The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
Summary From Goodreads
“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.
After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.
Internationally bestselling and filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people's lives.
My thoughts on the book
It took me absolutely forever to read this book. I can’t remember the last time I took this long on one book. I just couldn’t seem to get into it! There were so many 5 star reviews so I was surprised that I just couldn’t get with it. I’m really disappointed…I so wanted to love this book.
The description of this book is absolutely lovely. The owner of the bookshop “prescribes” books like a doctor prescribes medicine. As a book lover, I was so enchanted by the very thought. When the book arrived at my house I was like a kid at Christmas.
The beginning of the book seemed wonderful and I thought that I would be in heaven but then the more I read, the more uninterested I became. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the storyline about the books “healing” people had already faded away, and I found myself becoming bored and kind of annoyed. It no longer felt like the book that I had read so much about. So disappointing.
I kept on reading, even though I really wanted to quit this book. I rarely quit a book before finishing, but man…I really wanted to! I actually started counting down the pages just wanting to be done with it. Once again, so disappointing.
I’m not saying that this was a horrible book. It just wasn’t a good fit for me. Obviously, with all of the 4 and 5 star reviews, some find this book to be wonderful. I just couldn’t connect with it. And that really makes me so sad! I desperately wanted to love this book.
*Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.
Carrie Kurtz is a full-time mom and wife who can’t help but make time to explore new worlds in between carpooling and laundry loads. She’s trying to encourage a similar obsession with reading in her two children, and she’s grateful her husband supports her habit. She can be found at Carrie K’s Book Reviews
