*Books About Books* 84, Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff

84 Charing Cross Road and its sequel are a books about books, but more importantly they form a story that is about friendship and realising your dreams. 

Both books are autobiographical. 84 Charing Cross Road was first published in 1970 and is a collection of letters between Hanff, a book lover from America and the staff of a antiquarian bookshop Marks & Co at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. In The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene records her journey to London where she finally visits the bookshop and the city that she has become so fond of, meeting old friends along the way. I read both books one after the other, which I think is the best way to do it.

 
84 Charing Cross Road was my favourite of the two books. 

Reading the correspondence just felt so natural. The written relationship between Helene and the book shop lasted for more than twenty years. Helene's main correspondent was Frank Doel, the main buyer from Marks & Co. Over time though, she cultivates a relationship with other employees at the bookshop, as well as Frank's wife, their neighbour and other wonderful people. There were sometimes big gaps in time between the letters in books, were obviously some of the correspondence was missing, but it was also obvious that they had been writing to each other in the mean time.

Although the subject of their correspondence was largely about the books that she orders from their shop, it is clear that the correspondence is about something more. It is about their burgeoning friendship. She sends everyone care packages of food to help them through their tough times, and surprises them with gifts of stockings and the like. You really get a sense of who everyone is, even though you only get glimpses of their lives and personalities through the short letters. Helene manages to write simultaneously rude but caring letters and you can feel Frank's soft side hidden under his stiff English manners. Helene is always planning a trip to London but there is always something else that she has to prioritise her time and money on. It is therefore sad when she receives a letter informing her of her friend Frank's death.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street provided a closure the story of Helene and her relationship with the people of Marks & Co. 

It was the success of 84 Charing Cross Road that finally provided her with her opportunity to visit London. She is able to visit on a book tour, and it was wonderful to read her account of the experience of finally meeting some of her correspondents as well as many other interesting and warm hearted people that show her the city that she has come to love.

I loved that the older and more mature Hanff in The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street was immediately recognisable as the younger one in 84 Charing Road. She has such a wonderfully dry and sarcastic sense of humour that I found hilarious.

And the books!

Her love of books was extraordinary and perhaps a little unique. She describes herself as a chronic re-reader, which until this year perhaps, I could absolutely identify with. I also admired her love of books as objects. Some of her descriptions of the books that she receives from Marks & Co made me want to drool. It was all I could do from running out and spending hundreds of dollars on beautiful antique books.

One of my absolutely favourite moments in both books came towards the end of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. She has finally made it Oxford and has plans for what she has always wanted to see, but instead she finds herself hijacked by a friend who insists that she visit this particular book shop. She has this to say:

"I despair of ever getting it through everybody's head that I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books. I don't browse in bookshops, I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it".

My own attitude to bookshops and libraries is very different, but I admire her approach. If I shared it, I would be a richer woman right now I can assure you.

Overall, both books were less about books than I expected. They were about the joy of human companionship. Most importantly, they showed the power of books and language to forge friendships, something I think that is replicated in some way amoungst book bloggers.

Summary

What kind of read is this?
Both books are quick and easy to read, in fact I read both in one sitting. But they are really heart warming, especially for book lovers.

Do I recommend this book?
Yes, I recommend both.

Do I recommend that you buy these books?
No. Borrowing them would be fine. As much as I enjoyed them, I don't think that they are the kind of books that you would re-read.

Star Rating

6 / 8

Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it.

Have you read these books? What did you think of them? I would love to know what you think of Helene Hanff's view of browsing in libraries rather than book shops. Do libraries play a big role in providing your reading material? Do you only purchase books that you know that you love or will you browse in a book shop and buy anything that grabs your attention?

French Fried by Chris Dolley

This review was posted first on Book Lovers Inc: a cooperative blog with great reviews, interviews and lots of giveaways.

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French Fried is original for attempting to mesh comedy, travel memoir and mystery into one book.

