Scan barcode
matholade's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I enjoyed the book generally but nothing to write home about. I hated Mitchell, and Esme's dependence on him, but it felt realistic insofar as she is young, naive, etc. At the same time I really didn't feel like he needed to be that involved in the plot for the reader to understand how awful he is. There's swathes of the book that could've been better spent on other kinds of character development.
mrsdryoder's review
4.0
Really 3.5-4. I read the ending first, as always, but clearly didn't read enough of the ending as it still didn't turn out the way I thought it would. Easy, quick read.
pattireadsalot's review
4.0
Bookstores+NYC+Amazing Writer= :-) Super enjoyable reading experience. I'm feeling a little lazy this evening so I'm going to copy the blurb from Gabrielle Donnelly (author of The Little Women Letters) on the back cover because it is perfect: "A gorgeous book, witty, lyrical, and bursting with heart, an unabashed love letter to books, to Manhattan, and to human goodness." Hurray Deborah Meyler! Now please write your next novel quickly (preferably a sequel) so that I can add it to my bookshelf:-)
crackercrumblife's review
4.0
When I saw the cover and title of this book, I knew I wanted to read it. What reader doesn't love a bookstore, especially one with some personality and quirk.
Esme's life is in upheaval. She is British by nationality, in the U.S. on a student visa while she studies at Colombia, and is dating Mr. Old Money himself, Mitch van Leuven. He leaves her high and dry, before she can even tell him she is pregnant with his child. He later finds out, and Esme and Mitch begin to have a very frustrating and annoying relationship. At least in my opinion. I wanted to shake her sometimes for some of her bad choices or just for her naivete.
Esme is able to find a space of calm within the uncertainty of her life. She takes a job at The Owl bookstore to support herself after Mitch leaves her, and begins to carve out a niche of serenity for herself. The bookstore is open 24 hours, and Esme enjoys the rainy or cold nights, when her coworkers and customers gather inside, listen to Luke play the guitar, and talk about books or movies. Esme feels content and at peace during these moments, and the reader is lulled into the peace as well.
This book had a quiet feel about it, much like the feeling you get while looking for books in a library or a bookstore. You kind of zone out, in your own world, searching through the books, and the world falls away behind you. This book feels like that, if that makes any sense. The supporting characters brought the life to this story, the way I think they did to Esme's life. George with his organic health nut beliefs, musician Luke, who introduces Esme to music that has soul to it, they provide the variety and flavor to the book. I would have had the biggest crush on Luke had I been Esme!
I really liked this book. I would recommend reading it on a wild weather night, a night you want to snuggle down warm and tight, and be cozy for a while.
Esme's life is in upheaval. She is British by nationality, in the U.S. on a student visa while she studies at Colombia, and is dating Mr. Old Money himself, Mitch van Leuven. He leaves her high and dry, before she can even tell him she is pregnant with his child. He later finds out, and Esme and Mitch begin to have a very frustrating and annoying relationship. At least in my opinion. I wanted to shake her sometimes for some of her bad choices or just for her naivete.
Esme is able to find a space of calm within the uncertainty of her life. She takes a job at The Owl bookstore to support herself after Mitch leaves her, and begins to carve out a niche of serenity for herself. The bookstore is open 24 hours, and Esme enjoys the rainy or cold nights, when her coworkers and customers gather inside, listen to Luke play the guitar, and talk about books or movies. Esme feels content and at peace during these moments, and the reader is lulled into the peace as well.
This book had a quiet feel about it, much like the feeling you get while looking for books in a library or a bookstore. You kind of zone out, in your own world, searching through the books, and the world falls away behind you. This book feels like that, if that makes any sense. The supporting characters brought the life to this story, the way I think they did to Esme's life. George with his organic health nut beliefs, musician Luke, who introduces Esme to music that has soul to it, they provide the variety and flavor to the book. I would have had the biggest crush on Luke had I been Esme!
I really liked this book. I would recommend reading it on a wild weather night, a night you want to snuggle down warm and tight, and be cozy for a while.
gbeezz's review
1.0
I'm only ten percent in and the relationship between Esme and Mitchell is already so gross; the guy just raped her. If I had any inclination to believe this would be addressed in the novel I might read on, but reading through the other reviews she apparently even agrees to marry him eventually and I am not wasting my time reading several hundred pages of glorified abuse.
balancinghistorybooks's review
2.0
The blurb of The Bookstore says that it is ‘a witty, sharply observed debut novel about a young woman who finds unexpected salvation while working in a quirky used bookstore in Manhattan’. Esme, the book’s protagonist, is a British woman studying Art History at Columbia University. Her first person perspective begins, ‘I, Esme Garland, do not approve of mess. This is unfortunate, because ever since I woke up this morning I’ve had a feeling that I might be in one’. Her narrative voice is not an engaging one despite the promise of this opening, and she soon seems more interested with the quest to buy a bagel and tell the coffee shop owner that actually, their broken coffee machine is working, than anything else. She falls pregnant, her boyfriend leaves her, and the rest of the predictable plotline follows. The descriptions of The Owl bookshop and its ‘laconic and gentle owner’ George are nice enough, but Esme feels fake in her persona, and is incredibly irritating at times. The Bookstore is filled with mundane information which fails to hook the reader.
avimajithia's review
2.0
2/5
The Bookstore by Deborah Meyer is one of the more thoughtful books I've read this year. For fans of 'My Salinger Year' and 'Frances and Bernard' this would be a wonderful read. It contains a level of introspection only matched by the above two. But that is where the comparison ends.
