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A review by toniclark
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
4.0
Morley was a prolific writer, having written more than 100 novels, essay collections, and poetry collections. Parnassus on Wheels was his first novel, published in 1917, when he was 27. He had previously published a volume of poems, worked as a publicist, an editor, and as a newspaper reporter and columnist.
Parnassus on Wheels features Roger Mifflin, an itinerant bookseller (“pedlar”) who travels the countryside in a robin’s-egg-blue van (the Parnassus) full of books. He preaches the value of books and love of reading to all who will listen, and makes a good living from what he sells. But Roger wants to retire to Brooklyn and write his own book, so he sells the Parnassus, along with its books, horse, and dog, to one Helen McGill, a 39-year-old “spinster.” Let me just say, a lively and charming tale ensues. I wasn’t familiar with Morley’s writings. And I’d not have expected to find a book published in 1917 so readable and refreshing. It's also the perfect read and perfect gift for bibliophiles everywhere.
“When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.”
In 1919, Morley published his second novel, The Haunted Bookshop, which also features the bookseller Mifflin from Parnassus on Wheels. I’ll be reading that next.
Wikipedia reports this as his last message to his friends, which was published after his death in 1957:
“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.”
Wikipedia also reports, “A highly gregarious man, he was the mainstay of what he dubbed the ‘Three Hours for Lunch Club.’ “ Now, he sounds like my kind of guy.
The book is available (free) from Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5311
Parnassus on Wheels features Roger Mifflin, an itinerant bookseller (“pedlar”) who travels the countryside in a robin’s-egg-blue van (the Parnassus) full of books. He preaches the value of books and love of reading to all who will listen, and makes a good living from what he sells. But Roger wants to retire to Brooklyn and write his own book, so he sells the Parnassus, along with its books, horse, and dog, to one Helen McGill, a 39-year-old “spinster.” Let me just say, a lively and charming tale ensues. I wasn’t familiar with Morley’s writings. And I’d not have expected to find a book published in 1917 so readable and refreshing. It's also the perfect read and perfect gift for bibliophiles everywhere.
“When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.”
In 1919, Morley published his second novel, The Haunted Bookshop, which also features the bookseller Mifflin from Parnassus on Wheels. I’ll be reading that next.
Wikipedia reports this as his last message to his friends, which was published after his death in 1957:
“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.”
Wikipedia also reports, “A highly gregarious man, he was the mainstay of what he dubbed the ‘Three Hours for Lunch Club.’ “ Now, he sounds like my kind of guy.
The book is available (free) from Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5311