Janet Skeslien Charles will join us via Zoom from Paris for a discussion of her new best-selling novel, The Paris Library, recently published by Simon and Schuster. She will be interviewed by Dan Slater, Vice President for Cultural Programs at Alliance Française de Pasadena, and your questions will be invited as well.

The Paris Library was listed as one of the most anticipated books for 2021 by Goodreads and Library Journal and is now on the best-seller lists of The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.

Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, The Paris Library is a book for lovers of books and libraries and historical fiction.  In the winter of 1939, the main character, Odile Souchet, begins her dream job as a librarian at the American Library in Paris.  After the Nazis occupy Paris, however, the librarians at the American Library decide to undertake a resistance effort to continue to supply books to those the Nazis have now banned from the Library and to undertake other resistance activities.  During the War and the Nazi occupation, Odile finds solace in the Library and her resistance work.  Switch to the 1980s and the little town of Froid, Montana, where the other main character, Lily, a teenager, finds herself lonely and quite curious about her mysterious neighbor, Odile Souchet.  With increasing encounters Lily learns more about Odile’s life during and after the War, as well as their mutual love of language and books.  The story of Odile’s life during World War II unfolds and makes surprising connections to Lily’s life as memory, relationships, and life choices intersect.

Janet Skeslien Charles has intimate knowledge of both the American Library in Paris and Montana.  She worked at the American Library in Paris as the programs manager and discovered the story of the heroism of the librarians who worked both openly and secretly to protect the Library from Nazi pillage.  She grew up in a small town in Montana and now divides her time between Paris and Montana.

The Paris Library is available at your local independent bookstores and online booksellers in hardback, paperback, Kindle, Nook, and audiobook formats.

This event will be on Zoom and is free for all Alliance Française members, AATF members, and invited guests of the presenter or publicist. Non-members or persons who have no AF chapter nearby can purchase tickets ($10).

Tuesday, April 13, 2021
11:00am Pacific/12:00pm Mountain/1:00pm Central/2:00pm Eastern
Federation of Alliances Françaises USA with AF Pasadena
In English