The little Paris bookshop : a novel

by Nina George

Hardcover, 2015

Status

Available

Collection

Publication

New York : Crown Publishers, [2015]

Description

Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:??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. Includes a PDF of Recipes and Jean Perdu??s Emergency Liter… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This book reminded me of exactly why I don't like books that are self-consciously charming and heart-warming. Had I not felt obligated to read this book for a book club meeting, I would have happily abandoned it somewhere in the middle of the first chapter.

"I've got about thirty thousand stories
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in my head, which isn't very many, you know, given that there are over a million titles available in France alone. I've got the most useful eight thousand works here, as a first-aid kit, but I also compile courses of treatment. I prepare a medicine made of letters: a cookbook with recipes that read like a wonderful family Sunday. A novel whose hero resembles the reader; poetry to make tears flow that would otherwise be poisonous if swallowed. I listen with..."

Perdu pointed to his solar plexus.

"And I listen to this too." He rubbed the back of his head.

"And to this." Now he pointed to the soft spot above his upper lip. "If it tingles here..."

The aptly named Monsieur Perdu (and if you think the reader will not be bludgeoned over the head, repeatedly, with the aptness of this name, you've got another thing coming) owns a longboat docked near the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It's called "The Literary Apothecary" and he, with his ability to see instantly which book a customer should read, is the bookseller. He lives in a charming building based on the one in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, with it's eccentric inhabitants and irascible concierge. As he walks between his apartment and his longboat, neighbors lean from their windows and request books, and he passes along perfect advice to the grocer as he walks by. Surprisingly, no one bursts into song, but maybe this is being saved for the movie version. But despite his Hollywood sound stage surroundings, Monsieur Perdu is harboring a deep and terrible grief. His lover left him, leaving nothing but a letter behind. He can't bear to be touched. Everyday is an effort. He is bereft. When she first left, he walled up her favorite room in his apartment (luckily, she was not fond of the bathroom or kitchen), and the unopened letter he put in a drawer, along with the corkscrew she had stolen for him (so poignant!) and painted the drawer shut. Then he smashed up most of his possessions, as one does. She left twenty years ago, and his pain is just as deep and, well, painful as it was the day after she left. Because Monsieur is a man of Very Deep Feels.

When a beautiful woman, with a tragic history (but of course) moves into the building, he gives her the table, along with a stack of the books he could tell she needed to read, although they only spoke briefly through a closed door. Such are the powers of Monsieur Perdu, they were exactly the right books! She finds the letter, and invites him to dinner, and he reads the letter at long last, only to find that it wasn't of the Dear John variety. Overcome with many new feels, Monsieur Perdu undertakes an impetuous journey, joined along the way by colorful characters as well as a pair of extra adorable cats. The Little Paris Bookshop is the story of that charming and poignant journey, and of the emotional journey Monsieur Perdu must take to find himself and heal his heart. Also, there are some recipes.

I cannot fully express how much I disliked this book. Not without employing offensive language and smashing up a room of my own.
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LibraryThing member jessibud2
"Jean Perdu is 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 is himself; he's still
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haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter that he has never opened."

This was the blurb on the back of the book and it absolutely grabbed me. I really wanted to love this book. The title, the premise, what could be bad? Problem is, I felt it was sappy and it never lived up to its potential. Most of the characters seemed one-dimensional and I felt no real connection to any of them (and there were too many of them). The plot line, such as it was, was too meandering and thin. I actually put it down about halfway through but came back to it, hoping that maybe it was just me, needing a break. I didn't abandon it altogether but I skimmed through to the end and felt I missed nothing. There were some good book quotes but not enough to save it. I really hate feeling let down by a book I had high hopes for but c'est la vie...
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LibraryThing member Fliss88
At first I thought I didn't like the main character Perdu, then, I can't read anymore I'm going to toss it, then all of a sudden things started to flip, and I began to enjoy the story! A light bulb moment changed my mind. It wasn't Perdu I didn't like, it was Manon, the woman who broke his heart.
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Whenever the chapters were hers, spoken by her, the style of writing changed, and for me the first person narrative just clashed - badly. The best part for me was when the three men, Perdu, Max and Cuneo were sailing on the barge from Paris to the Luberon and something more than friendship was forged between them.
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LibraryThing member akblanchard
Jean Perdu is a bookseller with a singular ability to connect readers with the titles that will soothe their troubled souls. Alas, the healer of all cannot help himself; he suffers from the ongoing effects of a tremendously painful loss twenty years prior. Fortunately, his bookstore is housed in a
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barge, so as he and his colorful friends travel from Paris to Provence along France's waterways, Perdu is able to find healing and the ability to love again.

