The Bookstore: A Book Club Recommendation!

by Deborah Meyler

Love doesn't always go by the book
Ardent and Idealistic, Esme Garland has arrived in Manhattan with a scholarship to study art history at Columbia University. When she falls in love with New York blue-blood Mitchell van Leuven, with his penchant for all things erotic, life seems to be clear sailing, until a thin blue line signals stormy times ahead. Before she has a chance to tell Mitchell about her pregnancy, he abruptly declares their sex life is as exciting as a cup of tea, and ends it all.

Stubbornly determined to master everything from Degas to diapers, Esme starts work at a small West Side bookstore to make ends meet. The Owl is a shabby all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters, such as handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke and George, the owner, who lives on spirulina shakes and idealism. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme-but will it be enough to sustain her when Mitchell, glittering with charm and danger, comes back on the scene?

The Bookstore is a celebration of books, of the shops where they are sold, and of the people who work, read, and live in them. The Bookstore is also a story about emotional discovery, the complex choices we all face, and the accidental inspirations that make a life worth the reading.

• ISBN10: 147671424X
• ISBN13: 9781476714240
• Publish Date: 20 August 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: The Gallery Press
• Imprint: Gallery Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[tweetybugshouse]

Let me just start out by saying this is not my typical read that i blog about, if you been to my blog for a while now you know that i am a Young Adult Fantasy loving reader. Give dwarves, faeries, princess in distress any day. Now that being said i am drawn to books that have to do with libraries, bookstores, and a bit of chick lit thrown in. I loved the blossom street series from Debbie McComber and the between the lines story was great.

The bookstore is just that it a chick lit story it all about the things that most women movies are made of women mets guy, gets knocked up, and oh no how does she survive with her college plans and being on her own. Their a bit more to it then that and that why i kept reading. She ends up in this great used bookstore called The Owl and connects with this quirky set of characters and they do not mesh well with the father of her soon to be child but yeah know he a douche anyway.

I love how it set in New York and i can see New York through esme, ( i never had the pleasure of going there), i can see all the characters that she interacts with at The owl and i totally felt her struggles and wanted to be one of the people she interacted with.

A great story, i recommend if you want to shake up your reading norm a bit and hope you give it a shot.

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on my book blog, Rinn Reads.

I don’t tend to read all that much contemporary fiction, but what booklover could turn down ‘The Bookstore’, a novel about a quirky bookshop called The Owl? From the very beginning, Deborah Meyler’s writing really appealed to me; there were some wonderful descriptions of New York and she created a brilliant atmosphere.

In terms of characters, The Bookstore had its ups and downs. Esme, the protagonist, is an intelligent young woman: a Cambridge graduate and now a PhD student at Columbia University in New York. However, she is naive and frankly makes some rather odd decisions throughout the course of the book. I suppose with young love comes questionable actions, but she did frustrate me at times. Her boyfriend, and father of her baby, Mitchell van Leuven, is a pretentious bastard in need of a good slap and seriously needed to be brought back to earth. But he is supposed to be that way; the reader is not supposed to like this upper-class spoilt brat of a man-child, who treats women like objects and emotionally (and almost physically) abuses Esme.

Quite frankly, I hope I never have the misfortune to meet a family like the van Leuvens. Esme finally meets the parents, and they are just despicable. Rude, cold, humourless – Mitchell’s father tells Esme to her face that she will never fit in, never be part of the family, and his mother is constantly looking down her nose at Esme.

I felt that the supporting cast was quite strong, in that it was varied if not massively well developed. George, the owner of The Owl, is articulate, witty and flamboyant from the very first moment we meet him. There’s Luke, the brooding, creative and rather mysterious shop assistant, as well as a whole host of other colleagues and customers.

There’s not much of a major plotline, the book is more about Esme going through day-to-day life with this massive, life-changing decision she has made. The Owl is her rock, her place to hide and escape from the upper-class surburbia, SUVs and weekly champagne evenings that would be a life with Mitchell. And although Esme frustrated me at times, and I wanted to slap Mitchell (or kick him where it really hurts), I generally really enjoyed the book. I’d also convinced myself of what was going to happen at the end, how it was predictable etc – and then it didn’t. So kudos to the author for that!

[lovelybookshelf]

I feel compelled to start off with my strongest feelings about this novel. One that I'm pretty sure we readers are supposed to feel: I could not stand Mitchell van Leuven! Seriously, there are guys who act like that?! He is unbelievable. His behavior so bad I was often sitting there reading with my mouth hanging open. And what the heck was up with Esme's relationship with Mitchell? It's like she barely knew him at all. Yet time and time again, she dealt with this jerk, even after admitting to herself that if she were reading a novel and this was happening (clever technique there, by the way), she'd be telling herself to run far, far away from him!

Also, Esme has some really stupid beliefs about the way Americans do things. That our language has to be "in its simplest form" in order for us to understand, that we all cut our steaks the same way, that if something unexpected is said on the phone it confuses us. And she's a little judgy, too. She sees a nanny with a little girl in the part and thinks "It's a Saturday - do her parents work so hard they can't even play with her on a Saturday?" Come on.

However. As often as I found Esme annoying, I really enjoyed this book. It was such a great story. I connected with the characters whether I liked them or not. I liked seeing Esme develop, shedding some of her preconceived notions and finding her own strength through a stressful situation.

But for me, the real stars of this novel were the minor characters. Esme's roommate, Stella. The bookstore owner, George. DeeMo, Tee, and Dennis, the homeless who look after their friends at the bookstore. And Mrs. Kasperek, who is selling all of her books before moving into assisted living: "These books... They are all my life. These books are all my life." (And this is where I cry).

Though perhaps a bit sudden, The Bookstore has an interesting, non-cliche ending.

This is Deborah Meyler's debut novel. She has a very natural, flowing way of writing that makes you feel like you're reading something fun and light, even when things get complicated (or when characters infuriate you!).

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.