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The Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George (Goodreads Author), Simon Pare (Translator)

3.5 · Rating Details · 32,855 Ratings · 5,669 Reviews

“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 apot ...more

Hardcover, 392 pages

Published June 23rd 2015 by Crown (first published 2013)

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Lists with This Book

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

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

Books About Bookstores

138 books — 441 voters

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

LibraryReads June 2015

10 books — 46 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

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Dec 28, 2014 Diane rated it it was ok

Shelves: bookishness, france, meh, grumpy-old-man

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Merde. I think this is one of those books that is going to bring angry comments from readers who liked it a lot more than I did.

This novel just did not work for me. I thought it was disgustingly sweet, poorly plotted, filled with cliches and bad dialogue, and I could not finish it fast enough.

The sad thing is that I thought I was going to love this book. I had even saved it to read on my vacation — that's how special I thought it would be. I mean, the title has the words Paris and Bookshop in ...more

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Apr 24, 2016 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: the-french, books-on-books

”Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men. They undress you with love, strength and knowledge. It’s love from within.”

People read for lots of different reasons. They want to be entertained. They want a book to explain what is wrong with them or a confirmation of what they think is wrong with their spouse. They read for information. They read for an experience outside themselves. They read to escape the drudgery of their lives.

Sometimes I don’t understand why people read at all ...more

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Sep 14, 2015 Elyse rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

"There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only hundred.
There even remedies --I mean books --that were written for only one person...A book
is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy".

Nina George's lyrical tribute to love, literature, people, living, dying, and all things French...
was a privilege to read.
I hope I'm not the the only 1 person this book was written for -- but just in case:
"THANK YOU, *Nina George*.

My first memo ...more

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Feb 13, 2015 Rebecca rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-readers-writers, arc-edelweiss, for-review, ooooh-pretty, unhauled, standalone-novel, on-kindle, adult-fiction, contemporary-realistic

Sadly I didn't love this one like I was expecting. I loved the bookishness - from the Literary Apothecary to Perdu's ability - and the setting, plus there were some great quotes. However I struggled with the story and I lacked a connection to the characters. In theory, this book is perfect for me but I just feel like it was missing something - maybe just for me personally.

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Aug 19, 2015 Megan rated it did not like it

Shelves: reviewed

Absolutely perfect premise and storyline - I was hooked by that blurb. Unfortunately this book was not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for a Parisian Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore but with a twist - an eccentric old gentleman selling books as medicine to those who are missing a certain something in their lives. As someone who's found solace and company in books ever since I was an awkward little girl, this appealed to me. Unfortunately, that's not what I got, and that book blurb ab Absolutely perfect premise and storyline - I was hooked by that blurb. Unfortunately this book was not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for a Parisian Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore but with a twist - an eccentric old gentleman selling books as medicine to those who are missing a certain something in their lives. As someone who's found solace and company in books ever since I was an awkward little girl, this appealed to me. Unfortunately, that's not what I got, and that book blurb about a literary apothecary only covers maybe 15% of the content of this book. The majority of this book is a sappy romance (if you can even call this a romance). It's more a glorification of infidelity and one man's inability to get over a tryst with a married woman that happened 20 years ago. It's chapter upon chapter of him moaning and groaning about how amazing this Manon woman was, without ever actually showing the reader even a shred of decency or charisma in her entire character.

I wrote so many little angry notes as I read (and then increasingly skimmed) this book. All of the high reviews absolutely boggle my mind because all I can feel is hoodwinked. There was some beautiful descriptive language, especially in reference to the Parisian landscapes and environment, but something was lost in translation. Halting dialogue and awkward phrasing made an already uncomfortable read even worse. Occasionally the author would just throw in the word "cock" abruptly and awkwardly, I suppose to convey a sense of romance and erotica to particular situations. Instead, this only caused reading to become suddenly jilted and tainted with a bunch of "cock"s in a spectacularly worded description of Paris. It's like the equivalent of a panoramic view of a gorgeous Paris landscape with an old man in a trench coat suddenly jumping out and flashing his junk at you, hollering "hoogalie boogalie!" It's quite the opposite of romance.

