A Novel Bookstore
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3.9 • 9 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An erudite mystery that "makes a good argument for literature as a sensual pleasure surpassing even sex and fine wine" (The Washington Post).
Ivan and Francesca decide to open a bookstore devoted solely to good literature and their love of books. Frustrated by the glut of mediocre books printed every month and envisioning a true literary paradise, they offer a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee of like-minded literary connoisseurs.
To their amazement, after only a few months, their vision proves popular. Very popular. Tucked away in a corner of Paris, the bookstore quickly becomes a haven for bibliophiles. Indeed, it becomes so successful that the great majority of Parisian readers are now buying their books only at Ivan and Francesca's store, and other stores in the city are starting to change how they order and display books too. Now big publishing's powerful elite are desperately trying to adapt their business model to the demand for quality above all else. As the store's success grows, venomous comments begin circulating online and the owners, and their selection committee, become the target of vicious editorials and threats.
A Novel Bookstore blends book love and bookstore love with a brilliantly conceived and entertaining mystery and is a delight for readers of all tastes.
"Marvelous and stimulating." —San Francisco Chronicle
"A deeply satisfying manifesto of book love and a sharp indictment of those who would use such love for their own evil purposes." —The Huffington Post
"Packed with sublime, enthusiastic descriptions of reading and literature." —Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A hymn to fine literature." —Le Figaro
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The founding of a unique Paris bookstore triggers jealousies and threats in Coss 's intriguing follow-up to The Corner of the Veil (1999). Former comic-book seller Ivan "Van" Georg and stylish Francesca Aldo-Valbelli team to establish the Good Novel, a bookshop that will stock only masterpieces in fiction, which are selected by a secret committee of writers. At first, the warm welcome of the bookstore results in soaring sales. Then attacks in the press, the opening of rival bookstores, and attempts against the lives of committee members by persons unknown sour the atmosphere for the Good Novel's community of readers and writers. Coss poignantly depicts characters who have turned to literature for solace against the pain in their lives, creates ongoing speculation as to the shadowy first-person narrator, and furnishes sly commentary about gatekeeping in the literary world. Though purists may be disappointed with the solution to the mystery, there's plenty of food for thought.
