It’s not easy to discuss a novel I loved, one that I sobbed over and stayed up to finish. Madeline Martin’s novel of World War II is an homage to books and reading and the power of books. It’s filled with characters I loved, and beloved ones who are lost in the course of the war. That’s realistic, but I hated to see it happen.

Twenty-three-year-old Grace Bennett always dreamed of living in London. But, she stayed at home in Drayton for a year after her mother died, until her aunt kicked her out of the family home and the family business. Now, in August 1939, on the eve of the war, she and her best friend, Viv, are finally in London. Mrs. Weatherford, Grace’s mother’s best friend, offered them two months free rent while they look for jobs. Grace and Viv accept gratefully, and they’re reunited with Mrs. Weatherford’s gentle, kind son, Colin.

Viv forged references, so she’s ready to apply for work. But, Grace’s uncle refused to give her one. Mrs. Weatherford knows just the perfect place, Primrose Hill Books, although Grace isn’t a reader and Mr. Evans, the owner, insists he doesn’t need an assistant. Mrs. Weatherford badgers him into giving Grace six months in his dirty, unorganized bookshop, so the young woman can have a reference.

Grace is reluctant, and knows she isn’t prepared to talk about books with anyone. But, she’s willing to clean. And, one customer, George Anderson, takes her under his wing. He tries to interest her in books, saying many classics are also love stories. Grace might be willing to trust the handsome young engineer, but he enlists in the R.A.F. before he can be called up. He leaves her with his own copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, “A classic, but also a love story.” Then, Colin Weatherford is also called up.

When the “bore” war grows intense, Viv wants to do her part in the war effort. It’s Mr. Evans who eventually pushes Grace to work at night as an ARP Warden, an Air Raid Precaution Warden. While days are spent in the bookstore, three nights a week, she’s working in the blackout with another Warden. It’s there in shelters and the streets that she meets people who will continue to change her life.

The Last Bookshop in London, like Grace and Viv, starts out lighthearted and anticipatory. It doesn’t take long for the seriousness of the war to settle over the book. The characters and the story will stay with you long after it’s finished. And, the message about books and their importance touched my heart.

While I won’t spoil the book and reveal more, I will share one paragraph about reading. Grace, who never had time to read, asks George “What do you like best about reading?” He tries to sum it up. “It’s going somewhere without ever taking a train or ship, an unveiling of new, incredible worlds. It’s living a life you weren’t born into and a chance to see something colored by someone else’s perspective. It’s learning without having to face consequences of failures, and how best to succeed….I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books, and all their proffered experiences.”

Enjoy whatever book is currently taking you into a new world.

Madeline Martin’s website is http://MadelineMartin.com

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. Hanover Square Press, 2021. ISBN 9781335284808 (paperback), 304p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.