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beesp's review against another edition
5.0
Probabilmente uno dei miei libri preferiti letti quest'anno.
La voce di Sylvia Beach è fresca e limpida, con semplicità riesce ad evocare quella splendida libreria, costantemente assediata dalle presenze chiassose di scrittori eccentrici.
La mitezza, la gentilezza di Sylvia Beach la fanno sentire vicinissima: se Sylvia Beach, in particolare, non si fosse presa cura di Joyce, del suo mantenimento, delle sue cure e infine della pubblicazione del suo "Ulisse", a noi oggi mancherebbe quello che è considerato IL capolavoro del Novecento. Il suo è un coraggio, la sua è una vitalità, un amore incalcolabile per i libri e i loro autori, che ci hanno permesso di sfogliare comodamente nelle nostre case le pagine di Joyce. La storia della letteratura è fatta anche da questi personaggi, spesso ai margini della nostra attenzione, che si sono impegnati fino allo stremo per la pubblicazione di capolavori.
A me viene dal cuore un grazie, grazie anche per aver resistito all'occupazione nazista, per aver sopportato sei mesi in un campo di concentramento pur di non cedere a mani naziste la sua preziosa collezione. Grazie, Sylvia. Grazie anche per averci raccontato la splendida magia della tua libreria.
La voce di Sylvia Beach è fresca e limpida, con semplicità riesce ad evocare quella splendida libreria, costantemente assediata dalle presenze chiassose di scrittori eccentrici.
La mitezza, la gentilezza di Sylvia Beach la fanno sentire vicinissima: se Sylvia Beach, in particolare, non si fosse presa cura di Joyce, del suo mantenimento, delle sue cure e infine della pubblicazione del suo "Ulisse", a noi oggi mancherebbe quello che è considerato IL capolavoro del Novecento. Il suo è un coraggio, la sua è una vitalità, un amore incalcolabile per i libri e i loro autori, che ci hanno permesso di sfogliare comodamente nelle nostre case le pagine di Joyce. La storia della letteratura è fatta anche da questi personaggi, spesso ai margini della nostra attenzione, che si sono impegnati fino allo stremo per la pubblicazione di capolavori.
A me viene dal cuore un grazie, grazie anche per aver resistito all'occupazione nazista, per aver sopportato sei mesi in un campo di concentramento pur di non cedere a mani naziste la sua preziosa collezione. Grazie, Sylvia. Grazie anche per averci raccontato la splendida magia della tua libreria.
jainabee's review against another edition
4.0
Chatty and charming, like listening to an old auntie tell about her exciting youth at the tea table. Which is pretty much what this is. All the real juice is elsewhere. Maybe in her letters?
Yet it's a fun and fascinating read. An all-star Left Bank cast from one of the most colorful places and times ever. And all rosy-colored in the recollection. Almost made it impossible for me to continue loathing Joyce.
Yet it's a fun and fascinating read. An all-star Left Bank cast from one of the most colorful places and times ever. And all rosy-colored in the recollection. Almost made it impossible for me to continue loathing Joyce.
whats_margaret_reading's review
4.0
Sylvia Beach started Shakespeare and Company which I will hopefully one day visit and spend the night in, as long as writing scientific papers counts as being a writer.
The atmosphere of the time in Paris is better captured in [b:A Moveable Feast|4631|A Moveable Feast|Ernest Hemingway|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356407015s/4631.jpg|2459084] but Sylvia Beach saw everything first hand and was influential in a lot of it, like actually publishing [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346161221s/338798.jpg|2368224]. Her prose is fairly dry and matter of fact, very much the practical American navigating a very worldly life. Her family traveled a lot because her father was a Presbyterian minister and her grandparents were missionaries. She captures the goings on of the ex-pat community in Paris and her story of how she did what she managed to, creating a hugely influential bookstore in Paris for a whole generation of intellectuals.
The atmosphere of the time in Paris is better captured in [b:A Moveable Feast|4631|A Moveable Feast|Ernest Hemingway|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356407015s/4631.jpg|2459084] but Sylvia Beach saw everything first hand and was influential in a lot of it, like actually publishing [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346161221s/338798.jpg|2368224]. Her prose is fairly dry and matter of fact, very much the practical American navigating a very worldly life. Her family traveled a lot because her father was a Presbyterian minister and her grandparents were missionaries. She captures the goings on of the ex-pat community in Paris and her story of how she did what she managed to, creating a hugely influential bookstore in Paris for a whole generation of intellectuals.
lera9reen's review
4.0
I really liked book, but too much Joyce in it. At some moments I had doubts if it's Shakespeare & Co. stories or only Joyce in Silvia's life. Anyway, for all book lovers and 1920s lovers
soyboyjames's review
3.0
This felt like two separate books—in a couple of ways.
First, half of the book was a fascinating look at the lives of authors I love, like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. But the other half was sort of a dull account of authors I don't know.
Then, half the book was an intriguing exploration of Shakespeare and Company and those beloved authors and Paris in the 1920s. But the other half was very much just about James Joyce and "Ulysses" (though understandably, since Beach was Joyce's publisher).
The halves I liked were a lot of fun. But the halves I didn't were a bit of a chore to get through.
I can't really fault Beach for this duality, however. She wrote about her life as she experienced it, and she had no way of knowing which of her friends would be remembered a century later and which wouldn't. Overall, I'm glad to have such a record of the "so-called 'lost generation'" (as she put it). And the parts I enjoyed made the whole read worthwhile.
First, half of the book was a fascinating look at the lives of authors I love, like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. But the other half was sort of a dull account of authors I don't know.
Then, half the book was an intriguing exploration of Shakespeare and Company and those beloved authors and Paris in the 1920s. But the other half was very much just about James Joyce and "Ulysses" (though understandably, since Beach was Joyce's publisher).
The halves I liked were a lot of fun. But the halves I didn't were a bit of a chore to get through.
I can't really fault Beach for this duality, however. She wrote about her life as she experienced it, and she had no way of knowing which of her friends would be remembered a century later and which wouldn't. Overall, I'm glad to have such a record of the "so-called 'lost generation'" (as she put it). And the parts I enjoyed made the whole read worthwhile.
ccookie49's review
4.0
3.5 stars. This was an enjoyable read in some parts, and a bit tedious in others. Sylvia’s birth of Shakespeare and Company as well as her meeting and befriending so many huge contributors to great literature was fascinating to read. And the saga of Ulysses from start to finish, from publishing hurdles to bans and burnings is very well played out. The middle section of the book focuses on Beach’s relationship with lesser known authors. I could have done without those pages, but overall this is a remarkable tale of a determined, caring woman whose life’s passion was books and her bookstore.
ETA - I read this book as a pre-requisite to a more in-depth look at James Joyce. I am currently reading The Dubliners and Ulysses, as well as some supplemental readings. Having this as a part of the bigger picture is bumping up my original rating of 3 stars to 4
ETA - I read this book as a pre-requisite to a more in-depth look at James Joyce. I am currently reading The Dubliners and Ulysses, as well as some supplemental readings. Having this as a part of the bigger picture is bumping up my original rating of 3 stars to 4
darcyolsson's review against another edition
3.0
this is my all time favorite bookshop and read about the story of how sylvia beach founded it made me so emotional, it was worth it and i would definitely recommend reading it!
maggiecn's review
3.0
Really cool to get an inside glimpse of the Paris/American writing world of the 20s through Slyvia's wonderful bookshop.
jroberts3456's review
4.0
An intriguing slice of history which served as something of a guidebook for the early modernist movement.