The Bookshop

By Liz

Book review: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

Official FC rating: 

I’m actually disgusted with myself for having been deceived by this book, because the back of the book describes it perfectly. It’s a book about a widow, Florence Green, who “risks it all” to open a bookshop in her small seaside town. From the onset, when the people of her town hear that she is opening a bookshop it causes a stir of rumors. Her bookshop slowly becomes a success, but small-town politics create hostility since the shop is seen as impractical. Only until it is too late (for both Florence and the reader) does she realize a town that doesn’t have a bookshop doesn’t necessarily want one.

Shocker: the book ends with Florence leaving the town she has lived in for ten years of her life because the town never wanted a bookshop.

And that’s it. That is literally all this book is about. All 156 pages are about the small-town politics and economics of opening, and eventually closing, a bookshop. I actually didn’t bother reading all 156 pages once I got to the half-way point and came to my senses that this book was not going to get any better. So, I skipped to the very end and was not remotely shocked by the depressing AF conclusion.

This novella was so even keeled. I got past the half way point and was like, “oh…this book isn’t going to have a climax…because there’s hardly any direct conflict…” Penelope Fitzgerald, did you think straight up not using plot devices that typically hook readers was going to work out for you, or what?

I have no idea why I expected this book to be more exciting or interesting. Maybe I had high hopes for this book because, in the back of my mind for years, I’ve had dreams of one day owning a bookstore or working in a library (like when I retire or something).

The kicker is that Florence isn’t even that into books. She describes herself as a trained retailer, not a person who understands the arts or whether or not a book is a masterpiece. WHY EVEN OPEN A BOOKSHOP THEN??? (Maybe the ending was poetic justice, then. I just don’t know).

I thought maybe this book will be a deeply thought-provoking commentary on how society is more interested in money and technology than literature and the arts. To some degree, the book probably was about that a little- but mostly it was about small-town politics and how they generally suck.

I will grant that the author has captured the nastiness and pettiness of small-town politics well, but I don’t need to read a book about small-town politics- all I need to do is visit my hometown in rural, Upstate New York for that. And frankly, the small-town politics of my hometown are more interesting than this damn novella.

Small-town characters have the potential to be interesting and have a lot of personality (not a book, but see Gilmore Girls as an example). Like the style of writing itself, the characters were given little description and were also boring.

If you would like to read passages about bookkeeping, taking out loans, and random details about a small town in the UK, then by all means, read this book. Otherwise, don’t waste your time. 

Awaken the Spirit Within

By Charlotte

Book Review: Awaken the Spirit Within by Rebecca Rosen

Official FC Rating: 

I bought this book because the back cover promised to help me do wonderful things, like "gain confidence in your natural talents and abilities" and "attain the clarity to make the 'right' choices and decisions for your life." 

That back cover was a damn liar. The book started out okay, but similarly to my laser tag a-game the other day, things deteriorated pretty quickly. You know, one second you're on top of the world, aiming your laser at those little five year old kids and racking up points, and then two minutes and a flight of stairs later you can barely breathe and you're cowering in a corner.* That was this book. The beginning was intriguing and filled with hope (though not wonderfully written), but it was all downhill from there.

I guess maybe I should mention what the book is about? Duh, Char.

Le genre: Body, Mind, & Spirit - Inspiration & Personal Growth and yeah I'm a little embarrassed to admit I was reading that but what's it to ya?

Rosen is a spiritual medium and her abilities and experiences are suppose to give readers better understanding, clarity, and skill to... live life?  Sort of?  

Now is as good a time as any to confess that I only read the bold bullet points on the back cover, and not the paragraph above it. So I hadn't even realized it was written by someone who talks to the dead. Would I have still purchased it, had I known? Yes. I am Catholic so I'm pretty sure it falls into the category of things I'm not supposed to believe, but I figure it's okay to just read a book without adhering to all of it's premises; surely that won't mean a ticket to hell. (Right? Any smarter Catholics out there? Am I doomed to hell?)

       

So I kept reading, even though it was with a sprinkle of doubt. Just because I don't believe the same things the author believes doesn't mean I can't glean any insights and wisdom from her. I've read other books about reincarnation and have enjoyed them and learned from them.  

Turns out, however, this was just a bad book. God probably won't send me to hell (not for this, anyway) but I doomed myself to torture by continuing to read it even after the 23,719th use of the word "clairvoyant." It was an eye-roll inducing read if I've ever experienced one. I think at one point I audibly asked, "Can you stop using the same word over and over and over again? We get it! You're special! Clairvoyance!" It was painful. 

My real issue with the book, though, was that it was essentially a giant advertisement.  She constantly would write something like, "In my last book, Spirited, I talk about how you can overcome ___." It was okay the first couple of times, but then it just got ridiculous. I bought THIS book, not your last book. I'm reading THIS book, not your last book. It's like she was withholding advice and you could only retrieve it by purchasing her previous book. 

   

I'll tell you what. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, has written several books. I recently read her latest, Better Than Before. Whenever it was necessary for her to mention a principle she wrote about in her previous book, she thoroughly explained the entire thing, in such a way that allowed us to fully absorb whatever piece of advice she was giving. She never once says, "If you want to know how to ____, buy my first book." She utilizes her other books; she doesn't advertise them. (And she doesn't have to, because her books are so terrifically helpful that you want to go buy more.) It's lame as fuck to write a self-help or personal growth book and then specifically NOT give advice in order to make money off your first book. Books shouldn't be advertisements. 

I had worried that I was just dense, and that that was why I wasn't enjoying Rosen's book. One of the tips she actually does include is to, like, imagine yourself as a mighty tree with massive roots or something. Laughed, rolled my eyes, tried it - didn't work. This was probably due to *me* and my mindset on things like meditation.  So I wouldn't ever rate her book based on how I am. But that's not the problem. The problem was what I already mentioned. I'm sure Rosen is a lovely person and kind to all around her, really. But I don't appreciate market ploys painted as self-help.  

I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend (or even a mere acquaintance). If you're looking for a personal growth or self help book, I'd recommend Rubin (obviously). She gives step by step guides on how to change bad habits or to become happy. She went so far as to develop different ways to better yourself based on different kinds of personalities! She responds to reader emails and she offers a plethora of free advice and resources on her website. It seems to me that she is really invested in truly helping herself and anyone else who needs it. THAT is how self-help books should work.

What do you all think? Have you read this book? Am I 100% wrong? Completely right? Do tell.

*I ended up recovering and winning the laser tag game.  This book never recovered.

xoxo

Char