The Little Paris Bookshop has been mistitled and mis-promoted as "a love letter to reading". It's not really about a bookshop and reading doesn't figure as heavily into the story as much as one might suppose. Instead, it is about an emotionally damaged man whose protracted mourning for someone who wouldn't commit to him seems overdone. In fact, that's a good way to describe this novel--pretentious and overdone. Not recommended.
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LibraryThing member huntersun9
Some beautiful passages. I wish the primary focus had been the books as medicine premise rather than the lost love story.
LibraryThing member imtanner2
I loved this book about a man who is coming to turns with the loss of his love. There are big surprises, great literary references, awesome recipes, and terrifically compelling characters. Don't miss this one!
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
I only decided to borrow this book on a whim because of the setting suggested by the title, and I am very glad that I didn't pay for the privilege. What a load of sentimental, pretentious drivel. The best way to describe the 'plot', such as it isn't, is to imagine hundreds of those little
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motivational books, full of trite advice on life and love, all mashed together into one novel-length edition. 'Jean Perdu', who owns the only decent idea in the story - a floating bookshop, originally moored on the Seine, where he dispenses books tailored to meet his customers' emotional needs - is 'lost' (see what she did there) and looking for a new love, to help him get over the old one. The old one, Manon, was one of those nauseating fictional women who captivate men with their passion for - well - sex, basically, but who walked out of his life twenty years ago and promptly died. Jean meets up with a young author and an old friend, and they float down to the south of France, where Jean plans to lay the ghost of Manon to rest. And that's it. Even with the REALLY BIG PRINT and spaces between chapters, the whole thing still took far too long to read. If I owned a book barge, I would throw this novel overboard.
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LibraryThing member kellyn
I loved this book! The language was beautiful and the descriptions of Monsieur Perdu's grief and loss were insightful and true to my experience.
I also loved the way people created the community and family they needed.
LibraryThing member Maydacat
I know this novel has great appeal to many people, but I found it to be a great disappointment. It amazed me how an author could take a story about books, about lost love, about a man who wants to heal others with books but cannot heal himself, about traveling in France on a barge, add in some
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quirky authors as additional characters and even throw in some lovable cats for good measure, and then turn that whole assortment into something that became a chore to read. M. Perdu is a bookseller, but he only sells the book that will help as therapy to his customer, not necessarily the book he or she came in to buy. A great concept, and yet we see so little of it in the novel. If anything, M. Perdu is an aggravating character with a large case of arrested development. There is no other way to explain why he did what he did with the letter his one-and-only-love left for him when she disappeared twenty-one years ago. The novel was slow-moving and had little plot despite its intriguing premise; the writing was choppy and disjointed. I thought this would be a wonderful book to lose one’s self in. I was wrong, wrong, wrong.
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LibraryThing member tandah
I have really mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the road-trip element, and the growing self-awareness the men experienced during their adventures down the river. I loved the river travels. The foundation story about Perdu and Manon didn't grab me, so I eventually skipped over those
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bits, as I did over Perdu's thrashing about when he was coming to terms with his emotional health. What thrilled me were the recipes and book recommendations at the books end.
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LibraryThing member natsalvo
The Little Paris Bookshop could be re-named, “Poulet Soup (Chicken Soup) for the Soul”. The latest novel by the prize-winning author, best-seller and newspaper columnist, Nina George, is a beautifully-written and wistful look at love, loss and regret. It’s a finely-detailed and nuanced story
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with believable and likeable characters who express real feelings and emotions and often wear their hearts on their sleeves.

The story follows Jean Perdu, a man who has been alive for half a century but has not truly lived. He is the owner of The Literary Apothecary, a barge on the river Seine that sells books. He is also a self-described “Healer” insofar as he can diagnose any malady or problem and prescribe the reader with a book that will cure all.

Sadly, Perdu is unable to treat his own broken heart and deal with his own issues. He had had an intense, five year relationship with a mysterious creature named Manon. One day this woman left without saying goodbye- except through a note but Perdu was too proud to read it.

