The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George and Simon Pare (translator)
| The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George and Simon Pare (translator) | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Definitely one for book lovers, a lovely story that is funny, moving and engaging. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: April 2015 |
| Publisher: Abacus | |
| ISBN: 9780349140353 | |
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Waterstones New Year Book Club 2016
Monsieur Perdu has a barge on the Seine, and in that barge he has his bookshop. Actually, rather than being a normal sort of bookshop it is more of a chemist's, since he is something of a literary apothecary, prescribing books to his customers that he senses will soothe their souls, and relieve whatever troubles are ailing them. He only has to speak to them a little, sometimes only has to see them, and he instinctively knows which book will help them. Despite his skills, however, he seems unable to diagnose and resolve his own emotional issues and he is, as the translation of his French surname tells us, Mr Lost.
There were a lot of things that I really, really loved about this book. The writing is delightful, even in translation and especially for a bibliophile like me as I read words such as this: books were my friends, said Catherine, and cooled her cheek, which was red from the heat of cooking, on her wineglass. I think I learned all my feelings from books. In them I loved and laughed and found out more than in my whole non-reading life. The idea of a bookshop prescribing books to its customers is also very appealing. I felt the urge to visit there myself, to discover what book I might be prescribed to read and why.
Jean Perdu is a wonderful character - he is both endearing and frustrating, and I followed his story eagerly, always wanting to know what would happen next. Part of the story is a sort of road trip, when Jean takes his barge down the rivers and canals of France with a hodge-podge of guests on board. I really enjoyed this too, and the characters who crop up during this journey were also lovely, and in the book for far too short a time! The book seems to float above genres, bobbing in and out, sometimes adventure, sometimes fantasy, sometimes romance, sometimes literary fiction.
For me, the only aspect of the book that didn't quite gel was the romance - not the present day romance for Jean, but the historical romance, that has impacted on his whole life. The issue for me, was the woman involved. I didn't like her. I didn't like the way she was living her life. I didn't like what she did to Jean, or to her husband. Unfortunately that spoiled what probably would have been a five star story for me, but still I enjoyed everything else, very much.
Well, almost everything else. There's one other aspect of the book that I ignored initially and pretended wasn't there, and only went back to actually read for the sake of this review. At the end of the story there are some recipes. Then after the recipes, there are some literary prescriptions, with a list of books and the ailments they might help with, as well as any potential side effects. I know some people love this kind of thing so for you I shall reveal that there are a handful of very French recipes (only a handful...if you're going to put something like this in a book I'd expect several more to make it worthwhile), and with regards to the book prescriptions there are, at least, a good range of books from the Hitchhiker stories through to Terry Pratchett and Tom's Midnight Garden but, again, it didn't feel like nearly enough. If you're like me, and you find these additions irritating just read the last sentence of the story and then shut your book quickly, pretending the other parts don't even exist.
Glossing over my quibbles, however, I'm left with a positive feeling about the story. It kept me engrossed and I sat and read it for two hours straight on the train one day without looking up or checking my watch or even getting my snack out of my bag.
More books for book lovers - have a look at the wonderful The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell or try Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George and Simon Pare (translator) at Amazon.com.
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