The Little Paris Bookshop

A Novel

By: Nina George

Narrated by: Steve West, Emma Bering, Cassandra Campbell

“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”

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.

Includes a PDF of Recipes and Jean Perdu’s Emergency Literary Pharmacy.

Critic reviews

New York Times Bestseller
A Barnes and Noble Best of 2015 Selection
A LibraryReads Favorite of the Favorites Selection

"If you're looking to be charmed right out of your own life for a few hours, sit down with this wise and winsome novel...Everything happens just as you want it to... from poignant moments to crystalline insights in exactly the right measure."—Oprah.com

“The settings are ideal for a summer-romance read…Who can resist floating on a barge through France surrounded by books, wine, love, and great conversation?”—Christian Science Monitor

“[A] bona fide international hit.”—New York Times Book Review

"Warmhearted...A charming novel that believes in the healing properties of fiction, romance, and a summer in the south of France."—Kirkus

"Engaging... [George's] sumptuous descriptions of both food and literature will leave readers unsure whether to run to the nearest library or the nearest bistro."—Publishers Weekly

"Uplifting... An international best seller, this one will make you happy."—The Independent

"The Little Paris Bookshop is an enchantment. Set in a floating barge along the Seine, this love letter to books - and to the complicated, sometimes broken people who are healed by them - is the next best thing to booking a trip to France."—Sarah Pekkanen, author of Catching Air

“Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, Nina George’s impressionistic prose takes the reader on a journey not just through the glories of France and the wonders of books, but through the encyclopedic panoply of human emotions. The Little Paris Bookshop is a book whose palette, textures, and aromas will draw you in and cradle you in the redemptive power of love.”—Charlie Lovett, author of The Bookman’s Tale

"Nina George tells us clever things about love, about reading that 'puts a bounce in your step,' about tango in Provence, and about truly good food. . . . One of those books that gets you thinking about whom you need to give it to as a gift even while you're still reading it, because it makes you happy and should be part of any well-stocked apothecary." —Hamburger Morgenpost (Germany)

“Enchanting and moving ... Rarely have I read such a beautiful book!”—Tina magazine (Germany)

Feels like a debut novel

I downloaded this because I was going to Paris and thought it would be fun to read while I was in France. I have to say that there are moments in the story and the writing that are lovely - well written and beautifully crafted but the majority of the story is forced and tacked on. I had expected something more by the title and it didn't deliver. Too bad.

The narration is awful - the attempts to sound French fall very flat.

Beautiful

Art is meant to make us feel at fundamental levels, to stir something within and to inspire. This treatise on love contains everything to be considered a masterpiece in its own right.

rich, seductive, delicious and delightful!

Jean Perdu is the owner of a bookstore/barge on the Seine. He considers himself a literary apothecary, able to diagnose the true needs of any patron's heart and prescribe just the books s/he needs to read to heal. His own broken heart is the one he can't heal, until he hauls anchor and floats down France's inland waterways with a young author suffering from writers' block, an Italian chef, and a couple of cats, bartering books for food and other essentials, since they have no cash.....The imagery of the French countryside, the food, the cafes, dancehalls, riverbanks, vineyards and people is intoxicatingly vivid.
The book is beautifully written, the author coining many an elegant or insightful phrase that made me wish I had a printed edition in front of me, so I could linger over the words and marvel at the construction. But then I'd miss the perfect narration.
It's a gentle story for people who love books and believe in their ability to reach a lost soul or change the direction of a life, people who love good food, people who love.
I enjoyed this (internationally bestselling) book immensely, and can't say enough good things about it!

Wonderful

What did you like best about this story?

It was just beautiful, an excellent portrayal of love and adventure.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Definatley makes you happy and sad.

great story of connectedness and emotions

loved it. really enjoyed the focus on how allowing ourselves connections and to feel change our lives.