The only good that came out of me reading this drivel is that I inadvertently learned about book villages throughout Europe and the world (they cruise the book barge through one in Cuisery, France). So now I want to go visit some European book villages.

Other authors, a call to arms (or pens)! Please write the book I was expecting to read from this deceptive blurb: a novel about a mysterious dude who travels around on a boat filled with books he uses to treat and heal patients, a literary apothecary of sorts. Except, you know, make it about the books and their readers and not about some flighty, selfish chick the apothecary banged twenty years ago. ...more

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May 02, 2015 Gail rated it it was ok

I have just finished this book and am astonished at the 5 star reviews; it seems I was reading a different book from the majority of reviewers.

I had such high hopes for this. I had just finished reading a very dark and disturbing thriller and needed a lovely book to make me feel warm and fuzzy; this seemed the perfect antidote, so I settled down with my faithful kindle and began reading.

The premise of the story was just utter magic to me - a bookseller hands out books like medicine to people w ...more

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Dec 27, 2014 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-and-arcs, paris, literature-english

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

There is an independent bookstore in Philadelphia called Joseph Fox. It is smallish – one floor, a big first room, a passage, a back room, and a smaller backer room where the children’s books are kept. Every conceivable space is packed with books. Does it have the selection of the big chain store or of Amazon? No. And it doesn’t offer discounts either, though it does give away bookmarks.

But here’s the thing. You can walk into that bookstore and find four books tha Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

There is an independent bookstore in Philadelphia called Joseph Fox. It is smallish – one floor, a big first room, a passage, a back room, and a smaller backer room where the children’s books are kept. Every conceivable space is packed with books. Does it have the selection of the big chain store or of Amazon? No. And it doesn’t offer discounts either, though it does give away bookmarks.

But here’s the thing. You can walk into that bookstore and find four books that you never heard of but can’t live without. You can walk into that bookstore with only a general idea of the book you’re looking for, just a summary, and the staff will know which book you want. You can walk in there wanting a book but not knowing what and leave with the perfect thing.

It is the small bookstores, be they independent bookstores or used bookstores, that offer such things as well as interesting conversations about all things. There is much good to be said for the chain stores and Amazon, in particular when you live in the middle of no-where, but the worse is those people who never discover that amazing independent bookstore – either because the reader refuses to leave the computer store or because the independent store closes due to lack of sales.

A shame, on so many levels, but perhaps most of all because Amazon’s recommendation generator is nowhere as good as a real human bookseller who knows and loves books. Many readers have something of this in them – a tendency to get other people to read and to match people with books. A true bookseller does this, seemingly, without much thought but does it perfectly.

At the start of this novel, that is the point. Perdu (an important last name for those who know French) sells books from his barge, which is currently moored in Paris. He has the art of matching person to book. He is a book healer – using books to heal those who need it – but the saying “physical heal you” is apt. Perdu is lost in more ways than one, though to him, it is because of his lost love. Eventually, he begins a journey that is as healing for him as the books he carries with him and travels though.

In part, the novel is about the discovery of self, of learning to live in the world; in another way, the novel is about the power of books and how they affect readers. To this end, at the close of the novel there is not only recipes for the food mentioned, but also a list of books and their possible cures (Terry Pratchett is mentioned!). In some ways, the dual purpose lets the book down because the novel is strongest when dealing with books. It is somewhat like A Novel Bookstore, though the tone is at once more interior and lighter. It is the journey though the canals, at once an Odyssey at other times a Ulysses that sometimes, at certain points, feels as if it doesn’t quite belong. Though how the novel would work without it, I cannot see. If the canal section at time feels a little out of place, at times it feels totally in sync and powerful. One of the companions that Perdu gains are a cook and books are linked thereafter with food and good wine (as they always should be).