Esme Garland is a fresh-faced 23 year-old PhD candidate recently transplanted to New York from England. From the very first page, her romanticism of the world is bursting out at you. She's formed a bond with the city, with her lesbian photographer neighbour and with the suave and sophisticated Mitchell Van Leuven, her boyfriend of recent weeks.
She goes to a nearby used-books bookstore called 'The Owl' and this becomes her oasis in a city that seems both familiar and alien. As the book progresses, Esme's life changes rather drastically and the rest of her book covers the following year, her relationship with Mitchell and her growing closeness to the inhabitants of 'The Owl' as she begins working there part-time.
I love all books about bookstores and that is why a friend gifted this to me. However, as I progressed through this book, I felt a certain sense of deja-vu, like I knew what was coming. I think I'm having ingenue-matures-while-living-life-trope fatigue. At numerous points in the story, I was gritting my teeth in frustration at Esme, at her unwillingness to change things. I felt like Meyer wrote a story of two Esmes. One that we met in this book, and another that lived inside this Esme's head. And I found myself rooting for neither. But then, certain maturity is gained only after experiencing life, and the fact that we see that beginning by the time the book ends, is a credit to Meyer's skill. However, I did not end liking anyone in the book.
So, did I love 'The Bookstore'? No, I didn't.
The Bookstore by Deborah Meyer is one of the more thoughtful books I've read this year. For fans of 'My Salinger Year' and 'Frances and Bernard' this would be a wonderful read. It contains a level of introspection only matched by the above two. But that is where the comparison ends.
Esme Garland is a fresh-faced 23 year-old PhD candidate recently transplanted to New York from England. From the very first page, her romanticism of the world is bursting out at you. She's formed a bond with the city, with her lesbian photographer neighbour and with the suave and sophisticated Mitchell Van Leuven, her boyfriend of recent weeks.
She goes to a nearby used-books bookstore called 'The Owl' and this becomes her oasis in a city that seems both familiar and alien. As the book progresses, Esme's life changes rather drastically and the rest of her book covers the following year, her relationship with Mitchell and her growing closeness to the inhabitants of 'The Owl' as she begins working there part-time.
I love all books about bookstores and that is why a friend gifted this to me. However, as I progressed through this book, I felt a certain sense of deja-vu, like I knew what was coming. I think I'm having ingenue-matures-while-living-life-trope fatigue. At numerous points in the story, I was gritting my teeth in frustration at Esme, at her unwillingness to change things. I felt like Meyer wrote a story of two Esmes. One that we met in this book, and another that lived inside this Esme's head. And I found myself rooting for neither. But then, certain maturity is gained only after experiencing life, and the fact that we see that beginning by the time the book ends, is a credit to Meyer's skill. However, I did not end liking anyone in the book.
So, did I love 'The Bookstore'? No, I didn't.
booksavor's review
4.0
Many of the reviews I read of this book bemoaned the "stupidity" of the main character Esme. While I agree that she certainly didn't make the best decisions regarding Mitchell, it's easy to cast this kind of judgement on a character; yet, are any of us innocent of making stupid decisions when it comes to love, or what we think is love? I couldn't help but wonder if Mitchell was somewhat of a sociopath by the end of the story. He was charming, unfeeling, and knew how to play to the emotions of others. I don't know if Esme's reactions to his character were all that "stupid", considering that!
I certainly wished that Esme made different decisions and hated to see her grovel but I don't think that her actions were completely unbelievable either. I enjoyed her character, even when I thought she was being silly, and enjoyed the rest of the cast of characters.
The actual writing of the book, not taking any of the plot into regard, was breezy and fun to read. I enjoyed the many allusions, even when I didn't completely get them...they made me want to Google things!
I expected this book to be an easy, chick-lit read and that was just what I got.
I certainly wished that Esme made different decisions and hated to see her grovel but I don't think that her actions were completely unbelievable either. I enjoyed her character, even when I thought she was being silly, and enjoyed the rest of the cast of characters.
The actual writing of the book, not taking any of the plot into regard, was breezy and fun to read. I enjoyed the many allusions, even when I didn't completely get them...they made me want to Google things!
I expected this book to be an easy, chick-lit read and that was just what I got.