via Goodreads
Jean Perdu lives alone and prefers his own company. Yet he still knows everyone’s business in his apartment building, and he owns a bookshop, at which he prescribes books to cure ailments many people are not even aware of. Yes, Monsieur Perdu is a Literary Apothecary. And his shop is no normal bookstore, but a floating book barge on the Seine, moored in the middle of Paris. Convinced after many years to read a letter left him by the one that got away, Perdu embarks on a journey to find closure, and along the way finds himself.
I picked George’s up because it had ‘bookshop’ in the title. Sorry, not sorry. This book is like what happens when your friend who gives great dating advice but never dates finally hits the dating scene. You know they are going to have to learn to swim in the murky waters of the dating pool, but you still just want to do a happy dance. Monsieur Perdu is like this. Throughout the novel he’s always giving people advice and fixing the lives around him, usually by making them read a book or two or ten, but when it comes to his own life he’s completely adrift. His journey, therefore, is almost part speaking tour, part Eat, Pray, Love. It’s fantastic, and I personally adored every second of it. Not to mention the book is basically a tour of France! Literally, my only gripes with this entire piece are that it starts a little slowly and that I still want more description of the countryside because it’s just so breathtaking! *sigh* Also, did I mention this book was originally released in German? The translation is flawless.
WARNING: This book will make you wish you were a Literary Apothecary. Which is a real job! Kind of. In the U.S. at least, they’re called Book Therapists. According to a super quick Google search I did just now they’re also called Bibliotherapists, and apparently, they’ve been around since Ancient Egypt/Greece. Who knew!
EXTRAS! Besides some delicious sounding recipes, the book also includes a mini book pharmacy, with “Perdu”‘s reading recommendations for your ailments. It’s. Perfect.
HHC Rating: 4.5 Stars
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