One of the things I love about great historical fiction is the power it has to shine a light on our own time. The Collector of Burned Books is an exemplary example of this principle, illustrating the importance of critical thinking, of being able to understand (and even argue) both sides of an argument in order to fully satisfy ourselves that we understand right and wrong … and how to spot the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Anyway, that is getting off track.
The Collector of Burned Backs is set in Paris, France, in the German occupation of 1940. Corrine Bastin is a professor of German literature at the Sorbonne university … and a spy, hiding coded messages in the books in the Library of Banned Books next door to her apartment. Christian Bauer is a German officer, sent to Paris to catalogue and “relocate” the contents of Parisian libraries – especially the contents of the infamous Library of Burned Books.
It’s obvious from the beginning that Christian is a booklover who values ideas over politics. But he’s also booklover who wears a Nazi uniform, which makes him the enemy as far as Corrine is concerned.
It’s also obvious Christian will have to walk a fine line, appeasing his Nazi masters while still following his own conscience. (To be fair, Corrine and every other Parisian has the same problem – especially those who are secretly working against the Nazis, as Corrine is).
The story started solidly although perhaps a little slowly, although there was an underlying tension that kept me reading. I didn’t have to wait long. At around the one- third mark, we discover Christian’s secret, one that makes all his actions clear. From that point on, the book is simply un-put-downable as Christian and Corrine navigate occupied Paris.
The Collector of Burned Backs is compelling fiction. The characters are intelligent people with integrity, stuck in a difficult situation not of their own choosing. The writing took me straight to World War Two Paris. The plot and pacing is excellent, resulting in a thought-provoking and challenging story.
There’s also a fun link back to some of Roseanna M White’s previous novels.
The writing is a study in the importance of free thought vs indoctrination, and the perils of an education system that prioritises the latter in the name of “truth” which is not God’s truth. It’s a mirror on modern life as we consider how easy it can be to support the right ideas for the wrong reasons – or worse, supporting the wrong ideas for the right reasons.
Let him who has ears to hear …
Recommended for historical fiction lovers, especially those who appreciate robust debate about difficult issues.
Thanks to Tyndale and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Roseanna M White
Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna has a slew of historical novels available, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia.
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About The Collector of Burned Books
In this gripping World War II historical about the power of words, two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy.
Paris, 1940. Ever since the Nazi Party began burning books, German writers exiled for their opinions or heritage have been taking up residence in Paris. There they opened a library meant to celebrate the freedom of ideas and gathered every book on the banned list . . . and even incognito versions of the forbidden books that were smuggled back into Germany.
For the last six years, Corinne Bastien has been reading those books and making that library a second home. But when the German army takes possession of Paris, she loses access to the library and all the secrets she’d hidden there. Secrets the Allies will need if they have any hope of liberating the city she calls home.
Christian Bauer may be German, but he never wanted anything to do with the Nazi Party—he is a professor, one who’s done his best to protect his family as well as the books that were a threat to Nazi ideals. But when Goebbels sends him to Paris to handle the “relocation” of France’s libraries, he’s forced into an army uniform and given a rank he doesn’t want. In Paris, he tries to protect whoever and whatever he can from the madness of the Party and preserve the ideas that Germans will need again when that madness is over, and maybe find a lost piece of his heart.
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