Things change when Perdu gains a new neighbour named Catherine who is a divorcee. She challenges the bookseller to confront his past and offers comfort as she is dealing with some of the same issues as him. Perdu reads the letter and goes on a journey in his barge and an adventure through Provence along with some eccentric supporting characters in order to face his demons and discover what might have been.

This novel is a must-read for any book lover as it contains numerous literary references. It also boasts some evocative descriptions and vivid and poetic language. The author even adds two final sections at the end of the book where regional recipes from Provence are offered as well as Perdu’s “Literary Pharmacy” or “Book recommendations”. The overall pacing of the story is quite leisurely and laidback, although some people may find it is a little too slow and nuanced for their tastes.

The Little Paris Bookshop ultimately succeeds because it brings together an unlikely cast of eccentric but “real” characters that you can empathise with. It also takes them on a journey through their minds and hearts and it will make you think and feel in equal measure. In sum, it is a rather lyrical, wistful and bittersweet tale about a broken man and his long walk (or ride along the river) to the path of redemption.
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LibraryThing member shaunesay
I cried through the last 60 pages of this one, it got to me. There are some great passages in here that just grab your heart and twist.

Jean Perdu is a reserved middle aged man when we first meet him, very set in his ways, and very spare in his lifestyle. We soon learn it is because he was hurt 20
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years before when the great love of his life left him, leaving only a sealed letter behind, which he could never bring himself to read. He believed he already knew why. He was very, very wrong, and must come to terms with that knowledge and what he cheated himself out of by not reading it until many years later.

This is a story of reconnecting with the parts of oneself that get sacrificed when we try to avoid being hurt again. It is a story of coming to terms with death, and learning to live again. It was poignant and sometimes humorous, often sad, and even tragic, but leaves us with love and beauty through the pain of loss. It also brings Southern France to life in beautiful colors and descriptions.

I did love the idea of the Literary Apothecary, prescribing books for what ails you and enjoyed the list of recommendations for different symptoms, with possible side effects from having read them. A fun idea!

Received from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member AMQS
This book was a gift from my mom who bought it at Shakespeare and Company, THE landmark Paris bookshop. Had it not been for the lovely circumstances under which I was given the book, I would have Pearl-ruled it at page 50. This book about a literary apothecary who "prescribes" books for customers
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he "diagnoses" from his bookshop -- a floating barge on the Seine -- just did not work for me. I think if I could have just let go and suspend my disbelief I could have invested more into the story. I love fantasy novels, and often children's literature blurs the lines between fantasy and realistic fiction. I think it it trickier for adult books that attempt to do this. I took the book at face value, so the implausible just rankled instead of bewitched (Italian man flees the pitchfork-wielding mob of French fathers outraged at LICENTIOUS ARGENTINE TANGO in their community and joins the traveling party on the barge, yet somehow has his gourmet cooking oils and spices and his chefs knives with him...). Plus I just didn't like anyone, particularly Manon, the lost love of the protagonist: "I hate wanting all this - it's more than I bargained for... Oh, merciless freedom, you continue to overwhelm me! You demand that I challenge myself and feel ashamed, and yet continue to feel so outrageously proud to live a life full of my desires."

It is not the poor book's fault that I read it while also reading [Les Miserables], and I'm sure the contrast did not help it. Many reviewers felt as I did, however, we are decidedly in the minority, so please don't take my word for it! Next I think I'll go for [Harry Potter and the Cursed Child], which I know going in is fantasy (a fantasy world I would really like to live in).
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LibraryThing member Sweet_Serenity
I won't rate this officially because I didn't finish it, but at pg. 217/357, I would give it two stars. As a bookworm, the title & the idea of a literary apothecary drew me in. And I thought the first one or two chapters were really promising- we see Jean Perdu in action, prescribing books for
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customers and being involved behind-the-scenes in the building he shares with an eccentric group of characters. But the story kind of devolves into a bunch of men having boating adventures and being nostalgic for lost loves whilst also having some bizarro romantic interludes/affairs at the same time (Really Jean? I don't believe you're very interested in this Catherine girl you barely know and are sending postcards whilst lamenting your lost sweetheart and semi-flirting with multiple strange women). There seems to be no real plot, I was completely uninterested in the romances. The writing was rather mediocre, though to be fair some literary style could have been lost in translation. Who would I prescribe this book for? Perhaps middle-aged men with regrets? I don't know. But it was definitely not for me.
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LibraryThing member SheilaDeeth
The man who’d rather not look into his soul looks into other people’s souls instead, prescribing books to ease their hurts. And he’s good at it. But then he’s asked to give more than a book, and he ends up giving of himself.

