At Electric Lit she tagged seven favorite books set in bookstores, including:
The Bookshop by Penelope FitzgeraldRead about another entry on the list.
A widow opens the only bookshop in a small seaside English town, and problems ensue. The other shopkeepers are not too happy with her, she incites the wrath of the local arts patroness, and her dilapidated store creaks, leaks, and is haunted by a ghost. Take away the pesky problems, and the premise has the makings of a dream many of us bibliophiles may have—a sweeping coastline, a quaint town full of quirky characters, a charming bookshop, and a passion to inspire others by way of literature. But this is a melancholy tale, a slim tome about a kind, determined optimist who tries, despite the ugliness of the world, society, and people. Exquisitely crafted sentences and characters, powerful observations, and a bibliophilic bend: read it and weep.
The Bookshop is among Bartholomew Bennett's ten best fictional booksellers and Alison Moore's ten top seaside novels.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
