Saturday, August 20, 2016

The Little Paris Bookshop

I was kind of clashed on my opinion of this book. On the one hand, it focuses on a man who had a relationship (including sexual) with a woman who was married. While it was stated on numerous occasions that Perdu knew that the relationship should not have existed at all, I didn't feel that the book really ever condemned it or significantly resolved the wrong that had been done.

Outside of the morally wrong relationship between Perdu and his married lover, I thought the book was well written. Each character--even the secondary or briefly mentioned--was well rounded and had a story all their own. The focus of the plot, it seemed to me, was on Perdu and his journey though grief when he realizes 21 years too late that his lover did not abandon him at all, but rather died with the entire story untold to him merely because he refused to read her parting letter.

It's a sad story, but not the kind that makes you cry--more like the kind that makes you feel super mellow and maybe a bit depressed. And rather frustrated over the amount of sex involved in the story. If I were to recommend this book, it would most certainly be to adults due to the relationship dynamics. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.