Thompson’s level of
research is impressive, both of conditions during the Blitz and of the horrors
of the ghetto, (Review by Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)
Kate Thompson, like all writers, is unsurprisingly a great
proponent of reading – and libraries, book clubs and any other way of getting
books to people. And The Secret Society
Of Librarians is something that in these days of social media and the
instant gratification of scrolling on devices needs to be emphasized.
The main part of the book is set during the second World War, alternating between London in the days of the Blitz and the horrific conditions of the ghetto in Lodz in Poland. The two main characters, Joyce and Dorotha, had met before the war at a library conference, and, with another group of women librarians, had set up their secret society – a way of maintaining their friendship and supporting their mutual interest in reading. This was something that would become ever more important in the dark days ahead as the availability of books became a huge comfort to people enduring the horrors of war, offering both an escape and a way to resist.
Dorotha is a librarian in Lodz, and once the Nazis have taken Poland she is confined to the ghetto but still endeavours to get books to those trapped with her. And as more and more people are deported, she tries to save their books, and deliver them to others.
As the net closes in on the Jews of Poland, she manages to hide the bulletins she has written to the secret society but has been unable to post. They will be found after the war.
Before the ghetto was set up, she was able to get her younger sister, Adela, out of Poland and to Joyce in London. And, even after their library and their home were bombed, the two of them managed to keep their work going, from a mobile library van – a first in Britain. The sheer awfulness of the Blitz is drawn in graphic detail in the novel.
Thompson’s level of research is impressive, both of conditions during the Blitz and of the horrors of the ghetto. There is a lengthy historical note at the end of the novel, which details the accuracy of the background to the book, and adds a great deal to the story.
Thompson has brought into focus parts of the war that have often been overlooked such as life in the ghettos, whereas we hear more, both in fiction and non-fiction, about the camps. She deals, particularly towards the end of the book, with the tragic results of survivors’ guilt.
However, I do feel that the main weakness of the novel lies in its characterization. Characters are either all good or all bad – there is little nuance – and this, along with what can only be described as an overdose of warm fuzzies, detracts from an otherwise impressive work. - Margaret von Klemperer
Published by Hodder & Stoughton: ISBN 978-1-399-74638-0
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