Review: The Librarian Spy

Dangle a World War II set novel, written by a woman, with “librarian” in the title in front of me and you better believe I’ll grab it. Immediately. With both hands. I was so excited to read The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin not just because of those three things but also because I very much enjoyed her debut, The Last Bookshop of London (review here). It was a really interesting – and enjoyable – read!

Here’s the book’s description:

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.

Truthfully, the use of “librarian” in the title is a wee bit misleading. Ava isn’t at the Library of Congress for very long and I didn’t get the sense that she was very bookish (and if I’m misremembering, my apologies to both Ava and Martin!). BUT librarians (and other library staff) do a lot of different things and her knowledge of certain materials would have been intriguing and helpful to the government during war (how did they find these people?).

I found switching between Ava’s story in Portugal and Elaine’s in France to be a bit…I don’t want to say annoying because I wasn’t frustrated. It was more…like I was reading two different stories. I was certain they’d connect at some point, but it took an awfully long time for the two women’s stories to come together. They were both interesting, don’t get me wrong. Each woman was doing really important work to help end the war and I enjoyed learning the little bits of information Martin shared. But there have just been a lot of historical fiction novels like this that are either dual timeline or dual narrative and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. I have to wonder if it’s done because authors don’t think they have a robust enough story to focus on just one aspect or if publishers somehow think this is all historical fiction readers want.

I really didn’t know much about Portugal’s role in WWII before reading this novel. Essentially, they were neutral throughout most of the war – although it seems they were quite helpful to the Allied forces. They were also one of the last escape routes out of Europe for those trying to flee the dangers of war. I’m definitely interested in learning more about this part of WWII that is new to me.

The Librarian Spy was one of those books that I had a great time reading but isn’t the best novel in the historical fiction genre. I expected a little better from Madeline Martin and this book doesn’t hold up to a scrutinizing review but I was entertained from start to finish and I’ll for sure be reading whatever Martin writes next.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: Miss Dior

I feel like Dior is one of those fashion names that I’ve always been aware of but never really knew much about. So I definitely didn’t know Christian’s sister, Catherine, was involved in the French Resistance until I read Natasha Lester’s novel The Paris Secret. I was fascinated with the work of the Resistance during WWII and the stories that were never told. So, when I had the chance to review Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture, I jumped at it because I wanted to learn more about Catherine. A hefty book full oh photos, Justine Picardie’s latest work was interesting, if far lighter on Catherine’s life than I would have liked.

Here’s the book’s description:

When the French designer Christian Dior presented his first collection in Paris in 1947, he changed fashion forever. Dior's "New Look" created a striking, romantic vision of femininity, luxury, and grace, making him--and his last name--famous overnight. One woman informed Dior's vision more than any other: his sister, Catherine, a Resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, and cultivator of rose gardens who inspired Dior's most beloved fragrance, Miss Dior. Yet the story of Catherine's remarkable life--so different from her famous brother's--has never been told, until now.
Drawing on the Dior archives and extensive research, Justine Picardie's Miss Dior is the long-overdue restoration of Catherine Dior's life. The siblings' stories are profoundly intertwined: in Occupied France, as Christian honed his couture skills, Catherine dedicated herself to the Resistance, ultimately being captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück, the only Nazi camp solely for women. Seeking to trace Catherine's story as well as her influence on her brother, Picardie traveled to the significant places of Catherine's life, including Les Rhumbs, the Dior family villa with its magnificent gardens; the House of Dior in Paris; and La Colle Noire, Christian's chateau that he bequeathed to his sister.
Inventive and captivating, and shaped by Picardie's own journey, Miss Dior examines the legacy of Christian Dior, the secrets of postwar France, and the unbreakable bond between two remarkable siblings. Most important, it shines overdue recognition on a previously overlooked life, one that epitomized courage and also embodied the astonishing capacity of the human spirit to remain undimmed, even in the darkest circumstances.

After reading Lester’s novel, I did a bit of research myself to see what was out there about Catherine Dior. The answer is: not much. She was incredibly close-lipped about her time in the Resistance, her arrest, and her imprisonment and eventual release from a Nazi camp. Picardie gives life to a woman who stayed towards the shadows after the war – but there’s only so much she could do. I found the book was far more about Christian and his fashion house than it was about Catherine. Interesting? Sure. But not exactly what I signed up for.

Because there isn’t a lot of information from Catherine directly, Picardie used stories from other people who were experiencing similar things as Catherine during the war. In this, Picardie did very well and I could begin to have a sense of what Catherine would have gone through. She shares stories of other people who were also captured by French informants and tortured by the Gestapo, and women who were imprisoned at Ravensbrück at the same time as Catherine. Those stories, as you can imagine, were hard to read. Not only did it highlight that there were completely terrible people who had no qualms about sending people to die just because they were “different” but there were so many others who were complicit. Catherine was tortured because she was trying to help stop the war and the atrocities. She was tortured and injured so badly she was never able to have children. French citizens turned on each other and helped the Nazis. And the conditions at the camps were horrifying. There really is no other word for it.

Picardie visited a few of the places that were of significance to Catherine’s life, including Ravensbrück. She puts quite the personal spin on the visits, which I wasn’t expecting but isn’t surprising. I imagine one can’t help but reflect when visiting a place like a concentration camp. What was somewhat irksome was she referenced her own grief in such a way that I felt like I was supposed to know Picardie’s own background and history (from a brief search, I learned her sister died). It seems a bit…harsh, I guess, to remark on the author’s own grief but it took me out of the narrative I was expecting from this book.

The photographs and other images used throughout the book were great and added a lot to the overall narrative of the book. While I wasn’t expecting so much fashion talk, I was glad of the photos that accompanied those chapters. I did a listen/read combo with this one but I’m definitely glad I had a (hefty) physical copy as well so I got the full experience. The audiobook is narrated by Picardie herself and was well done.

Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture was definitely more couture than courage. If you know what to expect going into Justine Picardie’s latest book, I think you’ll enjoy it more. Catherine Dior may have been the focus of the book but she still remains an elusive historical figure.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*  

My review of The Paris Secret