The Little Paris Bookshop takes readers on a journey to and through
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France, from Paris to the coast and back, from summer to winter, and through all the seasons of the heart. Gorgeous descriptions, fascinating characters, just the right level of coincidence and strangeness, with the just the right seasoning of literary references—enough for both expert and beginner… it’s a sumptuous feast of a tale, and an absorbing look at a man who’d rather not know or remember why he hurts until the answers break in on him.

Love and recovery take time, like reading, and this novel might heal many hurts with its quiet wisdom of books, waters, sky and sea. It’s a beautiful novel that leaves you beautifully satisfied. And it has cats!

Disclosure: I couldn’t resist the words “literary apothecary” on the back cover so I asked for this for Christmas.
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LibraryThing member Itzey
This is a story about a floating barge converted to a book store named the Literary Apothecary. Maybe.

The story is more about Jean Perdu who has withdrawn emotionally for over 20 years following an unexplained romantic breakup by his lover, Manon. Jean has an uncanny ability to find just the book
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to help perfect strangers but he hasn't been able to help his own stunted life. For over 20 years he has a room in his apartment that he has never entered. Behind that door is the life he shared with his love, Manon.

A new neighbor, Caroline, a victim of an adulterous marriage and divorce, moves into his apartment building. He reluctantly enters his inviolate "Manon space" to retrieve a table for her. Caroline finds an unopened letter in the table and returns it to him. The sight of that unsealed letter triggers deep memories. When he finally reads the 20 year-old letter, Perdu begins the travel to the bottom of his heart and then slowly begins to make his way up to a fulfilled life.

There is deep symbolism as Perdu takes refuge on his floating barge and releases the boat from its mooring. The journey begins as an escape to sea but as more and more eccentric characters take refuge with him on the barge, he begins to feel again. At first without understanding what he is doing and finally with purpose, Perdu seeks to find out what happened to Manon.

Before Perdu leaves Paris, he and Caroline had begun to sense a strong bond. He strives to keep the embers of this new relationship alive through letters as he seeks to put out the flames from his old life.

The storyline floats through the lens of fiction and non-fiction works shelved on the barge. As Jean and others bring these works to life through discussion, the remarkably crafted quotes tickle a reaction in the reader as well as the characters.

It has taken me a few weeks to mull over my overall feelings for the book. I only rated the book in the end as a three star because I just never really felt pulled into the book. I disliked Manon and finally decided that Jean needed a good slap in the head to have wiled away 20 years of precious life over a lost love. There were some great moments but in the end things just took sooooo long to resolve. Remember, this is just my opinion. I suggest that everyone read the book and come to your own conclusions.

Thank you, Netgalley and Blogging for Books, for the opportunity to read this book and give my honest review.
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LibraryThing member michigantrumpet
Readers, like me, may have been intrigued by the premise of a Book Apothecary whose owner can prescribe the right tome to brighten a middle-ager's cynicism with the world, or cure the homesick, or ease heartbreak. For over twenty years, our intrepid bookseller, Monsieur Perdu, has sealed off
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himself, his emotions and half of his apartment, over the loss of his beloved Manon, who abandoned him with a "Dear Jean" letter as yet still unread. In this numb state, he is nevertheless sensitive to the emotional travails of all visitors to his book barge and can recommend books for every complaint. A beautiful and kindly divorcee encourages him to read Manon's letter, which sends him on a careening barge ride through France.

I was drawn, hoping for a celebration of readers, bookish pursuits and the power of words to heal and enliven. To some extent I was disappointed. The book certainly started that way. The ending becomes far more with a deep meditation on loss, grief and redemption. Far less satisfying is an endless, and seemingly pointless barge trip. I'm still befuddled by scenes of a Tango Hall and a dying doe. Ultimately, I was reminded of Voltaire's Candide, who after his travels and troubles, discovers that what he truly needed and sought was in his own garden all the time.
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LibraryThing member Alphawoman
Secret tango milongas....absolutely delicious.

