4.25 ⭐️ 

 

THE QUIET LIBRARIAN by Allen Eskens (publishing February 18, 2025) is a dual timeline novel that took me to a place that I frankly knew very little about: the Bosnian and Serbian war in 1995. 

 

In the present day timeline, Hana Babic lives a quiet life in Minnesota with her cows and land, working as a librarian. When Hana’s best friend Amina dies under suspicious circumstances, Hana’s past as Nura Divjak back in Bosnia in 1995 comes back to her. The reader learns the tragedy of her family, including her little brother and parents being killed while she survived, and her survivor’s guilt turning into getting vengeance on behalf of her family. The 1995 timeline is absorbing and gripping. However, it is pretty violent. 

 

As someone who is the same age as Nura/Hana, I couldn’t help but think how privileged my life in the United States was at her age when she and her family were under attack by the Serbian villains in the story. 

 

The present day timeline felt pretty thin to me. Hana’s present day personality seemed fairly bland. There was a romantic thread that I didn’t completely buy. And if you’re looking for a story about librarians and books, I think the title might be deceptive. 

 

I really liked how the novel tackled a little talked-about piece of recent world history. 

 

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