George’s writing is marvelous; there is a type of magic to it. She is able to paint a picture extremely well, but the best parts are when she writes about books – “Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men” (Location 241) or “Yet the novel still struck him as a kind of gazpacho that kept sloshing over the edge of the soup bowl” (Location 309). These are words that any true reader will understand.

Another important aspect of the novel is that unlike some books about books, there is no sense of superiority, of mentioning only “good literature”. While George does mention the greats, she also refers to Game of Thrones, to Phillip Pullman, and to Hobbits. She embraces books and reading, using a definition of literature, if she is using one at all, to include books.

...more

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Feb 16, 2015 Marianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“To carry them within us – that is our task. We carry them all inside us, all our dead and shattered loves. Only they make us whole. If we begin to forget or cast aside those who we’ve lost, then … then we are no longer present either”

The Little Paris Bookshop is the seventh book by German journalist, teacher and author, Nina George (written under that name). Jean Perdu is fifty years old. He lives in an apartment building with an interesting (and often eccentric) collection of other tenants, a “To carry them within us – that is our task. We carry them all inside us, all our dead and shattered loves. Only they make us whole. If we begin to forget or cast aside those who we’ve lost, then … then we are no longer present either”

The Little Paris Bookshop is the seventh book by German journalist, teacher and author, Nina George (written under that name). Jean Perdu is fifty years old. He lives in an apartment building with an interesting (and often eccentric) collection of other tenants, a place where “The snatches of life that could be overheard in the house at number 27 Rue Montagnard were like a sea lapping the shores of Perdu’s silent isle”.

Perdu is the owner of The Literary Apothecary, a book barge on the River Seine in Paris. His customers (or perhaps they are patients) benefit from his unique skills, his extraordinary insight and intuition, in dispensing just the right literary remedy for “countless, undefined afflictions of the soul”. He advises one: “With all due respect, what you read is more important in the long term than the man you marry, ma chère Madame”

But the arrival of a new tenant, the heart-broken Catherine, sets in motion a train of events that see Perdu opening a room in his apartment (and in his heart) that has been sealed for twenty-one years. Soon after, the contents of a hitherto unopened letter are the impetus for great changes: Perdu abruptly unmoors his barge and sets off, completely unprepared, down the Seine towards Provence, to face what he has been denying for such a long time. He is accompanied by a publicity-shy novelist, two cats (Kafka and Lindgren) and later a lovelorn Italian and an impulsive book guild chairwoman.

Perdu’s narrative is supplemented by entries in Manon’s Travel Diary and letters or cards that Jean writes to Catherine back in Paris. As the story unfolds, Perdu shares proposed entries for his “Great Encyclopedia of Small Emotions” as well as some profound observations on human nature: “The trouble is that so many people, most of them women, think they have to have a perfect body to be loved. But all it has to do is be capable of loving – and being loved”; and quite a lot of words of wisdom: “Memories are like wolves. You can’t lock them away and hope they leave you alone” being one example.

In this best-selling novel, George touches on love and heartbreak, grief and denial, and the importance of friends. She wraps her heart-warming and uplifting tale in some truly gorgeous descriptive prose: “The Milky Way was a streak of light, a vapour trail of planets overhead. The silence was almost overpowering, and the blue depths of the night sky seemed to suck them in” and “It is different every day, and the gulls screech like little kids on stormy days and like heralds of glory on sunny ones. ‘Fine! Fine! Fine! they call” and “Sometimes you’re swimming in unwept tears and you’ll go under if you store them up inside” are just a few.

Her characters are appealing, her plot takes a few twists and there are even small mysteries and tiny moments of suspense. Readers who enjoyed The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry are very likely to find this novel equally delightful. Flawlessly translated by Simon Pare, it also features a section of delicious-sounding Provencal recipes and Jean Perdu’s Emergency Literary Pharmacy, five pages that are both funny and perceptive. Funny, moving and uplifting.
With thanks to The Reading Room and Hachette for this copy to read and review.

