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. @goodreads
MY REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1251910259
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 broken heart who can read people and give them books to help their situations. With only a few things about yourself, or listening to you talk in a conversation with someone, he can pick out a book or books that will help you feel better about your problems.
He lives in an apartment building with some unusual characters but they are all fun and I love how they are with each other. The famous focus of the book though is Monsieur Perdu's barge on the water full of wonderful books. She is Paris's famous floating Literary Apothecary bookstore. Her name was Lulu when he first bought her and he still refers to that name from time to time. The Literary Apothecary bookstore is a place you can go and read books in corners, pet the two stray cats he feeds, and most importantly, ask what kind of book you need. It is absolutely brilliant! Just absolutely brilliant this book!
At home Perdu is helping out a neighbor, Catherine, with books and a table because her husband ran out and took everything while she was gone one day. Catherine finds a letter in the table with Perdu's name on it, he knows what it is and reluctantly takes it back. You see years ago, Perdu was so in love with a woman named Mamon. She was to be married to a man she truly loved, but wanted to stay with Perdu too. Her fiance Luc, didn't care that she was with Perdu on the side, he was okay with letting her be free. Yeahhhh..... Anyway, she wrote this letter that he DID NOT READ for 21 years!!! I mean how can you not read a letter after all that time and when you do read the letter, you walk around in a daze realizing how stupid you were. And no I am not going to say what was in the letter. Get the book and find out :)
Perdu is so distraught he goes to his bookstore, pulls all of the anchors out of the bank etc and off he goes. The cats came with him and an author that had moved into his apartment building jumped on board and came with him. His name is Max and he is a great character. He's just down on his luck because he can't seem to write another book.
So, off they go on this journey together. They make little pit stops in different towns and exchange books for food and gas. Yeah, Perdu left in such a hurry he forgot to go to the bank, but it all works out.
Along the way Perdu picks up an old friend named Cuneo who decides to go on he journey with them. These three men have such a wonderful time. The sights they see, the people they meet, the people they all help together in some way or the other. Every little thing is a piece of art to me. You want to devour each page to see what they are going to do next!
Along the way they acquire another person that they actually dragged out of the water in a storm. Her name is Sally and she just wanted to see what it was like in the water during a storm. Not one of the best ideas you could have, but it is what it is. They stay a little bit in the village where Sally is from and there is a cool convention going on with people running around like characters in the Hobbit, The Game of Thrones etc. They don't stay there long though and Sally goes with them when they leave.
At some point Perdu decides he needs to finish the journey by land. He gives his boat to two people he knows he can trust to take care of her. One person goes with him from the boat to his destination. The cats, Lindgren and Kafka stay on the boat but it seemed they were sad and knew that he was leaving :(
The rest of the book is heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. There is a thing as a sad and happy ending and this book sure has both. I am so very happy I picked this book and I would recommend this book to anyone that loves books, loves magical places, loves camaraderie with wonderful friends and last but not least, true love.
Also at the back of the book the author has added some recipes from the book and some book lists and what they will help that ails you!!! What a wonderful touch to add to a remarkable book!
**I would like to thank BLOGGING FOR BOOKS for a free print copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**
5 Stars
Nina George works as a journalist, writer, and storytelling teacher. She writes science fiction thrillers, novels, feature articles, short stories, and columns. The Little Paris Bookshop spent more than a year on bestseller lists in Germany, and was a bestseller in Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands. George is married to a writer Jens J. Kramer and lives in Hamburg and in Brittany, France.
TAKEN FROM THE INSIDE OF THE BOOK.
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