The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr.
The Book of Stolen Dreams (2021) by David Farr is an atmospheric fantasy adventure set in an alternate 1940s Paris.
Robert and Rachel are siblings whose father, a librarian, entrusts them with the most dangerous book in existence — the Book of Stolen Dreams, a book that can bring the dead back to life. The Commissar, the authoritarian ruler of the city, wants this book to resurrect his dead daughter. Robert and Rachel must protect the book and ultimately decide what should be done with its terrible power.
The novel is set in a city that strongly resembles wartime Paris under occupation. The Commissar and his agents — the Pale Men — control everything. The Library is the last place of knowledge and freedom. Farr creates a richly imagined world with strong echoes of real historical events.
The children must confront the Commissar and make an impossible choice about the book's power. The novel ends with themes of grief, love and the limits of what power should do.
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