Just a few more quotes I couldn’t resist:
“He mainly thought of her as ____. As a pause amid the hum of his thoughts, as a blank in the picture of the past, as a dark spot amid his feelings. He was capable of conjuring all kinds of gaps”
“Fear transforms your body like an inept sculptor does a perfect block of stone. It’s just that you’re chipped away at from within, and no one sees how many splinters and layers have been taken off you. You become ever thinner and more brittle inside, until even the slightest emotion bowls you over. One hug, and you think you’re going to shatter and be lost”
“It’s strange that magnificent, good-hearted people like him don’t receive more love. Do their looks disguise their character so well that nobody notices how open their soul, their being and their principles are to love and kindness?”
...more

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Sep 20, 2015 Margitte rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookshop-novels

The book started out with possibilities:

There was monsieur Perdu: - ' the king of this world, a literary pharmacist, who writes prescriptions for the lovesick;

"…My name is Jean. Jean Albert Victor Perdu. Albert after my paternal grandfather, Victor after my maternal grandfather. My mother is a professor, and her father, Victor Bernier, was a toxicologist, a socialist and mayor. I’m fifty years old, Catherine, and I haven’t known many women, let alone slept with them. I loved one. She left me.’

P ...more

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Feb 28, 2015 Jennifer rated it it was ok

Shelves: in-translation, 2015-books

2.5- stars, really.

okay, first up: hello, my name is jennifer and i got a bit suckered into reading a romance novel. :/

(publisher lists this as 'fiction, romance, contemporary' - NetGalley listing reads 'literature/fiction' and did not have the 'contemporary romance' identifier.) i am not against romance, per se, but in reading, i am against the overly-sentimental and schmaltzy, and overuse of clichés. so this book fell apart for me on all three counts. which is really, really unfortunate. this ...more

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Jan 22, 2017 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

3 Jahre stand dieses Buch ungelesen in meinem Regal und jetzt frage ich mich: Wie konnte das passieren? Es gibt nur ganz wenige Bücher in meinem Leben, die mich so berührt haben, die so voller Wahrheit, voll schöner Worte sind und die mich so zum Weinen gebracht haben.

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Jan 07, 2015 Mona rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-about-books

Bittersweet Gallic Romance

This is a very French book. Kind of mournful, but also hopeful. Very, very emotional.

This is ironic, as the author, Nina George, is actually German, although she now lives in France (which doesn't surprise me, as her soul is French).

And yes, it's yet another homage to the vanishing independent bookseller, but it's much more than that. It's a reflection on love and death and other deep subjects. It's also a love letter to France.

Parisian Jean Perdu ("John Lost" in Englis ...more

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Sep 24, 2015 Algernon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

One word review : Overkill!

There's a excellent little romantic gem of a story hidden somewhere in the text of Nina George's bestseller. After all, the sales tell their own story and are proof that most of the readers were able to see past the wooden dialogue and the saccharine sentimentality into the true heart of the story, about coping with loss of innocence, aging, death, starting your life over. There's also a lot to be said about the power of books to inspire and renew a reader's interest i ...more

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Jan 05, 2015 Suzanne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

You fall in love with this book first because it's about the power of books. Who can resist the idea of a book barge on the Seine in Paris where the bookseller, Jean Perdu, uses his intuition to select just the right book to deal with whichever emotion - small or large - is afflicting you? Monsieur Perdu explains it as "I wanted to treat feelings that are not recognized as afflictions and are never diagnosed by doctors. All those little feelings and emotions no therapist is interested in, becaus ...more

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Feb 17, 2016 Connie rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, book-club, books-about-books, france, relationships, spring-2016, translated

I love books about bookstores so I was excited to start "The Little Paris Bookshop". Monsieur Jean Perdu's literary apothecary is located on a barge moored on the Seine. Perdu senses people's needs and problems, and prescribes books that are perfect for each customer. Unfortunately, he has been unable to deal with his own heartache since the love of his life left him 21 years ago. His lover had left him a letter when she departed from Paris, but he waited 21 years to finally open it and feels sh ...more

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Jul 11, 2015 Barbara Hale rated it did not like it

Shelves: audible, book-club-2

The reviews are so misleading. What a disappointment! Only one person in our book club liked it. The rest of us just plowed through, hoping it would be over. It was certainly not my cup of tea. The story could have been told in 50 pages, and the rest of the story was just meandering emotion.

