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natalie_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - I liked this, loved the descriptions of France and the seine and the aesthetic of a floating bookshop and little small coastal French towns. It might be a little overboard that this guy was really hung up on his lover for 20 years yet somehow apparently has so much game now in his 50s, everyone’s falling in love at first sight left and right which really doesn’t feel that realistic but this book did make me think that I should savor books and media more (but like only 5 pages a day at breakfast?? I could never) and it was an enjoyable read
juliregen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
harsha_a's review against another edition
4.0
Dear Ms. George,
As I finish this book, I must say that this has been quite an adventure. When I first started this book, I thought it was terribly boring. But as the story progressed, I have to say I ended loving this book. There were a few details in the plot that made me confused, but I pulled through it. For example, I was confused as to how long the actual romance between Jean and Manon lasted.
The characters were all very well-written. From the random ladies Max and Jean meet on the riverbank to Manon to Jean’s parents, everyone was so wonderful I wanted to pluck them out of the book and keep them with me. Jean was a wise old soul, who I wanted to slap in the beginning of the book. Manon is a selfish but at the same time very selfless fairy princess.
Ms. George, I have to say, you are so good at describing things, it makes me want to cry (but I won’t). For example, “Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions;some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you've got those autumn blues. And some...well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.” Were more beautiful words ever said about books? There probably are, but these are the most beautiful I’ve read yet.
From overall atmosphere to the plot to the guide to afflictions and the recipes in the back of the book, here is my rating:
Plot: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Characters: 7/10
Cover: 10/10
Rounded total = 8.5/10
This review, and more, can be seen on my blog, dogeared.
[This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review]
As I finish this book, I must say that this has been quite an adventure. When I first started this book, I thought it was terribly boring. But as the story progressed, I have to say I ended loving this book. There were a few details in the plot that made me confused, but I pulled through it. For example, I was confused as to how long the actual romance between Jean and Manon lasted.
Spoiler
(Spoiler: Manon was pregnant before she left her home and came to Paris, so their romance only lasted a couple months?? End Spoiler)The characters were all very well-written. From the random ladies Max and Jean meet on the riverbank to Manon to Jean’s parents, everyone was so wonderful I wanted to pluck them out of the book and keep them with me. Jean was a wise old soul, who I wanted to slap in the beginning of the book. Manon is a selfish but at the same time very selfless fairy princess.
Ms. George, I have to say, you are so good at describing things, it makes me want to cry (but I won’t). For example, “Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions;some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you've got those autumn blues. And some...well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.” Were more beautiful words ever said about books? There probably are, but these are the most beautiful I’ve read yet.
From overall atmosphere to the plot to the guide to afflictions and the recipes in the back of the book, here is my rating:
Plot: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Characters: 7/10
Cover: 10/10
Rounded total = 8.5/10
This review, and more, can be seen on my blog, dogeared.
[This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review]
heatherinjapan's review against another edition
My demiromantic self kinda got the ick when the character revealed what his heartbreak was... Like you're still stuck on this woman? (Says I the person who doesn't understand a lot of romantic relationships lol)
yodamom's review against another edition
5.0
This was a beautiful written story about life, death, deep feelings to just breathing.
Feelings of love, lust and fear with it's destruction to our lives.
This was a book about beauty, in it's many unappreciated forms. The beauty of the sky, scents, memories and a smile.
This was a book about losing your way, about getting buried in wishes and fears.
This is a book that is about heartache, and romance.
This is a book about the joys of reading the right book when you need it.
This is a book about nothing and everything.
This is a book about taking chances.
This is a book that will mean something different to each who read it. It will touch each individuals soul in a different way. This book will grab your refection and show it to you if you read it slow and enjoy the ride.
This was a book about a simple complicated man, who rubbed against many people's lives with his offbeat pattern of being.
This is a book about cats and book belonging together.
This was a wonderful book.
It read like a poem to me. I loved it. The narrator choice was perfection for this book. I am buying the printed version so that I can write all over it and make many messy notes of love and thoughts on different passages.
Feelings of love, lust and fear with it's destruction to our lives.
This was a book about beauty, in it's many unappreciated forms. The beauty of the sky, scents, memories and a smile.
This was a book about losing your way, about getting buried in wishes and fears.
This is a book that is about heartache, and romance.
This is a book about the joys of reading the right book when you need it.
This is a book about nothing and everything.
This is a book about taking chances.
This is a book that will mean something different to each who read it. It will touch each individuals soul in a different way. This book will grab your refection and show it to you if you read it slow and enjoy the ride.
This was a book about a simple complicated man, who rubbed against many people's lives with his offbeat pattern of being.
This is a book about cats and book belonging together.
This was a wonderful book.
It read like a poem to me. I loved it. The narrator choice was perfection for this book. I am buying the printed version so that I can write all over it and make many messy notes of love and thoughts on different passages.
twagner3's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
laura_corsi's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I thought it would let me geek out about all things books and have lots of literary references I knew. It wasn't really that kind of book though. It was a book about grief and grieving about love and finding. There were incidentally a lot of ambiance revolving around good books, good food, and cats. Lots of cats. It wasn't what I thought but eventually this little French jewel won me over and wormed its way into my heart. I cried copious tears. I smiled gently at the wonderful adventures of Jean and his friends. I laughed and rolled my eyes a lot. It was wonderful and just in time for I was in need of some smart and funny chic lit, although I'm not sure that's exactly how I would classify this book. It was really lovely, however. Like when your friend drags you to a foreign film, at first your just humoring her/him but then after a while you begin to enjoy it against your will and then you love it more than your friend did. This book is just such an experience.