I did not read this book I absorbed it.

At first I almost tossed it aside but I prevailed and fell in love with the written word. Finishing this book makes it hard to begin another.

Unlike most books, I never checked how many pages until the end.
LibraryThing member varwenea
The average rating on this book is lower than I expected. Perhaps one need to have loved deeply and/or to have hurt deeply to understand the motivations behind the characters. All in all, this is a love story expressed via literature. For a book nerd, this is blissful.

Jean Perdu is the reclusive
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book seller of the famous “Literary Apothecary”, a barge on the banks of Paris which is stocked with books for the purposes of healing – for all except Jean himself. For 20 years, he lived the lonely life haunted by a love who left him suddenly, Manon. By chance, a new renter and a jilted divorcee, Catherine, who moved into his apartment discovered his 20-year-old presumably ‘Dear John’ letter in a table that Jean gifted her. The revelation of what’s in the letter kick-started the true adventure of this book down the rivers to Provence – seeking healing, learning to live, opening oneself to love, finding friendship, and appreciating life all over again. Is it predictable? Pretty much. Does it move you at times? Yes to that too. Does it frustrate you on why the fuck did he wallow for 20 years? Of course. Be that as it may, the passages on the influence of books, that love is so infinite and so unexplainable, and the re-birth of a person are all powerful themes that resonate. First portions read like a love note to books, while the later portions toast to friendship, relationships, and life.

The book was originally published in German in 2013. It’s possible that the translation weakened the strength of the writing as some of the phrases feel pedestrian. But it’s still a thumbs up.

Notable pluses:
4 segments of Manon’s diary provide her viewpoint for a sufficient balance and perspective vs. Jean’s
Recipes for the dishes made
A sampling for books to heal for what ailment
Jean shares my passion for ‘rescuing’ books, thus my purchase of primarily used books :)

Favorite Characters x 2: Samy – the unconventional book guru who lives by no one’s rules except hers. Max – the energetic and as it turns out, empathetic, bestselling young author at the beginning of his life journey

The most patient character award goes to Luc and Catherine– for reasons I won’t explain due to spoilers.

Quotes!

On books vs. men – unsolicited advice given to a customer:
“Surrender to the treasures of books instead of entering into pointless relationships with men, who neglect you anyway, or going on crazy diets because you’re not thin enough for one man and not stupid enough for the next… Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men. They undress you with love, strength and knowledge. It’s love from within. Make your choice: book or …”

On books vs. men – about a 7 year old reader:
“’I think she’s brave, clever and right.’
‘As long as she doesn’t turn out too smart for men.’
‘For the stupid ones, she will, Madame. But who wants them anyway? A stupid man is every woman’s downfall.’
The mother looked up from her agitated, reddened hands in surprise.
‘Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?’ she asked with the flicker of a smile.”

On books for emotional therapy:
“’Kästner was one reason I called my book barge the Literary Apothecary,’ said Perdu. ‘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, because they are apparently too minor and intangible. The feeling that washes over you when another summer nears its end. Or when you recognize that you haven’t got your whole life left to find out where you belong. Or the slight sense of grief when a friendship doesn’t develop as you thought, and you have to continue your search for a lifelong companion. Or those birthday morning blues. Nostalgia for the air of your childhood. Things like that.’”

On Jean’s lament of his heart:
“Is there really no book that could teach me to play the song of life?”

On the power of books:
“…He wanted her to sense the boundless possibilities offered by books. They would always be enough. They would never stop loving their readers. They were a fixed point in an otherwise unpredictable world. In life. In love. After death.”

On love and death:
“I’d like you to die before me…
I don’t want you to have to walk from the car park to my grave on your own. I don’t want you to have to mourn. I’d rather miss you for the rest of my life.”

On women and love:
“’Jeanno, women can love so much more intelligently than us men! They never love a man for his body, even if they can enjoy that too – and how.’ Joaquin sighed with pleasure. ‘But women love you for your character, your strength, your intelligence. Or because you can protect a child. Because you’re a good person, you’re honorable and dignified. They never love you as stupidly as men love women. Not because you’ve got especially beautiful calves or look so good in a suit that their business partners look on jealously when they introduce you. Such women do exist, but only as a cautionary example to others.’”