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Jul 11, 2015 Dana rated it did not like it

I'm giving up in this one. Life's too short to read books that bore me....

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Apr 11, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blogging-for-books

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

I am completely in love with this book. I had no idea what a gem I had in my hands. I picked this out of the books I was offered because I thought it sounded interesting, never would I have thought I would sink into the world of this book and not want to leave.

When I first met the main character Monsieur Perdu (Jean Perdu) he reminded me of Hercule Poirot in his mannerisms, but that soon went by the wayside. Jean Perdu is a very unique man. A man with his own ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Erin rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Historic fiction is my preferred stomping ground, but I’ve a reputation for venturing into multiple genres. I think journeying outside my comfort zone challenges me and helps me retain perspective as a reviewer which is how I found myself staring down a copy of Nina George’s contemporary romance, The Little Paris Bookshop.

Looking back, I can honestly say the story made almost no impression on me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I couldn’t rouse much enthusiasm for their personal ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Cathrine ☯ rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish

I just cannot get into this. Is it the structure, the translation, me, what? Based on other poor ratings and general boredom I am giving up. Other books are waiting.

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Jul 02, 2016 Jacob Overmark rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-international

What did I think?

At first I thought "Whats not to like?". A book about books and Southern France, perfect for a rainy summer day and I immediately fell for Jean Perdu.

The name game wasnt lost on me, a man in a mature age, lost in himself, in his past and his happy and unhappy memories. He could have been "The Steppenwolf" or even the narrator in "À la recherche du temps perdu", but hes neither.

He is a man with a mission, he is a literary apothecary, caring for all the lost souls but his own wi ...more

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Mar 14, 2015 Carolyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: relationships, society, around-the-world, contemporary

"A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therpay. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments:that's how I sell books"

Fifty year old John Perdu considers himself a dispenser of literary medicine for ailments of the human soul rather than a mere bookseller. From his barge, the Literary Apothecary, moored on the Seine in Paris he dispenses books to cure people of their ailments, whether it be sadness, disappointment, anxiety or a lost love.

"When ...more

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Jun 25, 2015 Rachelle rated it it was ok

This book was not what I hoped it would be. I really loved the idea of the floating book apothecary, and think so much more could have been done with that idea. In the end, though, this book was rather a disappointment. First, I didn't really love any of the characters, especially Manon, the woman Jean is so tortured with love for all these years. Why? She was selfish and didn't have any clue what commitment meant. Jean just came across as a fool who somewhere along the way mistook lust for love ...more

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Apr 23, 2016 Barbara rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: around-the-world, on-my-shelves, 2016-reads

I was going to rate this 3 stars but I realized that I skimmed the last third of the book because I just wanted to be done with it. The tone of the book kept changing. Was it a romance with the idea of selling books as much a part of the romance as those between characters? But then our bookseller Perdu takes off on his bookselling boat on a river road trip. He picks up this wierd young writer who wears earmuffs all the time and it becomes a farce. They have no money and no food and have to pay ...more

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Jan 24, 2015 Olga Godim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mainstream

I received this Kindle uncorrected proof from NetGalley.

A wonderful book, one of the best I’ve read recently. It’s full of marvelous quotes, despite being a translation. Isn’t it interesting? The book was originally written in German. It takes place in France, with most of the characters French. And I’ve read it in English.
Human life in all its absurdity and beauty, warmth and ugliness stands up from the pages of this novel. Grief and betrayal, cowardice and pride, kindness and compassion, men a I received this Kindle uncorrected proof from NetGalley.

