes Zola will edit her wartime experiences conveyed in letters to him, and share the dramatic live action story of her French seaport town during it’s Nazi occupation with the rest of the world. Author Mario Escobar has said the inspiration for this book was one of his readers who shared her story with him, an author whose books she loved. He is prompted to travel to France and visit Saint-Malo, where he is moved and compelled to breath life into this book. 

The story opens with joy; two people meet in a bookstore, marry, and take a honeymoon train trip to Paris, exuberantly drinking in the experience with their champagne. The reader feels the excitement and promise of starting a life together with someone you love deeply.

The story, like life in a small French village, unfolds peacefully, but the confusion of war fast approaches. The occupation of France is swift and horrifying to its citizens. Its government seems to be “missing in action,” danger is everywhere when Nazi bombing raids swarm the skies, refugees run for their lives in unfamiliar cities, cars are abandoned mid flight when gas runs out, and all able bodied men are drafted as the army fights on. Jocelyn faces an uncertain future with only rare letters from her husband, who writes as warfare permits. She shares, “I had never stopped to imagine the chaos of the world without authorities.” Suddenly readers find themselves drawn into the action, running for cover through a landscape disfigured by smoke, fire, and artillery, pushing on afterward, uncertain about what lies ahead.

Fiercely loyal to her community, occupied by invaders, she writes to Zola “A city is like a woman...everyone wants to conquer her, but she resists. They may occupy her streets but never her soul. Saint-Malo will be free, so long as we keep tending her fire in our hearts.” She learns the Nazis have assigned an officer to room in her home, and soon experiences firsthand the rising threats to culture and literature, with the possibility of book banning in her own town. She notes,“We had heard on the radio how the Nazis censored everything, and controlled the media.” Neighbors are encouraged to report town transgressors to the Nazis. She fears for her safety, her husband, her home, her town, and her country. 

Huddling in a shelter during a bombing raid Jocelyn writes, “We wait for death with our eyes closed tight, like children scared of shadows on the wall. Some ancient instinct tells us that the eyelids create an impassible barrier between us and what we fear, but the darkness did not keep me from hearing the voice, or smelling the rancid breath of Adolf Bauman. I did not know why he hated me in particular so much, though I figured it was because I was not afraid of him. Nothing terrifies a monster more than not being feared.” Hope comes when love of books and words bind hearts divided by conflict. She writes, “Something deeper than friendship united us. Neither of us had lost our humanity. Many people think human beings are what is wrong with the world, but the real problem is dehumanization. Philosophy has relegated us to the condition of rational animals, robbing us of all the virtues that make us special, and reducing us to mere beasts whose only purpose is to reproduce and protect our descendants.”

As occupation weeks turn into months and years, she sees her library as the repository of French culture and history, vowing to defend it, despite sinister forces at hand who seek it’s wealth, while wishing its destruction, as well as hers. Continuing to send letters to Zola, words that tell of her fears and resistance, she finds new allies and enemies coming from the most unlikely and unexpected quarters, and reminds herself, “The power of words does not lie in the stories we tell, but in our ability to connect with the hearts of those who read them.” 

The narrative appears to emerge directly from Jocelyn through author Escobar, who establishes a potent connection with the hearts of readers, as bravery, love, loss, freedom, war, sacrifice, defeat, and victory are interwoven themes, ensuring our tending the fires of this book in our hearts for some time to come. It is a tribute to books and those who love them, the way they connect us despite differences, celebrates the liberation of uncensored words, and their power to change the world.

I received an ARC from publisher Thomas Nelson via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also borrowed my library’s audiobook (narrator Nicole Boggs was excellent). All opinions are my own and not influenced by either the author or publisher.