Review: A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse

Title: A Novel Bookstore
Author: Laurence Cosse
Publisher: Europa Editions
Rating: 4.5 stars

This is February's book of the month, without a doubt. And it couldn't be more different from 'The Daughter of Smoke and Bone'. Here's what Goodreads has to say:

Ivan, a one-time world traveler, and Francesca, a ravishing Italian heiress, are the owners of a bookstore that is anything but ordinary. Rebelling against the business of bestsellers and in search of an ideal place where their literary dreams can come true, Ivan and Francesca open a store where the passion for literature is given free reign. Tucked away in a corner of Paris, the store offers its clientele a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee of likeminded literary connoisseurs. To their amazement, after only a few months, the little dream store proves a success. And that is precisely when their troubles begin. At first, both owners shrug off the anonymous threats that come their way and the venomous comments concerning their store circulating on the Internet, but when three members of the supposedly secret committee are attacked, they decide to call the police. One by one, the pieces of this puzzle fall ominously into place, as it becomes increasingly evident that Ivan and Francesca’s dreams will be answered with pettiness, envy and violence.

If you like books, you'll love this book.  Part celebration of books, part mystery, part love story... what more could anyone ask for.

Set in Paris, the two main characters (Ivan and Francesca) set up a bookstore specifically selling good books. Initially a great success, it becomes clear that not everyone in the city is as happy with their success. What starts with petty threats takes a decidedly more sinister turn when three members of their book selection committee are attacked.

The mystery which grips the reader at the start of the novel fades into the background at times, as the focus shifts to how the bookstore was set up, and elements of a love story creep in. At the end of the novel a separate narrative voice turns up, which is a distraction, and possibly one of the only things I didn't like about this book.

Ninety percent of this novel was amazing. You are immersed in a world of books, surrounded by characters who really love books, with the streets of Paris as a glorious backdrop. It was only the very end of the novel that let it down a little, as though the author lost their way a little. There are too many unanswered questions, and even the love-story is unsatisfying in the end.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book, and it's one that I think about quite a lot even now, a couple of months after finishing it. If you've ever wanted to spend hours losing yourself in a really great bookstore... then perhaps this is the book for you.

Four-and-a-half stars.