When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself.
Background characters are occasionally placed a bit too far into the background, but this is Sylvia’s story, and Maher has stayed true to her. With its insider’s view of the literary expat world of 1920s Paris, The Paris Bookseller will appeal to fans of Paula McClain’s The Paris Wife.
... a beautiful window into the life of a fascinating woman who defied convention in almost every area of her life and succeeded in publishing one of the most controversial novels of the early twentieth century ... While the main plot follows Beach’s quest to print James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, the author creates an almost effervescent narrative arc that not only vividly describes one of the most sparkling and experimental periods in Western literature, but also encompasses the all too relatable and sometimes visceral journey of an unconventional woman trying to make sense of her life and find purpose in a rapidly evolving society still very much mired in patriarchal and heterosexual conventions ... The emotional depth that Maher gives to historical figures who have achieved almost mythological status in our cultural ethos is riveting and leaves readers with a lingering sense of familiarity that won’t soon be forgotten.
Writing in the third person from Sylvia’s point of view, Maher draws on letters and a memoir to imagine Beach’s internal struggles as she shepherded Ulysses into print and her tumultuous relationship with Joyce, who required a great deal of financial, emotional, and practical assistance during the writing and publishing process and the long legal fight the novel provoked. Recommend to fans of Paula McLean’s The Paris Wife (2011) and anyone who enjoyed Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
