The Paris Library: A Novel

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Odile finds purpose and identity through her love of the Dewey Decimal System and books. What passion or interest has shaped your identity or career path in a similar way?

2. When Odile reveals Margaret’s secret to Paul in a moment of anger, it has devastating consequences that she cannot undo. Have you experienced a time when words spoken impulsively affected a relationship in ways you couldn’t control?

3. The Library staff makes the risky decision to deliver books to Jewish subscribers since they are barred from entering the library. When have you faced a situation where following your conscience meant breaking rules or taking risks?

4. Characters like Margaret in Paris and Odile in Montana experience being outsiders in their communities. When have you felt displaced in a new environment, and what helped you find belonging?

5. The relationship between Odile and Lily bridges generations and helps both characters heal from different wounds. How has an intergenerational friendship provided you with perspective or guidance?

6. Both Odile and Lily initially resist new maternal figures (the former Eugénie and the latter Eleanor) but eventually accept them. How have you navigated accepting unexpected changes within your circle of family and friends?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The book portrays how fear led Parisians to write “crow letters” to inform on (report) neighbors. What contemporary examples exist in which social fear creates similar behaviors of surveillance or reporting?

2. The American Library in Paris represented intellectual freedom during wartime. How do libraries and cultural institutions continue to serve as sanctuaries during social or political upheaval today?

3. After Paris’s liberation, women who had relationships with German soldiers faced public humiliation and violence, as Margaret experiences. How does this connect to broader patterns of societal policing of women’s personal choices during conflicts?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does the author use the Dewey Decimal System as both a practical element and a metaphor throughout the novel? What does this system represent about order versus chaos during wartime?

2. The narrative includes several perspectives beyond Odile’s, including chapters from Margaret’s and Paul’s viewpoints. How do these shifting perspectives enhance your understanding of events, particularly regarding Paul’s actions toward Margaret?

3. One of the novel’s recurring symbols is the red belt that Margaret gives Odile. How does the meaning of this object evolve throughout the story, and what does Odile’s decision to stop wearing it at Lily’s graduation represent?

4. How does the parallel between Odile’s betrayal of Margaret and Lily’s near-betrayal of Mary Louise strengthen the novel’s exploration of jealousy and friendship? What does this mirroring suggest about human nature across generations?

5. Paul loves Odile tenderly yet commits violence against Margaret. How does this contradiction enrich the novel’s portrayal of human behavior during crisis?

6. Both timelines feature characters dealing with loss—wartime losses during the Paris timeline and the death of Lily’s mother during the Montana timeline. How do these parallel experiences of grief connect the two narrative strands?