On September 7, 194, thousands of bombs poured down over London. Suddenly, London became a purgatory on earth. This is the beginning of the bombing of London by the German Nazi Air Force.

In the following eight months, the Germans bombed London from time to time. In the ruins, an English girl stood out. She began to read aloud to people every day, and used words and books to unite people and support each other, and spent a dark moment.

The Last Bookstore in London is about the country girl Grace and her good friend Viv who came to London for a long time during World War II. They want to find a decent job in this bustling city and live a decent life like Londoners. But what I didn't expect was that when the war started, their fate changed greatly ...

When the war started, hell opened

In Britain, there is a famous saying that "when the war started, hell opened." It is no exaggeration to use this sentence to describe the London bombing during World War II.

After the outbreak of World War II, the German Nazis swept across Europe. Germany invaded Poland in a "blitzkrieg" way, and then Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and France fell one after another. Because of the English Channel as a barrier, the Germans had no choice but to take Britain for a while.

The British government and people have also made a lot of preparations to defend against air strikes. Grace must carry a gas mask with her when she goes out every day. At the door of every household, there are sand piles and buckets; Silver balloons the size of a house are suspended in the air of the city in order to prevent bombers from flying low and control them within the range of anti-aircraft guns.

In the book, we can also see many such descriptions:

"As the war approaches, the whole city has lost its vitality, and the adhesive tape stuck on the windows of every household looks sad and scary. The protective wall piled up by sandbags hides the glory of London, and the trenches and bomb shelters everywhere have hollowed out the soul of London."

"Hyde Park has been dug up with a trench, like a crack in the earth, and there are anti-aircraft guns everywhere."

"There are children waiting in a long queue for unified evacuation, and the queue continues for a whole street ... Each child carries his own small gas mask, and personal information is sewn on his clothes and luggage."

And when the bombing started, London became a real hell on earth. Everywhere is full of flames, ruins, countless people died in the war.

"The external walls of a large number of buildings were damaged, exposing the steel frame, and the windows were blown away, leaving one black hole after another on the wall. The buildings looked like one terrible skull after another."

"Throughout October, the German bombs never stopped ... Hundreds of people were killed, countless people were injured, many people were homeless, and fires raged in every corner of London."

The girl who grew up in the war and reading

In August 1939, Grace and Viv came to London from the countryside. With the help of Mrs. Weatherford, they all got a job. Without a letter of recommendation, Grace can only temporarily work as a clerk in the shabby and old Primrose Hill Bookstore, although she didn't like the job at first.

There, she met two men who influenced her life. One is George, a handsome young engineer, and the other is Evans, the owner of the bookstore, a somewhat eccentric old man.

Grace began her reading with The Count of Monte Cristo recommended by George. George said, "It is both a classic masterpiece and a masterpiece of love." Love comes unexpectedly.

Mr. Evans is a man who is cold outside and hot inside. From refusing Grace's application at the beginning, to caring for her like a father, and entrusting the bookstore to her when she died, Evans became Grace's spiritual mentor and spiritual support.

Grace, who just came to London, is just an ordinary girl. She always thinks she is timid and not brave enough. As the war approached, friends around her went to the front line one by one to defend their country. Encouraged by Mr Evans, Grace became an air raid defense supervisor.

during the war, grace still remembers reading. Reading made her forget fatigue, bombing and food restrictions, and also made her understand human nature more deeply and become more tolerant and strong.

Finally, one day, she began to read for people who had escaped from the air raid at the subway station. One day, two days, three days ... More and more people come here.

From the subway station to the bookstore, Grace insists on reading for people who have suffered from war every day. Read one by one, change little by little, heal the pain with words, and find strength from books.

She helped Mrs. Weatherford, who lost her son, out of the abyss of pain; Let orphans who have lost their parents find new homes; Brought comfort to the housewife of her husband's expedition; Let the men involved in the rescue mission find new hope.

In the haze of war, the brilliance of human nature shines

Any war is cruel, but the brilliance of human nature is warm and eternal. In the face of German bombs and deaths, the people of London did not retreat and fear, but United more closely.

On the streets of London, there are fewer and fewer young people. They all go to the front.

George is an excellent engineer. He didn't have to go out to war, but he has flying experience and resolutely signed up for the Royal Air Force.

Viv is a fashionable girl who dresses up beautifully every day. The girl who didn't want to serve the land in the countryside signed up for the self-provided army. She said to Grace, "You know I'm not the kind of person who enjoys the success" and "If we don't act, this war will never end".

Colin, 21, is the only son of Mrs. Weatherford. He is a kind, shy boy who loves small animals. Despite his mother's objection, he signed up for the army and eventually died in the Dunkirk evacuation.

Anyone who has seen the movie "The Dark Hour" should know how horrible the evacuation of Dunkirk was.

Young people went to the front, and the old people and women who stayed in London were not idle.

Mrs. Weatherford came out of the grief of losing her son, not only continued to work in the women's volunteer service team, but also turned her attention to more and more war orphans.

With the deepening of the war, more and more British people expressed their tenacity and unyielding through actions.

"All the shops in London will be closed at four o'clock in the afternoon, so that employees can go home and have a good sleep, because at night, almost all people will be out on duty. In London today, almost everyone has two jobs, one is to earn money to support their families during the day, and the other is to volunteer at night, including saving lives, searching for bombs, finding survivors in the ruins or providing medical assistance, etc.-in short, at night, all Londoners will take action and help wherever they need it. "

Written at the end

During the war, Primrose Hill Bookstore was also attacked by air, but with the help of people, it was revived. People renamed the bookstore "the last bookstore in London". It is like the rising sun tomorrow, even if it is a ruin, it can still give people warmth, light and hope.