The Paris Library: A Novel

Boris, the head librarian, returns to the Library quickly, as Miss Reeder ensured that he received dispensation from military service. In a conversation with Odile, he tells her about his experience fighting during the Russian Revolution. When he had the opportunity to kill an enemy, he declined to do so. That soldier later shot and killed his best friend. Boris describes how, when he contracted typhus during that war, thoughts of his sisters together got him through “the lowest point in my life” (116). Gesturing toward the children’s room, where Bitsi works, he encourages Odile to make peace. Instead, to his sorrow, Odile responds that she and Bitsi aren’t sisters.

Three days into the war, Miss Reeder creates the Soldiers’ Service. To comfort the troops, the Library will prepare and ship “collections of books for canteens and field hospitals” (117). Odile persuades the skeptical French press of its value, and word gets out. As a result, donations pour into the Library, and the program is wonderfully successful. The staff sends out thousands of books and periodicals. Soldiers make requests and send thank-you notes.

Bitsi reports to Odile that she has received a letter from

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