The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichel 288 pages

 

Food! Fashion! Art! It’s all there in this magical realism tale set in 1980s Paris. But before we get there, we must start in New York City.

 

Stella lives an extremely structured life. She is a copy editor at a small publishing house. She believes she loves her job, and she is good at it. It’s a lonely life; Stella is estranged from her mother, the only family she has. She never knew who her father was. Her mother claimed she didn’t know, but reading between the lines, I believe that is why she sent her to Paris. To find him.

 

When her mother dies, Stella is surprised, nay shocked, that her mother left her anything, especially a letter address to “My Daughter.” Inside Stella finds a one-way ticket along with a note that merely says, “Go to Paris!” She is reluctant but her boss talks her into it. With lots of vacation time, Stella packs a small bag and heads to the City of Lights.

 

Stella’s well-oiled lifestyle follows her. But when she stumbles upon a vintage store, her deepest inner self begins to emerge. She tries on a vintage Dior gown that fits like it was made for her. The old woman who is the shopkeeper takes her into paying the $6,000 for it with the caveat that she can return if the dress doesn’t change her. The shopkeeper gives her a list of things she must do.

 

First, she eats oysters at Les Deux Magots. There she meets Jules, an older man with a passion for art who knows anyone and everyone in Paris. He knows great food, exceptional wine, the writers, the painters. Slowly, she sheds herself of all the things that have held her back. She quickly realizes that she enjoys this new life and never wants to go back to the old Stella.

 

Stella visits Shakespeare & Company Bookstore. The bookstore has much more to offer than books. Could Stella have found a new home, a new sense of belonging when she becomes one of the “tumbleweeds,” one who drifts in and out of the bookstore.

 

Then there is the small mystery surrounding her father and the Manet painting that her mother had hanging in her home.

 

For me, every page was a masterpiece of experience! Therefore, The Paris Novel receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Air Raid Book Club

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons 336 pages

 

I love books about books, readers and bookstores. Author Annie Lyons has given us a wonderful little slice of heaven in this book.

 

The story begins in a suburb of London in 1938. Hitler is on the rise and war looks inevitable. Readers get to meet Gertie Bingham right away, and I immediately fell in love with her. Since 1911, she and her husband, Harry, have owned and operated Bingham Books. She is considering retiring, and since Harry’s death two years earlier, it’s getting harder and harder. At first, I thought Gertie was in her late seventies, perhaps early eighties, but she is only in her early sixties. She does have a faithful companion in her dog, Hemingway, who is aging as well, but she’s tired.

 

As she considers this life change, readers get to meet the villagers who frequent the bookstore. Young and old frequent the shop and since her village is so small, Gertie becomes close to all of them.

 

As Hitler continues his assault on Europe, one of her dearest friends, Charles, asks Gertie to help by fostering a young Jewish girl. At first, she is reluctant, but eventually she gives in, and it changes her entire life.

 

Hedy speaks some English and at fifteen years old, she is terrified of her new surroundings. Eventually the two settle down into a routine, Hedy loves the bookstore and books as much as Gertie did.

 

The bombs begin to fall, and the people of the village spend more and more time in the air riad shelters, Hedy and Gertie bring books to read aloud until the all-clear sirens begin to shrill.

 

I don’t feel that the title of this read gives the right impression. It’s less about what happens in the shelter and more about re-discovering life. Author Lyons does a wonderful job of balancing the unimaginable tragedies of war with finding happiness in a world that seems bent on destroying everything that is good.

 

I loved all the characters whom Gerti welcomed into her bookstore and her village. The one who made me smile the most, however, was five-year-old Billy, who called everyone by their full name!

 

The Air Raid Book Club receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

 

 

The Girl Who Reads on the Métro

The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury  175 pages.  I read a galley -- book due to be published in the US October 2019

"Big-hearted, funny, and gloriously zany, The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is a delayed coming-of-age story about a young woman who dares to change her life, and a celebration of the power of books to unite us all."  (from the Goodreads summary)

Juliette leads a very ordinary life in Paris, working at an office job she finds boring, dating some "not-quite-right" men and feeling a little blue about her future. The bright spot in her days are her rides on the Metro to and from work, watching people reading and making up stories to herself about them.  

One morning, avoiding going into the office, Juliette gets off at a different stop and finds herself on a street she's never been on. Seeing a book wedging open a rusty gate, she goes in and discovers a shop filled with books, a man named Soliman and his young daughter Zaide.  Soliman assumes Juliette is there as a passuer, a person he has hired to take books from his shop and into the world, matching books to readers.  Before she can help herself, Juliette agrees to do this, leaving her job and moving into Soliman's story to become a passeur and to take care of Zaide while Soliman is away.

Okay, so what happens then I will leave up to you to discover.  Suffice to say, things happen and Juliette's life is changed forever. 

