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It’s interesting to me when books that are very similar in premise come out at the same time. In this case, The Astral Library and The Book Witch both posit that people can enter books. And they came out within two months of each other. So it’s impossible for me not to compare the two.
This is Kate Quinn’s first fantasy story, after writing a number of very solid historical fiction books. And she definitely appeals nicely to the book lover’s dream: being able to enter the worlds of books, meet their characters, inhabit those spaces. Make the places that seem so real to us actually real.
I’d say she does a nice job of this first fantasy story. In comparing with Meg Shaffer’s Book Witch, I think the latter is warmer and the core of the story is a bit more about people than causes, perhaps. But the author’s love for books shines through. And it’s fun to read her author’s note, in which she reveals that her mother was a librarian and her father read aloud to her “incessantly” when she was young. She shares so many details about how books changed/formed her life. That’s always a delight.
In The Astral Library, a special library shows up for people who are desperate and lost. A door opens up into the library from their location (a library of some sort, sometimes a place that’s just some type of book collection) and they find out that they can enter a favorite book and take up residence there if they’d like. They have a few chances to find just the right new home.
Alix Watson grew up in foster care and is just barely getting by as a 26-year-old. In between working three dead-end jobs to simply live on someone’s couch, she finds refuge in the reading room at the Boston Public Library. One particularly bad day she opens a door and finds the Astral Library. She’s introduced to the whole concept by the Librarian, an older lady who’s apparently been around for decades and runs the place just as one would expect from an old-style librarian.
But of course, as these things go, something goes wrong, and Alix gets caught up in a dangerous plot to hurt the library and/or its Patrons. She just knows she has to help save it. And that includes visiting books like Sherlock Holmes, Gatsby, Austen, and so on, aided by a handsome and talented costume designer. (Incidentally, Holmes and Gatsby are also included in The Book Witch).
The book was fun, kept me engaged, and transported me to a number of great fictional locales, with plenty of fantastic period-costume changes. I’m not a clotheshorse, but I must admit it was tantalizing to imagine being dressed in all the fabulous clothes mentioned. (Bonus points: Alix is a size 22, so she’s not just a little overweight but full-on plus size, and she got to wear beautiful outfits that made her look spectacular even not being straight-size.)
If you dream of entering a favorite book, you’ll enjoy this one.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 21 uses of strong language, around 45 instances of moderate profanity, 25 uses of mild language, and about 20 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and a couple of brief references to sex in general. Violence includes some attacks by sharp objects and injuries inflicted by them, with some blood involved.
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