On awakening:
“A bird awoke inside his chest, and it cautiously spread its wings, amazed to find that it was still alive. It wanted out. It wanted to burst from his chest, taking his heart with it, and soar up into the sky.”

On the scent of a woman:
“When he approached the black fuzz between her thighs, Jean was met by the hypnotic aroma of femininity and life. Manon smelled of the mare she was riding so tightly and masterfully – it was the aroma of freedom. She bore the scent of a mixture of Oriental spices and the sweetness of flowers and honey; she smelled of woman!”

On fear:
“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, and until even the slightest emotion bowls you over. One hug, and you think you’re going to shatter and be lost… Never listen to fear! Fear makes you stupid.”

On habit – I might have a few of an impeding one or two…
“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.”

On the age of 50’s – a theme of this age group being a rebirth era proliferates in this book:
“…Now it’s time to head south to learn to breathe anew, to see the sea and to kiss a man again. Goodness, I’m approaching my late fifties. I’m entering the prime of my life.’”

On love:
“We are loved if we love, another truth we always seem to forget. Have you noticed that most people prefer to be loved, and will do anything it takes? Diet, rake in the money, wear scarlet underwear. If only they loved with the same energy; hallelujah, the world would be so wonderful and so free of tummy-tuck tights.”
And
“…first there is the love in which we think with our knickers. I know all about that. It’s fun for about fifteen minutes. Second, there’s logical love, the type we create in our heads; I’ve experienced that too. You look for men who objectively suit your setup or who won’t upset your life plans too much, but you don’t feel any magic. And third, there’s the love that comes from your chest or your solar plexus or somewhere in between. That’s the type I want. It’s got to have the magic that sets my life blood alight, right down to the tiniest little globule…”
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LibraryThing member DonnaMarieMerritt
Something different! It follows the lost love of Monsieur Perdu as he forgets his own pain by prescribing books to others from his floating book barge, the Literary Apothecary. If you love literature or Paris or unexpected twists or reflections on life or taking chances, I recommend this book.
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Deeply thoughtful in places, funny in others, it explores relationships and love—and not only Perdu's. The people he meets are also searching for something they lost or perhaps never really had, but desperately need.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Sometimes books are begun with a fabulous idea. That, I think, is the way this one began. Here’s the idea: A man sells therapeutic books from his boat in Paris. How can you go wrong? you might ask. Well, you can go wrong when the great idea is all there is. The story itself is quite predictable;
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I knew from page one where the story was going. Quite disappointing.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Sometimes books are begun with a fabulous idea. That, I think, is the way this one began. Here’s the idea: A man sells therapeutic books from his boat in Paris. How can you go wrong? you might ask. Well, you can go wrong when the great idea is all there is. The story itself is quite predictable;
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I knew from page one where the story was going. Quite disappointing.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Little Paris Bookshop, by Nina George (Author), Steve West (Reader), Emma Bering (Reader), Cassandra Campbell (Reader), translated by Simon Pare
When we meet Jean Perdu, we find a very unhappy, introverted bookseller who manages to solve the problems of others but fails to find solutions for
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his own. He neither talks much to his neighbors nor has many friends. He operates a barge on the Seine, from which he sells books to customers that he first instinctively analyzes so that he can then suggest a book that is appropriate for them. He has the gift of insight into their innermost hopes and dreams, fears and challenges. He will not sell a book to a customer if he feels it will not help or satisfy the reader in some way. He is called a book pharmacist, and he operates a literary apothecary.
More than twenty years ago, Perdu’s sweetheart suddenly left him. Like his name which means lost, he has been lost ever since. One day, when tenants in his building ask him to help out a neighbor whose husband abandoned her and left her with nothing but her heartbreak, he reluctantly agrees. He gruffly suggests that he give her a book, but they insist on a more practical gift, a table instead. He agrees and enters a room hidden behind bookcases in his apartment, a room he has not entered in a long time, to retrieve a table for her. He leaves it outside her door. He places a vase on it, and pretty much speaking through the peephole in her door, he tells her to use it for red flowers. He hears her muffled sobs; he knows her heart is broken. He returns to the secret room, the room that represents a time when his own heart was broken and is still not mended, and he gets her a chair and then promises her a book, as well, to help her recover. The two neighbors, Jean and Katherine, begin to help each other survive their own particular grief as their friendship buds and flowers. When she tells him she found an unopened letter, addressed to him, in a drawer of the table, he becomes angry and refuses to take it. Finally, he does read the letter that has been trapped in the drawer for more than twenty years; he discovers that he had made a grave mistake, and his heart breaks anew.
The warmth they share somewhat frees Jean Perdu from himself and his burdensome thoughts; he decides to release the book barge and begins to travel down the river Seine to try and make amends for his past foolishness. As he prepares to leave, another neighbor, a 21 year old reluctantly successful author, Max Jordan, jumps aboard without invitation, losing his belongings in the process. Perdu is not happy he is there, at first, but soon they, too, begin to comfort each other and cure each other’s ills. Shortly thereafter, another man joins them. He too is searching for something. When they reveal their secrets to each other, they are greeted with surprise, anger, and then, forgiveness and compassion. The three continue their travels, and in the end, as their group grows larger, they all find ways to resolve their problems and begin to realize that everyone needs to love and be loved.
It is a tender story in which all the characters seem to be searching to find out who they really are, what they really want, how to stop their sadness and their pain and how to find the joy of living. They all, in a somewhat contrived fashion, do seem to find their own solutions to their problems by the book’s end. Even Jean’s father and mother, separated from each other, seem to reconcile some of their differences and find their way back to each other, even if only occasionally
The narrators did a superb job with accents and characterization. I really found that I could picture the characters in my mind as each one spoke. The mood was set by the tone and expression of the readers’ voices which were alternately sad or happy, dreamy or alert, soft or loud as the scene required. Not one ever over emoted.
This book is translated beautifully, with the exception of some words pertaining to sexual content that seemed entirely out of place and low brow for a book of this quality. The prose is poetic and poignant, moving the reader with real emotion and encouraging empathic feelings toward the fully developed characters. Highly emotional scenes are interspersed with charming humor that relieves the tension perfectly.
Jean Perdu, like his name was lost, but later found; in the same way that he encouraged his readers to find themselves, he discovered the person he should be, or rather, the person he had the power to be, the person hiding inside him all along. The reader knows that words have power and this book proves it. Jean Perdu was the bookseller of every reader’s dreams. He not only knew his books, but he understood his readers. As Katherine, his neighbor, eventually coaxed the inner meaning of the stone into her sculptures, as Jordan created children’s books that encouraged children to grow into all they could be, and as Jean discovered the inner needs of his customers, coupled with his developing friendship with Katherine, he began to realize that his lost love, Manon, had also helped him to make the journey into his own happy future with someone else.
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LibraryThing member BrianEWilliams
I liked the segment about the boat trip along the Seine toward the south of France - it is a quirky adventure story. The drowning deer episode is a shock -- what was it all about?