While I thought this book was okay, I didn't find it funny or big-hearted and definitely didn't find it to be "gloriously zany."  Maybe it is to the readers who first encountered this book in Europe? But I feel like this is a variation on a story I have read before, where there is a mysterious/enchanting/intriguing bookstore, a woman whose life is forever changed by these books . . .

Color me meh on this one.

Paris by the Book

 Paris by the Book by Liam Callanan  368 pages

First there is the title:  What an enticement! Paris and books; I GOTTA read this novel.

Then there is the synopsis: An eccentric novelist who has gone missing. His grieving family. A bookstore.  An unfinished manuscript by said missing novelist. I was already anticipating how wonderful this book would be.

Then there is the first sentence: “Once a week, I chase men who are not my husband.” I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this novel.

And finally I did. 

Leah steals a copy of “The Red Balloon” from a Milwaukee book store. Robert sees, follows and confronts her. That’s how they met. The encounter sets up a sweet romance between the two who eventually get married and have two daughters.

Leah and her daughter don’t think much about it when their Robert turns up missing. He does that a lot. When he gets stuck in his work, he goes on writeaways. He always leaves a note. But this time there is no note. Still, they shrug it off as sometimes the notes are left in the strangest places.

Months pass, and the family goes about its daily life. Clues begin to surface in the strangest of places. One clue was six capital letters inside Robert’s favorite box of cereal.

Quickly deciphering the code, Leah and her daughters head to France in search of Robert. Looking for a place to stay, they stumble upon a small bookstore, whose owner is eager to sell. Leah buys it and the family starts to settle in with an eccentric cast of supporting characters. Leah discovers one of Robert’s books on the shelves and places it in the store window.

The girls are convinced that they catch glimpses of their father in various Paris locales, but Leah is convinced he is dead. When someone want to buy the book in the window, Leah discovers an “I’m sorry,” written on the inside cover. Who but Robert could have written that, and if did come into the shop, why didn’t he stay? There are so many questions with no answers.

Then a manuscript by Robert turns up. It’s like he’s been watching them, writing as their lives unfold. This part of the novel was rather hazy for me.

The story was interesting and I did enjoy it, but it moves rather slowly. Therefore, “Paris by the Book” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Goodnight June

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio    320 pages

I’m going to warn you now: clear your calendar before you start this book. I read it on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and it’s the best book I’ve read so far this year (2017).

The premise is the imagined inspiration behind children’s author Margaret Wise Brown’s classic tale, Goodnight Moon, which turns 70 years old this year. When Brown died in 1952 (at the age of 42, from an embolism after suffering from appendicitis),the history of the little book was lost.

In this tale, June Andersen, a high-powered banking VP in New York, learns from her great-aunt Ruby’s lawyer that she has passed away…many months ago.  Her dippy mother never bothered to call with the sad news. The lawyer states in his letter that Ruby has left her beloved bookstore, Bluebird Book, and its contents and all her worldly possessions.

June flies to Seattle with every intention of selling the bookstore, or at the very least liquidating the assets and returning to her life, where her work is everything. When she arrives at the bookstore, happy (and some sad) childhood memories return, making June question her lifestyle choices, and her past.

She finds a letter from Ruby that sends her on a scavenger hunt to find letters between Brown (whom she called Brownie) and herself. As she uncovers the letters, Ruby’s secrets, along with some of June’s, are unveiled. It won’t hurt to have a box of tissues handy.

Goodnight June is a wonderful novel. The dualing timelines (one of my favorite writerly strategies) makes the reader feel as she/he is right there with Ruby and Brownie. ASs I read, I kept wanting to head to the internet to find out what aspects of the story are real and what are imagined, but I always had to stop myself and remember that the entire story (except for Magaret Wise Brown and the titles of her books) is fiction.

I hope that you love this story as much as I did. Goodnight June get 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin, 260 pages

This is one of those books that I recommend reading if you work in a library/around books/in a bookstore.  You'll like some of the references and inside jokes.  A.J. Fikry is recently widowed, probably an alcoholic, and having a hard time running his independent bookstore in New England.  He comes home one night to find a baby has been left in his store, his retirement plan has been stolen, and his life changes overnight.  It has all of the markers of a typical "Hallmark" story- there's a quirky shop owner, a blooming romance, and reading has the power to change lives.  Despite that, though, I thought it managed to steer clear of sappy territory, and provide bits and pieces of poignancy, humor, and literary discussion.  It would make a good book for discussion groups.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
260 Pages


If you are a book lover you'll like this book. A.J. Fikry is the owner of a small bookstore on an island in the northeast.  He is a curmudgeon, in mourning from the death of his wife, completely isolated from the community he serves.  A series of events draws him back into life and the book follows the next 20 years as he changes and becomes a family man, a successful bookseller and an integral part of the community.