The Little Village of Book Lovers - Nina George

Genre: Hmmm…

If you love to read and believe in the power of books - this is a must read. If you want to believe in the power of love - also a must read. Nina George - author also of The Little Paris Bookshop - advocates beautifully for the power of stories to shape the lives of readers who read books. She lays the groundwork for this idea in The Little Paris Bookshop, and this librarian/literature teacher was dazzled - the way George intertwines this idea in The Little Village of Book Lovers with love and the fates and hate who are CHARACTERS no less is just stunning.

To summarize this title feels silly to me. How to recapture in a few words the intricacies of what George does, in fact, seem a bit impossible. She begins with an orphaned baby, a sentient olive tree, an overwhelmed love, and a family. She creates within the new father this unexpected urge to read and to surround himself with readers and more importantly to surround his daughter with readers. His daughter sees lights that no one else can, and the child struggles to figure them out -she reads, studies, and talks to others. The whole village becomes involved as she learns what it means to love and be loved.

So you don’t know that you need to read Nina George until you do. The characters are marvelously developed as is the plot. The fantasy elements blend seamlessly with those that are more “realistic.” I am not naturally drawn to fantasy but loved this title.

I suppose part of my love is that the title so fully supports my life’s loves and work. I have always believed in the power of reading - reading, becoming a literature and the importance of libraries - serving on the public library board, getting my MSLS, becoming a school librarian, and serving on the board again. George puts into words more eloquently than I ever could or will the power of reading to shape the reader. Beautiful.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.