The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (book review).

Libraries are important in the lives of many a reader, so it is not surprising that there has been a considerable amount of literature that includes them, from Terry Pratchett’s Library at the Unseen University with its Orangutan librarian to Victor Ocampo’s ‘The Infinite Library’ short stories. Readers talk about getting lost in books, and libraries have played a huge role in society, providing access to information and other things, such as a refuge. Kate Quinn’s ‘Astral Library’ serves multiple purposes.

At the age of eight, her mother abandoned Alexandria ‘Alix’ Watson, forcing her to grow up in poor foster homes. Alexandria ‘Alix’ Watson found refuge in books, particularly in C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’. Now twenty-six, she is barely making enough from three jobs to live on. Then, in one day, she loses her main job and her living space and has her identity hacked so she cannot withdraw the little she has from her bank account. In her despair, she heads for the Boston Library, a place she haunts when she feels she has nowhere else to go.

This time, she finds a door she doesn’t recognise. She steps through it and into the Astral Library. This contains all the books in the world, and they are alive. The librarian explains that this place is a refuge. The door opens, from any library, to those who need it. Desperate people can go and live, literally, in a book of their choice. There are restrictions. The books must be in the public domain, and the person will not be able to change the actual novel but can become a background character. For example, Sarah is hiding from her abusive husband and is posing as Mrs Hudson’s niece at an address in Victorian Baker Street.

Alix accepts the invitation to immerse herself in a book, but she first needs to don appropriate attire. As the library wardrobe doesn’t have anything suitable for her size, Sarah, who is on the plump side, goes to a friend, Beau, for an outfit suitable for the book she has chosen. When she returns, the Astral Library is at the start of a crisis. Initially, it seems that the system has been hacked and the refugees are in danger of discovery. Alix discovers that the Astral Library is not just about books, but also there are departments of art and of gaming where refugees can hide in paintings or video games. Meanwhile, the attack on the library is escalating, and Alix discovers that the governing board itself is the cause.

This novel is a quest to save the library and a critique of real library attacks. It highlights the danger they are in with the withdrawal of funds and the cutting of services. This board aims to reduce the number of books by three-quarters, cut opening hours, monetise the library system, and remove books that some may mistakenly consider unsuitable for reading. This scenario seems to be a typical situation in many countries, where libraries face funding cuts and service reductions, leading to a decline in access to literature and community resources.

Kate Quinn has had success with historical fiction, and this novel is her first venture into fantasy. As genre fiction has been used as a form of ‘dire warning’ signalling what can happen, it can be hoped that her readership will take up the cause of helping save libraries after having enjoyed reading this book.

Pauline Morgan

April 2026

(pub: William Morrow, HarperCollins, 2026. 297 page hardback. Price: $32.00 (US), £16.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-06-324478-8).

check out website: www.harpercollins.com/products/the-astral-library-kate-quinn?variant=43869666869282