The Little Paris Bookshop

A Novel

By: Nina George

Narrated by: Steve West, Emma Bering, Cassandra Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

"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 best-selling 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 best selling 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 Nina George (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" 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])

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.

A great book on books!

Any additional comments?

In the burgeoning (though long extant) genre of books about books, this one is a wonderful recent addition. Using books as elixirs, Mr. Lost (aka Monsieur Perdu - sounds so much better in French!) ironically cannot find himself in the midst of his literary navigations on his floating barge. I enjoyed the turnabout with one woman loving two men, but the basis of her guilt was a bit... unbelievable? And the extent of his stubbornness and lack of theory of mind are also rather unrealistic. That being said, the novel redeems itself with its literary and scenic beauty. This one is a very enjoyable read.

Great read

I don't write long detailed reviews but I found this book new and refreshing. I listened to it on my kindle from beginning to end. It would make a wonderful movie. I love book stores and especially like it when they make suggestions or have their favorite for the week.

very nice

a lovely story with an even better performance. words words words words words words words

A Magical Journey For Love

I purchased this book because of my love of reading and sadness that the bookstores that fuel that love are disappearing. This novel takes the reader on a colorful journey through the French countryside and waterways. It is a magical tour of the heart with love, loss, sorrow and redemption.

Beautifully Written!

I really enjoyed the discriptive scenes. The story is very sad but that is the way life is. In the end all turns out well so the reader is left on a high note. There is a lot for the reader to take away from this book so I do recommend it. A good read.