The Librarian - Salley Vickers

After a hiatus throughout December, I have accumulated a fair few books to be reviewed! December has been a very busy month and my reading pile has been slightly smaller, and I swapped my usual number of novels for a Christmas anthology throughout most of the month. I won't be writing a review of it, but the anthology in question was The British Library's A Literary Christmas, which compiled excerpts from well-known Christmas classics such as A Christmas Carol, as well as poems and letters. All in all, a beautiful and relaxing festive read for the Christmas period!

Another novel I read in December was Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust Volume 1: La Belle Sauvage. This one is on my list to review, but as it is such a highly regarded novel, and so highly anticipated for so long (and I have so much to say about it), I wanted to dedicate more time to writing about it, to really do the book justice. That will be coming very soon! For now, I will be reviewing a slightly shorter novel I read this month, Salley Vickers's The Librarian, which I stumbled across in Waterstones recently. Those attractive till displays always get me!

The novel is a short read - a two-hour train journey got me through most of it - but highly enjoyable and gripping nonetheless. If you're a fan of post-war dramas such as Call the Midwife, you will certainly enjoy this. The novel is set in the 1950s and follows Sylvia Blackwell, the new children's librarian in the market town of East Mole. The run-down library is soon recovered to full working order by Sylvia, and her passion for igniting the literary interests of the local children has the library soon thriving. Sylvia befriends neighbouring families and their children, tutoring them for their school exams and encouraging them to read, but all the while becoming attached in potentially dangerous ways. 

Slowly, Sylvia's affair with the local GP, her friendship with the neighbour's son, and with her landlady's granddaughter, begin to attract the unwanted attention and gossip of the town. Her naïve belief that she can mould the town into her idyllic home, and the children within it into her avid followers, soon gives way to the reality of how harmful gossip can be. Being in love with a married man also brings Sylvia to the realisation that she cannot possibly have everything her way.

I think what I enjoyed most about the novel was the quaint detail of the town, from the neighbouring donkeys to the overhanging branch of the apple tree in Sylvia's small garden, which causes a good many quarrels. Vickers really creates a vivid image of the little town and its inhabitants, and I found myself getting attached to the characters very quickly. The ending of the novel was surprising - I don't want to ruin the plot too much but whilst one romance fades, another unexpectedly blossoms, leaving the ending a rather satisfying one.

I would definitely recommend reading this over the holiday period, or otherwise, as it is a relaxing and heartwarming novel which is not too taxing. I may not have got the exact ending I had hoped for, but in its place is a hopeful message.

My reviews will become more frequent again now that Christmas is over, and I received some beautiful books which I am very excited to review soon!