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mariavdl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Abandonment, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity
chalkletters's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The Little Paris Bookshop was an excellent present from Nickie and was the first thing I packed in preparation for my delayed weekend in Paris with Anne. I was excited not only because it was a book about a place I was going but also because the ‘literary apothecary’ prescribing books according to the reader’s emotional state sounds a lot like bibliotherapy. Unfortunately, only the very beginning of the book is concerned with these topics — I didn’t start reading until the second of my three days in Paris, and the characters still left the city behind before I did!
Despite the promise of the blurb and title, The Little Paris Bookshop is not the story of a bookseller in Paris who carefully matches his recommendations to his customer’s emotional needs. Instead, the story is primarily about a bookseller who leaves Paris to process a past love affair and transition into a second chance romance. All of which is fine, but may be disappointing for readers with different expectations.
Nina George’s characters are more sympathetic than those of thematically similar The Lost Letters of William Woolf. It’s a shame that the most interesting parts of Perdu’s character (his job, his skill of reading people, his search for an anonymous author) aren’t foregrounded, but almost all of the side characters have at least something interesting about them. Once the story leaves Paris, it’s a pleasantly gentle cruise through pastoral French landscape, briefly touching on lives and stories which keep things interesting.
Simon Pare’s translated prose is largely unremarkable; it doesn’t get in the way of the story, but nor does it provide many memorable passages. While some attention is given to the importance of books, it doesn’t really seem enough given that two of the characters are writers and one is a 'literary pharmacist’. The list of prescribed books at the back of The Little Paris Bookshop does help to make up for that disappointment, but it’s really too little too late.
Overall, The Little Paris Bookshop was underwhelming, and I probably won’t be reading anything more by Nina George, but I do have a few other books-about-bookshops on my shelf waiting to be read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beautiful love letter to grief, loss, love, finding yourself after loss, and refinding love after loss. Nina George's lovely story of Jean Perdu rediscovering life after grieving the loss of his lover 21 years before. Jean's amazing ability to read his customers to "prescribe" then just the book they need to cure their woes, hence the shop name, The Literary Apothecary. The only person Jean is unable to read is himself.
A story of love, loss, and the difficulty in refinding joy in life after such great loss. Jean's is a story of finding a way to move on after being afraid to live for so long; Max a story of overcoming the fear of "what's next" after a remarkable success, but that's almost intrinsic of the millennial experience these days. Together, the unlikely pair begin healing the others' unseen wounds through friendship and the remarkable power of books.
On a road trip like no other, the men traverse the French canal system, making friends and changing lives along the way. The Literary Apothecary dispenses its bookish wisdom to customers and passengers both, and Nina George manages to pack remarkably insightful wisdom and worldly advice into a wonderful story of love, grief, found family, and relearning how to live.
A story of love, loss, and the difficulty in refinding joy in life after such great loss. Jean's is a story of finding a way to move on after being afraid to live for so long; Max a story of overcoming the fear of "what's next" after a remarkable success, but that's almost intrinsic of the millennial experience these days. Together, the unlikely pair begin healing the others' unseen wounds through friendship and the remarkable power of books.
On a road trip like no other, the men traverse the French canal system, making friends and changing lives along the way. The Literary Apothecary dispenses its bookish wisdom to customers and passengers both, and Nina George manages to pack remarkably insightful wisdom and worldly advice into a wonderful story of love, grief, found family, and relearning how to live.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent
starshine1's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
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