A wonderful book, one of the best I’ve read recently. It’s full of marvelous quotes, despite being a translation. Isn’t it interesting? The book was originally written in German. It takes place in France, with most of the characters French. And I’ve read it in English.
Human life in all its absurdity and beauty, warmth and ugliness stands up from the pages of this novel. Grief and betrayal, cowardice and pride, kindness and compassion, men and women – they are all there, in that file on my Kindle. And of course, there are books. The protagonist, Jean Perdu, is a bookseller. He loves books. He sells books. And he treats his books as medicine for the soul. His floating bookstore on a barge is even called Literary Apothecary.

“… 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.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Perdu reflected that it is a common misconception that booksellers looked after books. They look after people.
~~~~~~~~~~~
He wanted her to sense the boundless possibilities offered by books. There would always be enough. They would never stop loving their readers.
~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s fitting that a story about a bookseller has multiple literary allusions. To start with, it takes place on boat. Three men and [no, not a dog] two cats travel on this boat down the waterways of France from Paris to Provence. Each one is on a personal quest: to find love, to reach absolution, to gain experience, to escape the past. Each one is searching for his story.
Jean Perdu’s story starts and ends with a woman. Two different women bookend his tale, but the story is not about them. It’s about Jean’s emotional journey, his belated maturing, his grief and his growth. The memories of his first love haunt him, driving him to analyze his former decisions, to atone for his betrayal, if he ever hopes to be worthy of his new love.
Despite the touchy topic, the author wouldn’t allow sentimentality to spoil her book. The supporting characters all act as counterpoints for Jean’s deep digging into his soul. When he gets too lachrymose, forcing my own tears to the surface, another character would come along, say something ridiculous, or snarky, or totally irrelevant, and the spell would be broken, making me chuckle with delight. Throughout the novel, emotions throb, but humor finds a way to balance the scores. From the edge of tears to laughter is a very short step, but the author needs courage to take that step. Nina George doesn’t lack courage.
While her hero Jean is mending his broken heart, his everyday life goes on. He sells books. He chats with people. He gets hungry and dreams of a good detergent to get his shirt clean. His boat trip reflects reality to a degree, but on the other hand, it doesn’t resemble reality at all.
Nobody I know, nobody sane in any case, mourns for his lost love for 20 years or denies himself any pleasure of the body for that long. Maybe such people exist somewhere but not in my neighborhood. So this is not a story about a guy next door. It’s a story that morphs into a fable, almost a fairy tale. The story in its entirety reads like a metaphor of living and loving and the inescapable link between the two. One doesn’t exist without the other, and for most men, the trigger and the reason for both is a woman. At least it is so from Jean’s point of view.
His contemplations are often profound and cover many sad topics—aging and fear, inertia and death. I wish I encountered him when I was younger. If I did, maybe I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes in my life. Or maybe I wasn’t ready for his revelations then. He wasn’t as wise when he was young either. He made his own mistakes aplenty. If he didn’t, this book wouldn’t have been written.

Oh, dammit. Nobody would ever wise up if they hadn’t at some stage been young and stupid.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Fear transforms your body like an inept sculptor does a perfect block of stone,” Perdu heard Vijaya’s voice say inside him. “It’s just that you’re chipped away at from within, and no one sees how many splinters and layers have been taken off you. You become ever thinner and more brittle inside, until even the slightest emotion bowls you over. One hug, and you think you’re going to shatter and be lost.”
If Jordan ever needed a piece of fatherly advice, Perdu would tell him: “Never listen to fear! Fear makes you stupid.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Habit is a vain and treacherous goddess. She lets nothing disrupt her rule. She smothers one desire after another: the desire to travel, the desire for a better job or a new love. She stops us from living as we would like, because habit prevents us from asking ourselves whether we continue to enjoy doing what we do.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“You know all about death, huh?” She gave a sad smile. “It—the cancer—is called Lupo. That’s the name Elaia gave it when she was nine. Lupo, like the cartoon dog. She imagined that they lived together in her body like housemates. She respects the fact that it sometimes demands more attention. That way, she says, she can rest easier than if she imagines it wants to destroy her. What on earth would destroy its own home?”
Zelda smiled lovingly as she gazed at her daughter. “Lupo’s been living with us for more than twenty years. I get the impression that he is starting to feel old and tired too.”
~~~~~~~~~~~

