The Little Paris Bookshop in Pick-a-Shelf

Jan 16, 2022 Catsalive rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024, 2018

Jean Perdu is an eccentric character, but endearing, & I couldn't help liking him. Like most of us, this literary apothecary is very good at prescribing for others but completely useless at physicking himself. There are many amusing & insightful moments, & some quite irritating ones, so the book never quite lifted off for me: a pleasant way to pass the time but generally unremarkable. Perhaps something was lost in translation as I never felt or believed in the great romance.

Imagine going to a bo ...more

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Dec 21, 2016 Tien rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, france

ermm... so he hasn't "lived" in 21 years and then insta-love? eh, I don't think so.

I did like the writing and trip down the river but didn't particularly care for the plot. ...more

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Dec 10, 2015 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-read, kindle, bookclub-grasslands, rws-2016-winter

This is my neighborhood book club's February pick. I suspect the book will generate good conversation, but I didn't love the novel. I loved the setting and the initial premise -- a trip down the Seine in a book barge where the "literary apothecary" prescribes the right books to the right readers to cure what ails their souls. It's an almost perfect book blurb. Unfortunately, the bulk of the book is the story of a man who never recovers from a long-ago love affair with a married woman he met on a ...more

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Nov 01, 2016 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-book

When I started out with this book, I didn't think we were going to get along as it focuses on Jean, a man who has pinned away for his lover from 20 years ago. But the book won me over, and it's really a story about rediscovery, good friends, good food, the power of books, and of course love.
The book was also beautifully written, with phrases like:
Her body kissed his hand...
He had a soul of wine and fire.
A surprisingly pleasant read! ...more

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