diff --git a/overviewer_core/__init__.py b/overviewer_core/__init__.py
index e191169..c3d3680 100644
--- a/overviewer_core/__init__.py
+++ b/overviewer_core/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # c_overviewer must be imported first, because it imports other
 # modules; leaving this out can lead to bad dependency loops
 
-import c_overviewer
-
+try:
+    import c_overviewer
+except ImportError:
+    pass