It definitely has a very French flavor as well. It was originally written in French and then translated into English, and it has a very different sensibility than an American novel of the same genre would. It is a book more comfortable with its emotions and that descends much less often into avoiding the characters emotions or shrugging it off with biting wit and leaving the emotion unsaid in the silence of a touch or a gesture like an American novel. It comes off a bit drunken to American sensibilities, but it is a charming drunk. Consider the imagery in this descriptive passage: "..daylight made the colors blossom; by night it was lit by the wide starry sky, and in the evening by the soft rosy light of old-fashioned lanterns. Over there the market with its yellow-and-red awnings under lush plane trees. Around them, soothed by the sun and the sea, people reclined dreamily in their chairs at countless tables in old bars and new cafes." (294) It is so comfortable, so expansive. It revels in what it feels and sees. It does not try to evoke a picture with a few carefully chosen words. Rather, it lets itself have an abundance of words to describe as it wishes. The characters have a similar way of viewing emotion and life. It is beautiful and French. It is decidedly not American.
If you are having trouble feeling emotions or feel that perhaps what you need is a good cry and then perhaps you might be able to finally have a good nights sleep, then I would heartily recommend a dose of The Little Paris Bookshop to be consummed in doses of 5-100 pages depending on the severity of your condition.
It definitely has a very French flavor as well. It was originally written in French and then translated into English, and it has a very different sensibility than an American novel of the same genre would. It is a book more comfortable with its emotions and that descends much less often into avoiding the characters emotions or shrugging it off with biting wit and leaving the emotion unsaid in the silence of a touch or a gesture like an American novel. It comes off a bit drunken to American sensibilities, but it is a charming drunk. Consider the imagery in this descriptive passage: "..daylight made the colors blossom; by night it was lit by the wide starry sky, and in the evening by the soft rosy light of old-fashioned lanterns. Over there the market with its yellow-and-red awnings under lush plane trees. Around them, soothed by the sun and the sea, people reclined dreamily in their chairs at countless tables in old bars and new cafes." (294) It is so comfortable, so expansive. It revels in what it feels and sees. It does not try to evoke a picture with a few carefully chosen words. Rather, it lets itself have an abundance of words to describe as it wishes. The characters have a similar way of viewing emotion and life. It is beautiful and French. It is decidedly not American.
If you are having trouble feeling emotions or feel that perhaps what you need is a good cry and then perhaps you might be able to finally have a good nights sleep, then I would heartily recommend a dose of The Little Paris Bookshop to be consummed in doses of 5-100 pages depending on the severity of your condition.
pained_creations's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a recommended read, but I don't really like romance. Liked the idea of a book doctor, that can find the perfect piece of literature to sooth each person's turmoil, but this is really a small part of a few chapters. The main character spends more than 20 years locked emotionally away after a heartbreak, and spends the whole book on a journey back to finding love. Meh - ultimately forgettable.
maggiebook's review against another edition
1.0
Think I am in the minority on this one. I loved the story when the focus was on the bookshop and the way the bookseller helped people with books. His bookshop and his neighbors were very interesting and if the author had stayed with that I would have given this 4 stars.
Where it went wrong for me is went the book focused on the bookseller's past romance. I found the women he was in love very selfish and unlikable. She was supposed to be a free-spirit but she came across as a thrill seeker who used people who loved her. The bookseller claimed to have been so in love with her that he closed off anything that reminded him about her when she left him. Now the unbelievable thing is that when she left, she left him a letter which he never read! What! He finally reads it 20 years later because??
At one point in the book using journal type entries the woman tells parts of the love story. She explains how the bookseller wasn't dancing with feeling so she slapped him twice to make him angry so he would dance passionately. It seemed the author wanted us to feel like this was romantic. Slapping someone is humiliating and violent. That was the point I said enough and DNF'd it. So sad since I had high hopes for this book.
Where it went wrong for me is went the book focused on the bookseller's past romance. I found the women he was in love very selfish and unlikable. She was supposed to be a free-spirit but she came across as a thrill seeker who used people who loved her. The bookseller claimed to have been so in love with her that he closed off anything that reminded him about her when she left him. Now the unbelievable thing is that when she left, she left him a letter which he never read! What! He finally reads it 20 years later because??
At one point in the book using journal type entries the woman tells parts of the love story. She explains how the bookseller wasn't dancing with feeling so she slapped him twice to make him angry so he would dance passionately. It seemed the author wanted us to feel like this was romantic. Slapping someone is humiliating and violent. That was the point I said enough and DNF'd it. So sad since I had high hopes for this book.
faelafel's review against another edition
1.0
"Bookshop Apothecary" sounds like the perfect story for me, and I scooped this up with gusto.
A shame then that it made me so uncomfortable and offended that I literally couldn't finish it. This was a 'bookshop apothecary' for the first few pages, then a bizarre and gross overly-whiney narrative.
DNF
A shame then that it made me so uncomfortable and offended that I literally couldn't finish it. This was a 'bookshop apothecary' for the first few pages, then a bizarre and gross overly-whiney narrative.
DNF