A wise and moving novel. Recommended to anyone.

...more

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Apr 01, 2015 Diane Barnes rated it liked it

Shelves: noble-bitches-book-club

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It had all the elements of a great book for me, but something fell short. I'm going to blame it on the translation. Still a good story, though.

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Sep 11, 2016 Suzy rated it liked it

Shelves: found-community, books-on-books, journeying

This story of a Parisian bookseller who sets out on his bookstore on a barge to find the lover who abandoned him 20 years ago started out on a promising note but very quickly devolved. So many times I was rolling my eyes and groaning . . . and not in a good way. :) I felt the author was trying way too hard to be poignant and profound - maybe wanting to be the next Elizabeth Gilbert?

So why did I read to the end of this almost 400 page book and rate it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2? There were several ...more

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Apr 07, 2015 Morris rated it really liked it

Shelves: recommend, 2015-reviews, 2015-favorites

A true romance about the love between people and books, “The Little Paris Bookshop” will delight anyone looking for a “literary” read.

The idea that not every book is meant for all readers, or even for a large audience, is true of this novel. If you’re looking for a fast-paced plot, this is not the book for you. To enjoy it you need to be willing to meander and to take the time to allow yourself to slowly sink into the world of Monsieur Perdu and friends. It’s a slice-of-life read with beautiful A true romance about the love between people and books, “The Little Paris Bookshop” will delight anyone looking for a “literary” read.

The idea that not every book is meant for all readers, or even for a large audience, is true of this novel. If you’re looking for a fast-paced plot, this is not the book for you. To enjoy it you need to be willing to meander and to take the time to allow yourself to slowly sink into the world of Monsieur Perdu and friends. It’s a slice-of-life read with beautiful imagery and lyrical writing. Meant to be savored, do not be afraid to put it down and come back later. Some things are meant to be savored. “The Little Paris Bookshop” is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the types of novels I’ve described, it is one of the best out there. It reminds me of “The Whistling Season” by Ivan Doig, which is an extremely high compliment.

All of the characters are wonderfully quirky and full of depth. Each has a backstory that is revealed in layers through both observations and dialogue. And the dialogue is excellent! Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, there are no wasted words. It all furthers what you know about their past in addition to giving hints to their future. I want to be friends with them and would love for “The Literary Apothecary” to be an actual place I could visit.

There is one flaw that so many good books often have: the excessive epilogue. While I enjoyed how their lives turn out, the book had a natural ending in the last chapter. A small epilogue would have been nice, but there was so much crammed in that it would have been better served, if the author felt it necessary, to have been split into a couple of actual chapters.

“The Little Paris Bookshop” is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the types of novels I’ve described, it is one of the best out there. It’s a balm for the soul, to paraphrase Monsieur Perdu.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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May 25, 2016 Magdalena rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, contemporary, read-2016

SWEDISH REVIEW

Jag föll för omslaget och handlingsbeskrivningen av Den lilla bokhandeln i Paris. En man som ägnar sig åt att sälja böcker för att läka brustna hjärtan lätt alldeles förtjusande. Jag hoppades verkligen att den skulle inge mig samma känsla som jag får när jag ser på Amelie från Montmartre. Tyvärr så visade sig att boken inte alls på långa vägar var så charmig som jag hade förväntat mig. Detta är en bok vars grundidé verkar genialiskt men som tyvärr inte alls visar sig lika kul att SWEDISH REVIEW

