Today’s Books Books Books post is generously sponsored by an anonymous donor who is also a voracious reader!
There is nothing I love more than reading, but you already know that…too many books to read and not enough time to do so. And you know what I love to read most of all…books about books and bookstores. The one I am discussing with you today, is a charmer that I think you will enjoy and if you are involved in a Book Club one you might suggest to your group our author, Stephanie Butland, has a Book Club guide at the back of the book for you. (More about the nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club at the end of this post!)
It has been a very long time since a book has brought me to tears, this one did just that….a good thing or not, perhaps the mood I’m in, perhaps some of the story is hitting too close to home for me (not in a literal sense, well just a bit, just parts of it such as special people leaving one’s life, but that is getting a bit too personal, so let’s get to the story), I’ll leave it up to you how it touches you in your reading of this story, it is a good one.
We meet our narrator, Loveday, in her natural habitat, her home, yes, she does have a flat, but the bookshop Lost For Words where she has worked since she was 18, she is now 22, is her true home. We meet the owner, her kind, caring protector Archie, who is friends to everyone he meets and has been many things in his day, who allows her to set up the shelves in her very controlled way while sheltering her. We meet the varied customers, men and women who enter her extremely closed off existence. It isn’t easy for her to interact with others particularly outside her”space”. She meets a poet (who is also a magician!) who talks her into attending a poetry slam, which she finds, much to her surprise, interests her, as does he!
The story switches from Loveday’s present back to her wonderful childhood, her closeness to both her Mum and Dad, until it isn’t idyllic any longer. It is a very touching story and focuses on how a young child can perceive reality and how wrong they can be. She has major problems with letting anyone get close to her, with the exception of Archie with whom she feels secure.
I felt the beginning took awhile to get going, or perhaps I fell into the trap that she thought everyone did, I didn’t like her very much. As I continued reading I found myself wanting to know more about our heroine, (who by the way, has the first sentences of favorite books tattooed all over her body, a nose ring and ombré hair, for someone who wants to live in the shadows???!!!), what made her such a reclusive and see if love, romantic, or just friendship, can win her over….again, I’ll leave that to you dear reader, no spoliers here….oh, and did I mention a bit of poetry thrown into the mix, that is where the tears came to my eyes. A Nena’s Note to self, when did I stop enjoying poetry, need to rethink!!??
Would I suggest you read it, yes, of course, you know I don’t review anything I don’t think you would enjoy and this one was a bit off my norm, but still set in the U.K., that seems to be a pattern with me. An intellengently written novel, it’s protganist is most definitely a feminist, another theme in my recent reads or am I more aware because of the “Me Too” Movement, maybe.
The Book Stall is supplying the books for nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club, please support Independant Booksellers. If you want more information on my monthly The Fashion Book please let me know in the comment section, I’d love to have you join us. Next up, in August, NORELL by Jeffrey Banks, lively conversation, goodie bags, bubbles to drink and goodies to nibble and perhaps, just perhaps some surprises!
