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writerlibrarian's review
2.0
This was a little disappointing. It started interesting enough but fell into the trap of bad autofiction and bellybutton gazing. The writing is average, the tone is uneven. I usually like memoir about writing, books and especially this part of Paris, if only because it has so much history, the neighborhood (St-Julien les Pauvres, the bookstore) is something Highlander fans love. But it's not enough to help the poor style of writing and squattered way the story is told.
heatherrr's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I love this book! I've always wanted to ditch everything and escape abroad and it is so fascinating to read about someone who actually did. Very cosy read.
katevrst's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
This book creates a very romantic scene in Paris - sometimes to romantic.
This book creates a very romantic scene in Paris - sometimes to romantic.
cherylanntownsend's review
4.0
When crime journalist, Jeremy Mercer, outs a long time thief in his recently published book, the ensuing threats have him soon on a plane out of the country and landing in Paris. It’s 1999, the world is in chaos and Y2K is adding to the fray. Not the best of time for new beginnings. Not exactly the worst of times either.
With minimal finances, he stumbles about the streets, reading, touring, partaking. Near the last cent, drunk-sleeping on a bus, his hair sizzling from the cruelty of fellow riders, he realizes the time has come.
Rain pours down as he dodges into the as yet ventured tourist attraction of Shakespeare & Co. Fate. In tradition, he is invited to tea after the purchase of a 25cent book. All great adventures should start with a spot of tea.
In step with his trade, he gives us the backstory to the bookstore since it’s opening in 1919 by Sylvia Beach. A sampling of the great authors that frequented the aisles and the transitions of years since.
George Whitman, a man whose biography I now am eager to read, took the helm, initially under a different name at a different location. More political, more expansive, and with free sleeping accommodations for anyone in need. Oh, and soup.
This is whom. The vagabonds that called the bookstore home, their biographies, their survival, their love, their admiration. Their need of a shower.
There are purported 40thousand travelers that have slept at Shakespeare & Co. and each was required to write their story for entry. Should be good reading when.. Our author gives us that of those during his months there.
It was interesting, but got a bit annoying as to the moochiness of the brood. I liked that George required his guests read a book a day while staying there and help with menial tasks. I also liked the visual tidbits about Paris and the shop, which I realize must be the template for numerous other books I have read.
It’s a good bibliographic read. Someday, I hope to venture through those doors... and buy a book.
jinxy's review
2.0
I think I went into this book with my expectation set too high. This was a fault on my part and not the books.
alundeberg's review
3.0
Yes, it's Paris. Yes, it's Shakespeare and Co. And yes, it would be a dream to be a book store resident. But I had a serious case of the heebie-jeebies reading Jeremy Mercer's memoir, "Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.". Mercer, who openly tells that he has made many questionable decisions and betrayed many people's trust, finds himself on the run with dwindling funds in Paris. By a stroke of fortune, he learns that George Whitman, the owner of the venerable bookstore, lets people down on their luck stay at the bookstore for free. He moves in the next day and begins a months-long adventure of living in one of the greatest landmarks in Paris (for me) seeking redemption. Me, being of a generally suspicious and questioning nature, wondered if he was going to take advantage of Whitman's generosity and capitalize on the store's fame for his "path to redemption" and book sales. The feeling didn't leave me until the last chapter when he finally redeems himself. It felt very much like reading Michel Finkel's book, "A Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of America's Last True Hermit", where Finkel invades the hermit's space and writes about his private life for all of the people who the hermit was hoping to avoid. It felt a bit predatory, but I assume that Mercer has Whitman's blessing.
We hear so much about Sylvia Beach's original Shakespeare and Co., that it was interesting to learn how Whitman created its second incarnation and kept in running by himself with a multitude of guests for over fifty years. Whitman, a Communist in the truest sense of the word, believes in the power of change and lending a people a helping a hand, even when they seem the least-deserving. Mercer shows the power dynamics and the politics that ultimately arise among the guests and George, as each tries to find love, write the "book", find salvation, and save the store. Whitman's motto is "Take what you need, give what you can," and he believes that kindness, good books, and a place to stay can set people back on a good path. And for many who stayed with Whitman, this is true.
One thing that bothered me was the privilege that ran through the narrative. Everyone who stays at the bookstore is educated, and each of them has other options for moving on with life-- call parents for money, move in with a significant other, find a job, present their art at a show in NY. Everyone who ends up there is generally down but not OUT. There were a couple of times when he mentions how if he gets into trouble with the police, it might upset his VISA or ability to stay in France. He mentions glibly that he is white and doesn't have much to worry about, unlike all of the non-white immigrants. It was almost said like he was relieved that the police would be of no concern for him. Later an Algerian, who he comes into contact with, is brutally attacked, killed, and dumped in the Seine. But whew! He is not a suspect, and in fact, has a nice conversation with the police about crime in the city. Both he and the Algerian are foreigners, but only one is killed. Mercer gets to live another day to ponder his life choices. Mercer is staying at Kilometer Zero, at the very heart of the city where he gets free room and board; most of the Algerian population are pushed to the outer arrondissements with little to no employment or enfranchisement. With a growing National Front with their anti-Muslim policies, life is even more tenuous and challenging for Algerians today. The title of Mercer's book is an allusion to doing soft time in prison, and Jeremy Mercer committed real crimes-- hence, the skedaddle to Paris-- and he compares his time at S & Co. to being "locked up". For the Algerians, life is tough at home and even tougher in France and parole is a long time coming.
We hear so much about Sylvia Beach's original Shakespeare and Co., that it was interesting to learn how Whitman created its second incarnation and kept in running by himself with a multitude of guests for over fifty years. Whitman, a Communist in the truest sense of the word, believes in the power of change and lending a people a helping a hand, even when they seem the least-deserving. Mercer shows the power dynamics and the politics that ultimately arise among the guests and George, as each tries to find love, write the "book", find salvation, and save the store. Whitman's motto is "Take what you need, give what you can," and he believes that kindness, good books, and a place to stay can set people back on a good path. And for many who stayed with Whitman, this is true.
One thing that bothered me was the privilege that ran through the narrative. Everyone who stays at the bookstore is educated, and each of them has other options for moving on with life-- call parents for money, move in with a significant other, find a job, present their art at a show in NY. Everyone who ends up there is generally down but not OUT. There were a couple of times when he mentions how if he gets into trouble with the police, it might upset his VISA or ability to stay in France. He mentions glibly that he is white and doesn't have much to worry about, unlike all of the non-white immigrants. It was almost said like he was relieved that the police would be of no concern for him. Later an Algerian, who he comes into contact with, is brutally attacked, killed, and dumped in the Seine. But whew! He is not a suspect, and in fact, has a nice conversation with the police about crime in the city. Both he and the Algerian are foreigners, but only one is killed. Mercer gets to live another day to ponder his life choices. Mercer is staying at Kilometer Zero, at the very heart of the city where he gets free room and board; most of the Algerian population are pushed to the outer arrondissements with little to no employment or enfranchisement. With a growing National Front with their anti-Muslim policies, life is even more tenuous and challenging for Algerians today. The title of Mercer's book is an allusion to doing soft time in prison, and Jeremy Mercer committed real crimes-- hence, the skedaddle to Paris-- and he compares his time at S & Co. to being "locked up". For the Algerians, life is tough at home and even tougher in France and parole is a long time coming.
dmbfan41's review against another edition
4.0
I had forgotten that people can be so interesting. I am looking forward to visiting the actual location one day.