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brooksndone's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ekw0036's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
amyheap's review
4.0
I thought the film was pretty bleak, so I wanted to read the book to see if it was different. If anything, it is significantly more bleak, but also simpler, and somehow more affecting. Florence Green is a widow who opens a bookshop in a small, not especially lovely, coastal English town. It’s not a happy story, not even a little, and it isn’t about the power of books, really, either. It is, however, a quietly powerful story of relationships, strength, and quirky personalities.
julialowebe's review against another edition
challenging
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
midgardener's review
2.0
Stage 1: this should be a sweet little read! Light, amiable, good to take the mind off one’s troubles.
Stage 2: bit dull, but not bad. It’ll pick up.
Stage 3: dear me. This is molasses. Not investing in characters, either. Oh dear. Still, it’s a novella, and there’s only a couple hours left in the audio. Carry on.
Stage 4 (SPOILERS): 10 minutes left and things are going rather badly. This is some final battle for the shopkeeper! I wonder what will happen to save the day? If only I cared more. Pity.
Stage 5 (SPOILERS): ... nothing saved the day? Are you serious? Friendships shattered, her one champion dead, the antagonistic force triumphant, and our hero shipped out on a train of defeat? What did I just read??
Bloody depressing book. Boring, too many characters not handled well, and a ridiculously pessimistic outcome. How this was shortlisted for the Booker AND made into a film is beyond my grasp. Good gracious.
Stage 2: bit dull, but not bad. It’ll pick up.
Stage 3: dear me. This is molasses. Not investing in characters, either. Oh dear. Still, it’s a novella, and there’s only a couple hours left in the audio. Carry on.
Stage 4 (SPOILERS): 10 minutes left and things are going rather badly. This is some final battle for the shopkeeper! I wonder what will happen to save the day? If only I cared more. Pity.
Stage 5 (SPOILERS): ... nothing saved the day? Are you serious? Friendships shattered, her one champion dead, the antagonistic force triumphant, and our hero shipped out on a train of defeat? What did I just read??
Bloody depressing book. Boring, too many characters not handled well, and a ridiculously pessimistic outcome. How this was shortlisted for the Booker AND made into a film is beyond my grasp. Good gracious.
rieke1302's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
boundsie's review
4.0
That didn’t take long at all – a flight from Doha to Heathrow, with a nap, a 30 Rock episode and the crossword thrown in for good measure. I was expecting something a bit more fraught, but as soon as I crossed the UK Border at Heathrow I remembered the quintessential English qualities: stoicism, irony and understatement. The character of Florence Green seems emblematic of a particular kind of woman, exceeding expectations notwithstanding and falling at the last hurdle to blind bureaucratic stupidity. I would have liked this novel anyway, because it is about books; but I liked at admired Mrs Green for her courage even when her enterprise is doomed.
draudreymlau's review against another edition
4.0
One wants Florence Green to triumph in her venture, but the forces of small town England best her, but not without many bright lights of kindness and well-intentioned folks. That this ends with the closing of a bookshop is sad, but one realizes that this is the sort of hard-taken truth of even our own time. People like the idea of books, but often do not understand their essential value to a community and the creation of life in the souls and spirit of readers.