It isn’t a book that I would normally pick up but when I read it described it as “A year in Provence with Miss Marple and Gerald Durrell”, I decided that I had to give it a try.

It is essentially a memoir about the author’s fun and (mis)adventures setting up home in France with his wife and their menagerie of animals. Dolley puts a lot of effort into describing every misadventure and happening during this harrowing but (I suspect) exhilarating time. They hire a horse box which loses its roof, move into a house with bizarre plumbing and no telephone lines, can’t speak French properly causing them problems where ever they go and buy a car that results in more trouble than its worth.

The main event of the story, however, comes closer toward the middle of the book. Dolley and his wife discover that all of their money has been stolen in a complex fraud that has been perpetrated against them. Using connections in England and France, Dolley attempts to discover who it is that has perpetrated this fraud against them.

Dolley has tried to write a very funny book. At times he succeeds, and at times I felt a bit like the humour was very forced. For me, the story didn’t really get interesting until the big fraud was revealed and Dolley and his wife (at times with his 80 year old mother in law in tow) used their sleuthing skills to solve the crime. I was fascinated to find out how he followed each little clue to the final answer, and it’s very scary to think that this happened in real life.

I enjoyed this book at times, but it wasn’t a year in Provence with Miss Marple and Gerald Durrell for me. It was an okay story of some unfortunate events that happened to a lovely couple, and I am glad that it worked out for the best in the end.

Summary

What kind of read is this?

Quick and easy, but at times a little uninteresting.

Do I recommend it?

Honestly, I can't.

Do I recommend that you buy it?

No.

Star Rating

3 / 8

Couldn't get into it but I finished it because I felt like I should.

** This book was given to me for free by the author to review. I have given it an honest review.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Book Details

Paperback

Pages: 348

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2007

Language: English

ISBN: 9780747585664

Book Review

Warning - this is going to be a long review.

It seems like for most, Eat Pray Love is a book that you either love or hate. Personally I really enjoyed it. I did take awhile to warm up to it. The manner in which is it written is very unusual. I am not used to reading books written from so personal a perspective. Although initially I found it a little off putting, I got used to it as the books progressed.

The manner in which it was written suited the story. For those that don’t know, the book is Elizabeth Gilbert’s record of her journey of self discovery following a heartbreaking divorce and the end of her following relationship. She dedicates a year to travelling around the globe; experiencing pleasure in Italy, living in an ashram in India and dedicating her time to getting closer to God, and finally finding balance and love in Bali.

At times it was perhaps a little bit preachy, and every now and again I began to feel a little bit bored with all the facts that are shared (at least I hope that they are facts). Still, I appreciated reading about someone’s journey to self discovery, and the time and effort was dedicated to healing and coming to know herself.

There were a few passages in the book that really got me thinking. So rather than focussing solely on a book review this time, I thought that I might actually share some of the passages that really made me reflect upon myself.

Internal peace

“The Yogis, however, say that human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We’re miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and laws and resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little egos constitute our whole entire nature. We have failed to recognise our deeper divine character. We don’t realise that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identity, universal and divine. Before you realise this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair…” pg. 129

I really like the idea of having a supreme Self that is eternally at peace. I actually think that this might be true, that somewhere deep inside me there is a person that might be at peace, and I like the idea that there might be a way of bringing that person closer to the surface.

Destiny and Choice

“Destiny I feel, is also a relationship – a play between divine grace and wilful self effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequences. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is her entirely the captain of his own destiny; he’s a little bit of both… There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction… I can choose how I’m going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life – whether I will see them as curses or opportunities (and on the occasions when I can’t rise to the most optimistic viewpoint, because I’m feeling too damn sorry for myself, I can choose to keep trying to change my outlook). I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts.” Pg. 187

She also goes on to say that this concept is a radically new idea for me, and I think that I can say that it is a new idea for me too. I think that sometimes I do have a tendency to fall into negative thoughts. I can brood and worry and think bad things about myself when I know that I shouldn’t. I loved reading this because it was a really acute reminder for me that I can choose not to be like that; by trying hard I can change my own thoughts and patterns. Things might happen to me (whether by fate or by my own actions), but how I deal with these is in my own control.