The premise of the book is stretched and slightly overblown: who knows whether Jean would have rushed to her side if he
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had opened the letter when he first received it? There would have been the inevitable confrontation with her husband. Even putting that aside it fits into the category of sometimes smart people do stupid things.

The cast of characters is interesting and frankly kept me reading to the end. I would stopped midway had it not been for the people Jean encountered on his travels (and left behind in Paris).

The end is emotional, as he finally says goodbye to Manon: the survivors all live happily ever after.
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LibraryThing member hubblegal
I’m not into typical romance novels but occasionally a love story will strike me as something I would like to spend some time with. Plus, how could I resist a literary apothecary selling books to heal his customers from a bloating bookshop in the Seine? I actually ended up liking this book much
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more than I had thought I would.

I had read that this novel is a charming one but I found it to be much more than charming. I thought it had some very profound insights into love and loss and grief. Monsieur Perdu has spent far too many years mourning a lost love and closing his heart to the world. Now we can journey with him in this book as he learns how to once again embrace life. It’s a heartwarming, soul stirring journey.

This book reminded me so much of “Chocolat” by Joanne Harris. Much as Vianne Rocher knows exactly which chocolate each customer needs, so too does Monsieur Perdu know exactly which book will heal his customers. There’s that same magic involved, along with the delightful characters, good food, smells and beauty of France, humorous touches, suspense and of course, the touching love story. They both even have the boat and those mystical mistral winds.

This is a sensuous, luxurious tale that will touch your heart.

I was given a copy of this book by Blogging for Books in return for an honest review.
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Awards

Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2017)

Language

Original language

German

Barcode

4495
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