Library of Burnt Books — Brianna Labuskes

Library of Burnt Books is a stirring historical novel by Brianna Labuskes that centers on the quiet power of books amid oppression. In 1933 Berlin, American writer Althea James is invited by Joseph Goebbels himself to a cultural exchange — a dream-come-true for a small-town author. Yet as Althea navigates a city enthralled by its Nazi transformation, she encounters a beautiful woman entangled in anti-regime resistance. In Paris 1936, Hannah Brecht flees Berlin only to find the specter of anti-Semitism in exile, dedicating her life to the “library of burnt books” — a repository of rescued literature. Meanwhile, in 1944 New York, widowed Vivienne fights censorship at home by preserving dissenting voices. Over 368 pages, the fates of these three women weave together in a tapestry of courage, sacrifice, and belief in the written word as a weapon in dark times