Jag föll för omslaget och handlingsbeskrivningen av Den lilla bokhandeln i Paris. En man som ägnar sig åt att sälja böcker för att läka brustna hjärtan lätt alldeles förtjusande. Jag hoppades verkligen att den skulle inge mig samma känsla som jag får när jag ser på Amelie från Montmartre. Tyvärr så visade sig att boken inte alls på långa vägar var så charmig som jag hade förväntat mig. Detta är en bok vars grundidé verkar genialiskt men som tyvärr inte alls visar sig lika kul att läsa som man tror. Eller i alla fall så kände jag.

Nu säger jag inte att boken är dålig, den hade sina poänger, här och där var dialogen träffsäker, men storyn och karaktärena var tyvärr båda bleka och själva "kärlekshistorien" bokens grundberättelse var på tok för ointressant. Får jag vara riktigt ärlig så fattar jag inte hur man kan vänta 20 år med att öppna ett brev, men utan det hade det inte blivit en bok så jag försökte inte störa mig så mycket på det. Men alla dessa karaktärer, många väldigt udda och speciella borde ju ha gjort boken mysig att läsa. Mja, inte direkt, den enda som jag verkligen gillade var Samy, resten fäste jag mig inte alls för, inte ens Monsieur Perdu.

Jag förstår att vissa tilltalas oerhört av den, ta till sig varje ord och karaktärer och verkligen älskar boken och jag vill inget hellre än tillhöra den skaran. Men tyvärr för ofta fann jag att jag tappade fokuset när jag läste boken. Jag gillar verkligen idén med en litterär apotekare på en pråm i Paris. Faktum är att bara en bokhandel på en pråm låter som en alldeles förträfflig idé!

Tack till Bazar Förlag för recensionexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

I really love the cover and the blurb for the book. A man that spends his time selling books that will heal one's broken heart sounded like a wonderful book. I really hoped that it would give me the same feeling reading this book as I get watching Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, but unfortunately the book was not at all as charming as I had expected it to be. This is a book that has a terrific basic concept, but that just doesn't turn out to be as good as the idea sounds. Or, at least that's how I felt about the book.

I don't think this book is bad, the story has its moments and hear and there the dialogue is quite good, but the whole story and the characters are too pale. And, the "love story" is, to be honest frankly not that interesting. Also, I can't understand how someone can wait 20 years to open a letter, but without that part of the story wouldn't it be a book at all, so I tried to not let that bother me while reading the book. And, I thought that all the odd characters would make to book fun to read. Well, not exactly, to be honest, the only character I really liked was Samy, the rest I just didn't care that much for, not even Monsieur Perdu.

I can understand how some people will find the book appealing to read and they will love every word and character in the book and I wish I could be apart of the group. But, I lost the focus too often while reading the book. However, I do think the idea of a literary apothecary on a pram in Paris sounds like a fantastic idea. Even just a bookstore on a pram in Paris sounds fantastic.

Thanks to Bazar Förlag for the review copy! ...more

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Jan 15, 2015 ♥ Sandi rated it liked it

An ARC received from Goodreads for an honest review ~~

The floating barge bookstore...what a marvelous idea!
Monsieur Jean Perdu is hiding from the world -he has shut himself off from everyone - except for his bookstore. He spends his time matching books to customers to heal whatever ails them. Problem being he cannot heal himself. Years prior the love of his life disappeared and with her his reason for living.
Perdu decides to pull anchor and take his bookstore down the river. At the last minute ...more

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About Nina George

ENG (for German Bio please scroll down).

Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and mana ...more

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“Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions; some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you've got those autumn blues. And some...well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.” — 102 likes

“We cannot decide to love. We cannot compel anyone to love us. There's no secret recipe, only love itself. And we are at its mercy--there's nothing we can do.” — 55 likes

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