Member Review

Historical fiction is not my go to. In fact the story has to be super compelling or I have to have absolutely loved the author’s previous work (if there is previous work).

I lived Pip Williams’ The Dictionary of Lost Words. So The Book Binder of Jericho was immediately added to me to-read list as soon as I was aware of its existence.
This book is gorgeously written. The world building, the minute detail. It’s like being there. In the Bindery. On the boat. Caring for a sister with a developmental delay. The war and the uncertainty of loved ones being away and not knowing when it would end or when/if they’d return. I was right there for every heart wrenching moment.

But also, it moved really slowly. So much time was spent in singular locations that it became a bit of a slog for me to get through the book at times. This unfortunately brought down my overall enjoyment of the book.

Many thanks to Pip Williams, Affirm Press, and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.