Reviewed by Kate Thompson
London, 1944.
Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country's only underground library, built over the tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a secret community thrives: with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above.
Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women's determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.
Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton via NetGalley for my copy of The Little Wartime Library to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson was an utter joy to read from start to finish. Set during World War Two and based on real events, and despite the awful nature as to why a library ended up in the Bethnal Green Underground Station and although war raged on around the characters, this book is full of love, hope, community spirit and friendship. It’s a warm hug of a book that will envelop you and reluctantly leave you go as you reach the final page. I could have read on and on so enraptured was I by the entire story and it’s safe to say I would class this as Kate Thompson’s best book to date. Her love for the subject matter emanates from the pages and it was evident such detailed research was undertaken in order to make this the best story it could possibly be.
This is a homage to books and to the remarkable people who made so many sacrifices during the war displaying such resilience, strength and courage in the most desperate of times. At the beginning there is a lovely, passionate and inspiring note from the author which highlighted the importance and need for libraries just as much now as they were needed during the war. At the start of every chapter there is a quote from different librarians and these make you really stop and think and you find yourself nodding along in agreement.
Clara Button is the branch librarian for a library with a difference. Following the bombing of Bethnal Green library in the first week of the Blitz, it relocated to Bethnal Green underground station. The tube station had been incomplete and subsequently turned into a shelter and literally became like an underground community with people living there permanently and even a theatre and café spring up alongside the library. I had previously read of an incident which occurred at the entrance to the tube station but never knew that a library and shelter had been set up there. The results of the aforementioned incident have a strong influence over how one of the characters acts and feels and this was dealt with very well. Clara has her best friend Ruby helping her as a fellow librarian.
Together they made an incredible duo. What one may have lacked in personality or ability the other made up for it. They were like ying and yang and when united could do incredible things and they did throughout the book. They were two of the most selfless characters I have ever read about. Each had their own personal traumas to deal with and although they didn’t ignore the suffering they were going through and how events had impacted on them personally, they often pushed their own issues aside and dedicated both their personal and working lives to helping the residents of the underground station. They did all this by sharing their love of books and this is what unites so many of the characters and aids them through the bad times. Even as the bombs fell they could be whisked away to a world of safety and escape to a different time and place and in doing so were afforded time to take their minds of the struggles of everyday life. Women were united through the book club set up by Clara and were given a voice at a time when men weren’t best pleased that women had stepped up and taken over their roles whilst so many were away fighting.
Clara was such a fabulous character whose love of books shone through all her actions and the endless work she did at the library. She was the force that united everybody and I despised the way her new boss Mr Pinkerton treated her. I think he was very much of the old school that women should be seen and not heard and rather their place was at home. Clara was the complete anthesis to him and as her home life wasn’t that great for various reasons and guilt and the burden of keeping something secret weighed on her I think she channelled all her energies into the library wanting to do good for people who had so little. Clara is human, compassionate and intelligent and never judges anyone no matter what background they come from or story she may have. The library is her life and she brightens the days of everyone who walks through its doors. She is full of energy and vision and is resolute and strong in her objectives for the library.
Ruby is a character full of guts and guile and Clara’s right hand women. She is fiercely independent and I loved how her story turned out. I wouldn’t have expected such greatness from her when I first read about her but it shows women can go to do remarkable things. Her family struggles were highlighted in a realistic way but I wish she had been a bit more forceful earlier on which would have saved an awful lot pain and anger. But I suppose she had to bide her time and respect the wishes of the person involved.
I loved the addition of the Tube Rats - a group of young children who call the station their home and got up to all sorts of mischief. Sparrow and Tubby were the two most memorable boys from the gang and I enjoyed how Clara worked her magic on Sparrow. She could see he had plenty of ability if given the chance and she embraced him into the little family unit she was creating within the library. As for Marie and Beatty, two sisters who fled from Guernsey, I could guess fairly on what was going on with the pair and I was surprised neither Clara nor Ruby twigged things much sooner than they did. I loved the chapters towards the end of the book set in Guernsey. The little titbit we got made me think oh I’d love if the author would set a future book there detailing life on the island during the war. There was a character connected to the two sisters whose story I would have loved to have read much more about. I know this wasn’t the book for it but my suggestion above would cover this and I would be first in line to read it.
As previously mentioned Clara and Ruby are the two stand out main characters but there are so many supporting characters that were relevant and I wanted to know lots and lots about them. Mrs Chumbley, the deputy shelter manager, Mr Pepper who has lost his beloved wife and needs a place where he feels wanted and valued. Billy, the ambulance driver who adds a surprising twist to the overall story, is a conscientious objector but yet through his work he is helping so many. As himself and Clara grow closer will there be happiness for the pair or will secrets prove to hard to overcome? There are too many other characters to mention but suffice to say they all add value to the story and deserve their place and only help to create such a wonderful community feeling which will stay with you long after you have finished this brilliant book.
If you love books based on the war but at the same time are becoming slightly jaded with reading of the same stories rehashed in different ways then The Little Wartime Library is the book for you. It is beautifully crafted with such a wide range of memorable characters that make this book increasingly difficult to put down the further you read. You will lose all sense of time and place and travel with Clara and Ruby to their underground library which is a community hub for those who need support, comfort and the world of books to take their minds off the troubles and strife that the endless war brings.
The importance of friendship, uniting through books and being there for one another in good times and bad are all highlighted and make you stop and think about how many courageous and worthwhile deeds were carried out by so many when the worst of times befell the world. This is a book to readily lose yourself in and when you reach the final word you will be glad to have learnt so much about the time and have met so many wonderful characters. Not to mention you will want to read many of the books mentioned throughout if you have not done so already. This is a story well told that deserves to reach a wide audience, I loved every minute of it and would highly recommend it.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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