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The Librarian

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The Librarian

By: Salley Vickers
Narrated by: Melissa Berry
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About this listen

Sylvia Blackwell, a young woman in her 20s, moves to East Mole, a quaint market town in middle England, to start a new job as a children's librarian. But the apparently pleasant town is not all it seems.

Sylvia falls in love with an older man - but it's her connection to his precocious young daughter and her neighbours' son which will change her life and put them, the library and her job under threat.

How does the library alter the young children's lives, and how do the children fare as a result of the books Sylvia introduces them to?

©2018 Salley Vickers (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  
The narrator was excellent and the story brought back to me the happy days of childhood when life was much simpler.

Brought back memories of childhood.

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I got this on a recommendation from a friend. And I’m so glad I did
It’s a lovely story. With twists and turns.
Nothing horrible nothing nasty just a jolly good listen
The narrator was very pleasing and kept to character all the way
I was sad when it ended. Because it’s a wonderful story and I would highly recommend it

Excellent story.

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For me, Sylvia was what a great librarian should be. Wanted to smack some of the pompuss minded characters in the story, but loved them at the same time. Couldn't put it down. Great read x

A great book club choice

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I enjoyed listening to this - but wished sometimes I had the text to back it up, as I would like to have gone over some of facts. Set in the 1950's through to the present day, it describes how the heroine, Sylvia, the newly arrived childrens librarian in a small town (England), relates to her readers and neighbours. Inevitably, plenty of childrens books are mentioned, and brought back very many memories. However, I was surprised that she did not include Enid Blyton, as myself and friends were passionate about her stories during the 1950s, not Treasure Island or Coral Island. I liked Salley Vickers description of the anxiety surrounding the 11 plus, and the typical post-war relationship between the A, B, and C streams in primary schools. There is also an adult side to the story, as Sylvia falls in love with a married doctor. Part 2 of the story progresses to the present day, and we learn what happened to the children in the story when they became adults.

Good Story

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I like Sally Vickers' style and characterisation so much and in this respect The Librarian did not disappoint. However, the structure of the novel was most unsatisfying. I do not want to write any 'spoilers' so am limited in terms of explaining this but basically, there was a lack of continuity and the fast-forward 'summing up' ending seemed contrived and unconvincing. Back to the positives though; Sally's characters are generally so likeable, kind and hopeful, whilst remaining realistic that they give me a bit more hope for the future and for how people might be with each other.

So much I liked about this but ...

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the book was ok and, if I had read it maybe would have enjoyed it more. However the reader was absolutely awful. Apart from reading it like a children's book or, at times, a shopping list, she couldn't read some words properly. After she had said pacific instead of specific i was mildly forgiving but having a doctor say "skellington" was unforgivable.

excruciating

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