I've been reading...

The Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George, translated by Simon Pare

Published by Abacus.

I was given this book as a Christmas present, and thought at first that it was one of the many light hearted novels about France. There seem to be many of them at the moment.

However, this is different.

Translated from the German, it is beautifully written by Nina George, who has given us characters who are delightfully different.

M.Jean Perdu owns a barge on the Seine. He runs a bookshop from it, which he terms a 'literary apothecary', as he uses his gift for sensing which books will suit his sometimes troubled customers.

He has within himself a deep sadness, reaching back many years when his loved one left him, leaving him a letter which he has never opened. He has tucked his sadness and his memories away for twenty years, but all changes when he meets a new neighbour, who has his own problems.

Jean takes a sudden decision, unfastens the mooring ropes and, with his neighbour, sets off through the canals of France to Provence, to discover what happened to his beloved.

I loved the book, loved the descriptions of the canals, of trials and errors in going through locks, of setting out without a sou between them, of the people they met, one of whom was to become a very important part of Jean's life.

There is friendship, love, loss, poignancy, and needless to say, wonderful food all contained in this delightful journey.

I can't wait to read the next book , set in my lovely Brittany.

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Small excerpt from The Little Paris Bookshop;

Having just refused to sell a customer a particular book .....

Perdu handed her The Elegance of the Hedgehog and spoke in a tender and calm voice.

"You need your own room. Not too bright, with a kitten to keep you company. And this book, which you will please read slowly, so that you can take the occasional break. You'll do a lot of thinking, and probably a bit of crying. For yourself. For the years. But you'll feel better afterwards. You'll know that now you don't have to die, even if that's how it feels because the guy didn't treat you well. And you will like yourself again."

The customer stared at him. He knew from her shocked look that he had hit the target and got through to her.