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cindy_ped's review against another edition
4.0
Just what I needed right now. Easy to read while traveling and interesting enough to keep reading. Plus, takes place in Denver, easy to visualize
bethanymplanton's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
jleeds's review against another edition
5.0
Wow!! What a completely different story that I can say enough about. I absolutely loved the alternating story lines of Kitty and Katharyn. All of the supporting characters added richness to the story and to The lives of Kitty and Katharyn. Readers who have had a best friend and are very close to their families will have a hard time putting the book down. It is obvious that there is a plot twist and it took me awhile to figure it out. I thought the ending was perfect but I was left with a giant lump in my throat! I highly recommend The Bookseller!
cay646's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think the magnitude of this book can be appreciated without a deep understanding of the paralyzing and transforming power of loss - of expectations, of dreams, of those one loves most and best. I finished this tale bereft but the thin hope at the end of the book grows as I contemplate the storyline continuing beyond the final page.
abarnhart's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rachelzellem's review against another edition
3.0
It drives me nuts when people (myself included) give things half stars, but sometimes it's just necessary. Yet another book that I struggled to get through, by which I mean that when I had a few spare minutes here and there, I wasn't eager to pick it up and read it. So it took me a while to finish. It wasn't bad or boring, but I just didn't care enough about it most of the time.
The piece that I found exceptionally interesting and compelling wasit made the whole book a little more interesting - in fact, it's the reason for that extra half star.
The only context in which I would recommend reading this book is for potential juicy book club discussion, particularly around the subject hidden here for spoilers.
The piece that I found exceptionally interesting and compelling was
Spoiler
the notion that in the 60s, when this book took place, people believed that children became autistic due to a lack of maternal affection. This idea was propagated by medical professionals who basically told mothers that their kids' challenges were THEIR fault. This needless guilt added so much depth to Katharyn's pain, andThe only context in which I would recommend reading this book is for potential juicy book club discussion, particularly around the subject hidden here for spoilers.
dwoe_reviews's review against another edition
2.0
To be very honest, the gorgeous german cover design and the very interesting sound of the blurb sold the book to me. I expected to love this book but I just didn't.
Katharyn "Kitty" Miller is in her thirties, independent, unmarried and co-owns a bookstore with her best friend Frieda Green in Denver in the early 1960s. Suddenly Kitty begins to dream about an alternate path her life may have taken. When awake, she's the bookshop owner with her best friend. She has a cat and loves her parents and is helping the neighbor boy learn to read. She cares primarily about the future of the bookstore, which no longer works so well. When Kitty sleeps, she is Katharyn who is a mother of triplets, one child with autism, married to Lars Andersson, the most wonderful man she could have ever imagined. Kitty begins to question the path her life has taken at the same time that the division between her two lives begin to blur and merge.
Trying to figure out which life is real makes this a real page-turner and keeps you interested throughout. Altough I just didn’t click with Kitty/Katharyn and I could not empathize with her at all. The plot line simply bored the death out of me. In between these boring lives, the book is filled with boring descriptions and histories. I didn't care about the characters or the story enough. I finished this story by skipping paragraphs because I wanted to find out what was going on in the end. A point in the book's favor: I did find the ending unpredictable. It seems most readers were predicting it all along. For me, however, I was surprised.
This book had so much potential to be a brilliant book, unfortunately it didn't work for me. I'm unendlessly disappointed. I expected so much more of this book.
Katharyn "Kitty" Miller is in her thirties, independent, unmarried and co-owns a bookstore with her best friend Frieda Green in Denver in the early 1960s. Suddenly Kitty begins to dream about an alternate path her life may have taken. When awake, she's the bookshop owner with her best friend. She has a cat and loves her parents and is helping the neighbor boy learn to read. She cares primarily about the future of the bookstore, which no longer works so well. When Kitty sleeps, she is Katharyn who is a mother of triplets, one child with autism, married to Lars Andersson, the most wonderful man she could have ever imagined. Kitty begins to question the path her life has taken at the same time that the division between her two lives begin to blur and merge.
Trying to figure out which life is real makes this a real page-turner and keeps you interested throughout. Altough I just didn’t click with Kitty/Katharyn and I could not empathize with her at all. The plot line simply bored the death out of me. In between these boring lives, the book is filled with boring descriptions and histories. I didn't care about the characters or the story enough. I finished this story by skipping paragraphs because I wanted to find out what was going on in the end. A point in the book's favor: I did find the ending unpredictable. It seems most readers were predicting it all along. For me, however, I was surprised.
This book had so much potential to be a brilliant book, unfortunately it didn't work for me. I'm unendlessly disappointed. I expected so much more of this book.
morakami's review against another edition
3.0
فيها ملل كنت متوقعها اقوى من هيج كان ممكن يطلع منها تفاصيل واحداث كثيرة
m_klevenberg's review against another edition
3.0
This book sorta snuck up on me. I didn't see the ending coming. The main character was easy to like but sometimes her behaviors had me asking "Why?", but of course it al becomes clear...
jessdonaldson84's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0