Much like her first novel The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams' The Bookbinder brings to light the little-known world of women - this time women who are working at the Oxford University Press as bookbinders. Twin sisters Peggy and Maude live on their own since their mother's death and work at the Press folding the pages of the books. But Peggy dreams of one day being a student at Oxford and actually getting to read the full books she helps to bind. It's clear that the people around her see her as capable of making the move from "Town" to "Gown", however, Peggy holds herself back due to her sister's disability.
And then war comes, and Peggy meets Gwen, a student, when they volunteer together. Through her friendship with Gwen, Peggy begins to let herself dream and make those dreams reality. Through her volunteering, Peggy meets a man who could also give her another part of the life she wants.
The question is, will she get any of it?
It took me awhile to get into this book, and I didn't always understand the folding process of the book binding. I did, however, like how the author weaved characters from her first book into this book without making Peggy's story a sequel of sorts. Once I got toward the middle of the story, when Peggy gets out of the book bindery and actually starts doing things, that's when I found the novel to really pick up. Williams does a good job of giving readers a glimpse into a life whose history, because it was female, was rarely recorded.
The Bookbinder is published by Ballantine Books and will be available to purchase tomorrow, August 1, 2023. I received a free e-ARC.
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