The Little Wartime Library

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Thompson takes these facts and spins a marvelous story of friendship, found family, and community. All of the characters are so well developed that they became real people to me. I laughed, I cried, and I worried right along with them. And I galloped through the book, resenting the intrusions of Real Life that kept me from reading. I need to know What Happened Next. I appreciated that the author set the story in the later stages of the war (1944-45), so that we could see the cumulative strains and weariness from coping and striving to 'carry on'. I can’t deny that I’m a huge fan of Kate Thompson’s brilliantly brought-to-life books but I think The Little Wartime Libraryis probably her best yet.

I loved every word of this book. Kate Thompson’s research is, as always, impeccable. She brings the East End’s characters and war-weary to life in a way that never fails to enchant me. I’m envious of readers who have yet to experience The Little Wartime Library. Definitely a five-star read that I can’t recommend highly enough. The entire supporting cast of characters in this story are a definite value add – they all work together to add unity to the overall scope of the story. I can’t think of a single one which didn’t add something of value. Clara must fight some adversity and people who are against what she is trying to do, as the war drags on Clara’s strength is tested many times over but she never gives up, with the Germans dropping their new bombs many people from the underground are affected and there are many tears shed. Clara meets ambulance worker Billy Clark when he jumps in and helps her when needed most, and Clara is a widow and soon she is seeing her heart open to Billy but he holds a secret that will cause problems. Young childless widow Clara Button is doing her bit for the war effort, running Britain’s only Underground Shelter Library.... Our barbarous foes may be hell-bent on burning London to the ground, but beneath the city’s surface, Mrs. Button calmly carries on stamping books and ensuring everyone has a thumping good read to take their mind off the bombs."I love the two women who run the underground library and how resilient they are and I love most of the other characters as well. I love the world building and how much research the author does include in the book as well. This ode to libraries and WWII era books and librarians introduces a community of people brought together by war and needed the isle of calm the library gave them when up against terrors like refugees from the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands and the bombings on the home front while a nation is in a desperate war. Based on the real existence of the Bethnal Green underground community, the historical authenticity and historical mile markers- like the Bethnal Green tube disaster, Jersey, and other devastation- settled over the story as added layers letting the character-driven plot action and colorful, complex characters shine in the forefront. History isn’t about dates and battlefields, leaders, and royalty. It’s about ordinary people getting on with the business of living, in spite of such unforgiving odds. And somehow in the process always managing to hold hard to hope.

Heartbreakingly, that home was tinged with horror one night in March 1943 when 173 people died in a human crush on the uneven steps down to the shelter. ARP wardens worked alongside housewives and boy scouts to save the injured. Mrs Chumbley wrenched children free from the crush with such force their shoes were left behind. It was three hours before the last casualty was pulled out.Kate Thompson’s exploration of what the ‘little’ person can achieve in the face of adversity is truly inspirational. When you close a library, bad things start to happen in the neighbourhood where the library used to be. The library is the glue that holds a community together and you only miss it after it has gone. " A gripping and heart-wrenching novel set in London in World War Two, following the two women who run a secret underground library