#BlogTour ‘The Last Library’ by Freya Sampson

About the book…

June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won’t believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she’s determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.

Hugest of thanks to Jenna from Zaffre Books for the blog tour invite and gifted review copy of ‘The Last Library’ which is out in e-book and audiobook formats from 19th August, and in paperback from September 2nd!

This novel is a love letter to every man, woman or child who found refuge, community and hope within the pages of a book, and, by extension, a library.

June has retreated into a world of make believe, inhabited by the people in the books who mean the most to her-she feels that she lacks a voice since the death of her mother, Chalcot’s librarian, derailed her initial ambition to go to university and pursue a career in writing.

Instead, she has buried herself in work, as a library assistant to the fearsome and quite scary Marjorie, but June is about to find out that she has a voice, and she needs to use it.

The varied and often hilarious characters who frequent the library become as well known to the reader as family members are, you can visualise June’s cat, Alan Bennett, delightfully sweary Mrs B, who never finds a book up to her impeccable standards (including anything by Shakespeare!), Stanley, the first customer waiting for the library to open every day, Chantal who has nowhere to study in an overcrowded house, as well as Jackson, a home schooled boy who relies on the library to keep him up to date on world matters.

These disparate and unlikely bed fellows exemplify the diversity of the modern community, and, more than that, they show that there is no typical library user, each one is different and goes there for their own reasons. Companionship, internet access, a safe place to work, all of this resonates so much.

In our town, we had a library situated in the center, with wonderful librarians that piece by piece, was broken down and sold off. The surrounding cafes where people used to have a cuppa after getting books suffered. The Job Center around the corner, had customers who needed help filling in job applications, and access to the internet for those needing to reply to emails about housing, tax, and so much more. It makes me angry still to think about the movement of it from smack bang in the middle of town, to a mile away. Try carrying 30 odd books back to the library in all weathers, off the main bus routes! The town raised petitions and campaigns but the council had it as a done deal, asking for public feedback was just a routine show of listening when plans had been in place for longer than we realised.

The building was run down as no funds were available to refurnish it. They started by reducing the numbers of librarians. And cutting the opening hours. And even chairs. Standing was apparently better for the librarians, lest they look like they weren’t busy (I asked about this as they only had one chair!) The new library is in the same building as the local sports center, so anyone trying to work is constantly facing the noise from Aerobics classes, thumping feet and screams from the swimming pool.

So I felt that passion and anger, local community places are being squeezed to the bone and then the answer back is ‘well which service shall we implement cuts in? Social care? Schools?’

That is not the answer, as the answer to one of Stanley’s crossword puzzles shows, activism, and fighting the bureaucracy is what is needed, and , as Mrs B would say, bollocks to the Tories!

Chalcot library is one of 6 facing closure, with the council saying they cannot justify the expense and wanting to sell off the land. Through the use of well known novels, June first of all hides behind an annoynmous ‘tipster’ feeding information to the FOLC (Friends of Chalcot Library, try saying it out loud!)Any siding with the activists would mean she would lose her job, but, for far too long the library has been June’s sanctuary , and it is right about time that this mouse found her roar!
With genuinely touching moments of real pathos, this is such a visual and stirring novel which acknowledges the debt we readers owe to libraries, for oh so many reasons.

The author states in the beginning that she doesn’t know how the characters would face the strictures of lockdown-to me , that is the perfect idea for a sequel, as I genuinely hope that there will be a return to catch up with Vera, Leila, Linda, Jackson and Marjorie, but, most of all, June.

About the author…

Freya Sampson works in TV and was the executive producer of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed and Gogglesprogs.

She studied History at Cambridge University and is a graduate of the Faber Academy.

She lives in London with her husband, two young children and an antisocial cat. The Last Library is her debut novel.

Links-https://freya-sampson.com/

Twitter @SampsonF @ZaffreBooks