My mother was a reader. I grew up observing her absorbed in one book after another, whether purchased or borrowed from the library. On one particular Christmas, I was thrilled when I saw a stack of neatly wrapped packages, which were clearly books: “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” and a collection of Greek myths. I was also a fan of the Nancy Drew detective series.
Wonder. Mystery. History. Discovery.
There are so many new worlds to enter when you open that book and journey through the chapters. Your experience will be enhanced or diminished depending on the author’s ability to enthrall and enchant or disappoint because the substance isn’t there.
No worries about lacking a narrative luster in this book.
There’s a small bookstore on a quaint street in Dublin, where a young boy peering in the window. The owner invites him in for tea and proceeds to tell him many layered tales.
The Triumphant Trio
Opaline is a young woman facing family pressure to wed. With no interest in partnering with a man chosen by her brother, she sets out on her own. A lover of books and the many worlds open to her through words, she needs money to make her way. Reluctantly, she lets go of a treasured volume of “David Copperfield” to launch her eventual destiny as a book dealer.Martha has no interest in books. She escapes an unhappy and abusive marriage to take on a job working as a housekeeper for an eccentric owner of a house with its own peculiarities. There is a magical and mysterious element to this read: At one point a tree starts to spread its branches through the walls of Martha’s basement bedroom. And, initially, while not a fan of reading, stories do pop up in her mind. She ponders their meaning.
Henry is on a mission to find a lost manuscript. He’s an ardent collector of rare documents, letters, books, and other materials surrounding the lives of famous authors. His search brings him to Ha’penny Lane in Dublin to the house where Martha works. He is sure that a bookshop once existed next door and clues to the missing manuscript might be held within its walls.
Opaline, Martha, and Henry are all on their separate journeys. Their own stories are just as compelling as many of those contained in the pages of beloved books that line the bookshelves of many a bookstore.
It is for them to discover their own sense of clarity and purpose, figuring out where they belong and gaining a sense of empowerment to make things happen for themselves and others.
While Opaline, Martha, and Henry are the likeable main protagonists and readers will be empathetic to their struggles and situations, there are a cadre of other characters; several of whom are not easy to embrace. However, their presence in the story serves to ignite action and forward movement for the principal players.
Intriguing Bits of History
While a work of fiction, the book contains historical references which could prompt readers to want to know more.As an example, one of the books most cherished by Opaline is Emily Brontë’s only novel, “Wuthering Heights.” Opaline is convinced that Brontë started to write a second one. This notion is not a fabrication. Literary scholars and sleuths have also been convinced that Brontë, who died tragically and young, had penned an unfinished second novel.
Not to be a spoiler, but one of the characters, through a twist of fate, ends up in an Irish asylum. Many of these institutions had notorious reputations, and in the late 1800s and early 1900s thousands of people ended up confined within their walls. Many of these people were not necessarily mentally unstable or lunatics, but lost souls.
As a literary tool, the narrative is written in parallel timelines, allowing the author to connect their pasts and futures in complex but very convincing ways. Structurally, with each chapter dedicated to one of the three main characters, it is easy for the reader to follow what is happening to whom and when.
Opaline, Martha, and Henry are very compelling characters. As a reader, you want their final paths to be happy and hope-filled. All of them are seekers, searching for meaning and love in their own lives. Often, their journeys are sprinkled with a bit of whimsy and mystery.
Brilliantly blending a realistic view of the world with magical elements, the boundaries between this world and magical places blur in “The Lost Bookshop,” making this literary fiction an excellent offering of magical realism.
The result is an invitation for the reader to enter this realm and enjoy the ride. It’s worth taking.