Barriers to belief

“What I’m seeing in some of my friends, though, as they are ageing, is a longing to have something to believe in. But this longing chafes against any number of obstacles, including their intellect and common sense.” Pg. 217

I really liked reading this because I think that it reflects my feelings to a certain extent. I am not religious, or even spiritual in any way. Sometimes, though, I almost wish that I was. It would be nice to believe in something. My problem though is what is expressed above, my mind just creates this barrier – how can you ever know if there is a god? You can’t. You just have to believe. But it’s not as simple as that, for me anyway. But then… read below.

Something to believe in – karma

“The other objective of religion, of course, is to try and make sense of our chaotic works and explain all the inexplicabilities we see playing out here on earth every day: the innocent suffer, the wicked are regarded – what are we to make of all this?... Over in the East, though, the Upanishads made sense of the world’s chaos. They’re not even so sure that world is chaotic, but suggest that it may only appear so to us because of our limited vision. These texts do not promise justice or revenge for anybody, though they do say that there are consequences for every action – so choose your behaviour accordingly.” Pg. 216 – 217

This is perhaps something that I could believe in, that there are consequences for all of our actions and so we should choose our behaviour accordingly. I think that is almost a reference to karma. Believing the above would be a nice way to live, and a good way of reminding ourselves to think positively and be nice to others.

Happiness

“She thinks that people universally tend to think that happiness if a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it… This is a practice I’ve come to call Diligent Joy. As I focus in Diligent Joy, I also keep remembering a simple idea my friend Darcey told me once – that all the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people.. The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world.” Pg. 273

When you stop and think about it – truly happy moments do seem like strokes of luck often, and this way of thinking about being happy, and the consequences of happiness, are really interesting ideas to me.

I found myself motivated so much by some of the ideas in the book that (being the true I am) I have signed up for a meditation course, which starts tonight. That’s right, this book motivated me to try out meditation. I think that indicates that despite some of the problems I had with it (it was a bit slow at times, a little bit preachy and the manner in which it was written was a little annoying at times), I really enjoyed this book and definitely got something out of it.


Summary


What kind of read is this?
It's not a challening read, but it can seem a bit dense at times in terms of the facts and theories that are discussed in the book.


Do I recommend it?
Yes, I do. I recognise that it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but even if its just for the thinking that it invokes, I would recommend it to everyone.


Do you recommend that I buy it?
This will seem a bit weird, but for me, I am glad that I own it, even if I will probably not re-read it for a very long time. Having said that, I think for most borrowing it would be sufficient.

Star Rating

Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it.

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

To be honest, when I read this book I didn't know anything about the book or the author. I simply recognised it as a Penguin classic and that was good enough for me. I can say that I am really glad I chose it.

Gerald Durrell is a well known english conservationist and this book is the story of some of his childhood years which were spent on the island of Corfu in Greece some time in the early 20th century (the 30's or 40's from memory). It details the funny characters that comprise his family, their relationship with one another, and their dealings with the various animals that Gerald brings home and makes part of the family.

Durrell's writing style is so natural, the book is written as if he was speaking directly to you, telling you his story. I suppose its because its autobiographical, and also because he is a conservationist not a writer. In any event, I loved how it was written, it felt so friendly and open. The language Durrel uses to describe the island and his family's adventures is so vivid that you feel like you are in Corfu, or at least that you would really like to be in Corfu. Corfu comes alive as a beautiful and colourful place, full of excitement. I'm sure that's what it felt like to young Gerry and he conveys that magical feeling well.

There's no plot as such as it is an autobiographical story of what occured in his life during the years the book spans. He recounts what happens to him and his family and the various people and animals that cross their paths. I recommend this to everyone looking for a good, light heared and hilarious read.

Star Rating

6.5 / 8

Brilliant, couldn't put it down.