Maura (maura853) - , reviewed on 2/6/2018 + 542 more book reviews

A little gem, if you are open to melancholia with a helping of dark wit. I particularly liked the fact that the protagonist, Florence, isn't a heroine for the ages. Her plan to open a bookstore seems a little arbitrary and unfocused, based purely on her memories of a happy interlude when she started work at a London bookstore, as a 16-year-old. She doesn't even seem to be a big reader -- perhaps what the bookstore represents to her is a time before the disappointments in her life -- a husband, dead, before their marriage has been properly begun; no children or other family; no real ambitions --have clouded over whatever spirit she has. When Florence does show some backbone in dealing with the nay-sayers who are trying to crush her modest dream (and believe me, I cheered!), it tends to backfire.

This could be one for fans of the wonderful Mapp and Lucia books, by E. F. Benson -- for an insight into how awful it would be, in reality, to live in a world dominated by Queen Bees and Guardians of Tradition like Mapp and Lucia!

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