The little paris bookshop

By Nina George | Translated By Simon Pare |

Imagine a scenario

“ Let’s say you are leading a life of your dreams. Everyday you live upto your imagination. Soon, you find yourself habituated to this life. You, inadvertently, get synced into a routine. A routine that now appears to be collection of mundane events repeating itself day after day. One day, you yearn for a change. You are overwhelmed by the emotion to break free. And not just that, you become reminiscent of every failure, betrayal and sacrifice that you have sailed through to get here. You try to convey this to others, who obviously think you are oblivious to the whole notion of living your dream.

What would you do?

Now, in this hypothetical story of ours, let’s say you see a book store named “Literary Apothecary”. You approach the book seller ( who you think must be the soul pharmacist, given the peculiar name of the shop). You end up having an unusual banter with him and he ends up prescribing you a book. “ Read this,” he says. “ Three pages every morning before breakfast, lying down. It will be the first thing you take in. In few weeks you wont feel quite so sore. It will be as though you no longer have to atone for your sucess”. You feel bewildered and pounce back with curiosity.

He silences you with this:

"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."

That would be an Introduction to Jean Perdu, the protagonist of the Novel and the owner of the The Little Paris Bookshop. A brief premise on the plot: The story revolves around the bookseller, who sells books on a refurbished barge in Seine. A bookseller with wisdom that demolishes the general stereotypes and prejudices that prevailed during those times. His contempt for patriarchy and love for modern values is clearly evident through the subtle conversations he has with his customers. " Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men. They undress you with love, strength and knowledge. It’s love from within. Make your choice: book or…" He believes in unconditional love towards humans, animals and books.

However, he is a stickler when it comes to selling his books. He first reads the person, asks him questions that cannot have contrived answers and then he recommends him books on different doses that will help his soul heal better. Despite this, the greatest irony is that he cant heal himself. The story actually begins when Jean Perdu (our bookseller) embarks on a journey in search of his past after circumstances leading him to it. Perdu is also accompanied by Max ( A budding successful novelist) who despises his fame and and has no regards for the money. The story unfolds with the journey where we take a look at each character’s past and present. You see them evolving at every stage throughout the journey. There is an element of suspense in every chapter that clears like a fog as you near the end. Creativity intricately wrapped with the art of storytelling, makes you love the book more. The story sets off from Jean’s Perspective and later Segways into third person narration. The beauty of this novel is how the author takes the luxury to describe in detail the significant variance of nature – Sea and Land. There is perfect blend of humor and sadness. You are never left too desolate to cry nor does rejoice last for eternity. This book is an experience in itself, imparting you the valuable lessons on Love and Life. I would call this book a Bibliotherapist best Go-to. And who knows, you may even find an encyclopedia of emotions cleverly obscured in it.*wink