Book Review: The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin

Rating: 4.5⭐

"Good books were like amazing sunsets or awe inspiring landscapes, better enjoyed with someone else. There was no greater experience in the world than sharing the love of a book, discussing its finer points and reliving the story all over again.”

Meticulously researched and beautifully penned, The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin is a remarkable work of historical fiction. Set in Warsaw, Poland between 1939 and 1945, the story is presented from the first-person –perspective of Zofia Nowak, a young girl, a year away from completing her secondary education in 1939 as she lives through the German occupation of Poland. This a story of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, survival and the power of literature in fostering hope and inspiring courage and selflessness in difficult times.

Zofia’s world revolves around her family, her best friend Janina and her love for books. As WWII rages on, she and her friends start a book club they refer to as the “anti-Hitler” book club (later christened “The Bandit Book Club”) where they read and discuss books that have been banned by the Nazi regime. Zofia and Janina also volunteer at the Warsaw library – a place that becomes a sanctuary for those who lose their home due to the devastation in the aftermath of the bombings and those who find solace in the pages of a book. Zofia’s older brother leaves in the middle of the night to fight in the war, her father is arrested and she and her mother lose their home. Zofia bears witness to the horrors of war – air raids and destruction of their beloved city, persecution of Jews and banning, confiscation and destruction of books not approved by the regime. When Janina and her family along with other Jewish families are moved into a Jewish ghetto and the Nazis begin to take over the libraries and reading rooms around the city, Zofia and her friends take it upon themselves to help as many people as they can, save books from being pulped and develop an underground library system, finding ways for readers to access the books they want.

”But that wasn’t all she realized in poring over those pages. The dire importance of their Bandit Book Club struck her anew. And why Hitler so feared the books he banned. There was power in literature. Brilliant and undeniable. Books inspired free thought and empathy, an overall understanding and acceptance of everyone. In the pages of books that were burned and banned and ripped apart for pulping, Zofia had found herself. These were the parts of her that were human and strong and loving, parts that understood lives she had never led.”

The narrative continues through WWII as the situation in Poland worsens and Zofia and her friends take on a larger role in the Resistance. With elegant prose, compelling characters and masterful storytelling, the author skillfully combines fact and fiction to give us a heart-wrenching, informative and incredibly moving story. I enjoyed the literary references and emotions these books evoke in the hearts and minds of young readers. The brilliantly penned Author’s Note not only provides the historical context for the story but also gives us a glimpse into the real people, resistance movements and the true events that inspired this novel including Intelligenzaktion and genocide, The Polish Underground State and Home Army, the Warsaw Uprising and the people who risked their lives to save the books they loved.

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“We cannot let the atrocities and persecution of the Jews slip between the cracks of history. Nor can we let the memory of those brave men and women who fought for freedom and what is right disappear in the turning pages of time. The world also needs to remember to never take for granted what has been gifted to us through the sacrifice of others: the right to an education and learning, the power and luxury of freedom, and the beauty to appreciate the routine of simple, everyday life.”