Christine Féret-Fleury

‘’He was talking about books as if they were alive - old friends, powerful adversaries at times, insolent teenagers and elderly ladies sitting by the fire. In our bookcases? Grumpy wise men and mistresses, uncontrollable passions, future killers, thin paper boys offering their hands to fragile damsels whose beauty grew thin with every description. Some books were wild horses that took you with them in a mad galloping while you were hanging, breathless. Others were like boats sailing show more softly on a lake lit by the moonlight. And some were prisons.’’

Juliette commutes daily to her mundane work in a real estate agency. Her employer is a vacant man. Her colleague an even more vacant woman. Juliette’s way out is to observe the people in the metro and their reading choices. You are what you read, some say. Or are you? One day, she decides to break her daily routine and chooses to get off at a different station. Her meeting with a brilliant young girl and her mysterious father will lead her to a life that only books can offer.

This is a novel for those of us who travel -literally - daily with a book to keep us company amidst the noise of the train tracks and the shuddering ignorance of the commuters who don’t even know how the word ‘’book’’ is written. It is a tender journey, full of Parisian flair and elegance, for the ones who inhale the smell of old and new books, those of us who know how to listen to the whispers of the pages, those of us who fell in love with Russia, Norway, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Korea, and so many countries before we actually visit them. Words are the finest guides. For those of us who feel at ease when we are alone with a book in our hands because people have become too loud, too ignorant, too annoying. It is a novel for those who READ.

*No, Goodreads isn’t the place for such a book. Not anymore…*

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less

Die junge Juliette lebt in Paris ein eintöniges Leben: neben ihrer ungeliebten Arbeit geht sie einmal in der Woche ins Kino, ins Schwimmbad und isst Sonntags mit ihrem Vater zu Mittag. Sie fühlt, dass ihr Leben an ihr vorübergleitet, nur Bücher reißen sie aus ihrer Lethargie; doch ihr fehlt der Mut, daran etwas zu ändern. Als sie eines Morgens spontan einen anderen Weg zur Arbeit nimmt, lernt sie den merkwürdigen Soliman und seine zehnjährige Tochter Zaïde kennen, was ihr Leben show more verändern wird. Er lebt ausschließlich inmitten unvorstellbarer Bücherberge und ist davon überzeugt, dass das richtige Buch zur richtigen Zeit das Leben eines Menschen zum Guten verändert. Zaïde hingegen liebt Bücher, weil sie ihr Lust auf Abenteuer machen, auch wenn sie noch zu klein ist, um eigenständig welche zu erleben.
Es ist ein Büchlein, das Mut machen will zu leben - und dazu können Bücher eine Anregung bieten. 'Das richtige Buch zur richtigen Zeit und schwupps krempelt man sein Leben um' mag als Botschaft ganz klar zu überschwenglich sein, aber dem Grunde nach stimmt die Aussage. Wer liest, hat mehr vom Leben - zumindest im eigenen Kopf. Und wem es gelingt, das Gelesene als Inspiration für das eigene Leben zu sehen, wird sich über Änderungen kaum zu wundern brauchen. Doch es sind nicht nur Bücher, die inspirieren können; auch andere Menschen, Gegenstände, Farben, Formen. Die Welt ist voll von Wundern, Geschichten und Abenteuern, für die man lediglich die bekannten und ausgetretenen Pfade verlassen und etwas Mut aufbringen muss.
Auch wenn es sich jetzt vielleicht so liest: Dies ist keine Gute-Laune-Lektüre, dafür sind manche der Geschehnisse schlicht zu traurig. Dennoch ist die Botschaft klar: Das Leben ist schön, traue Dich es zu leben. All dies erzählt die Autorin Christine Féret-Fleury in einer wunderbar poetischen Sprache, sodass es dem Ganzen eine fast schon märchenhafte Atmosphäre verleiht. show less

A quirky and charming story about Juliette, a disatisfied young woman in Paris. She works for an estate agency but it isn't her dream job. She rides the metro to work and looks around the carriage to see what others are reading. One day she gets off the metro early and stumbles in to Soliman's untidy and chaotic book shop. She becomes a passeur, handing books to people who need them, trying to match the book to the person. The story unfolds with few surprises. I enjoyed the trips on the show more metro and the passages about particular books. show less

A charming, whimsical read about finding one's place and purpose in the world. Juliette is an anxious, sensitive, introverted and lonely book worm who rides the Metro to her job in real estate. She wonders about the lives of the other reader riders on the train; as well as her own life. Why hasn't she gone anywhere or accomplished much; where is she meant to be, how to fit in, what to do?

Once she discovers the secluded Books Unlimited shop and the wonderful Soliman and Zaide she becomes a show more passeur. Shortly after she becomes responsible for the shop and Zaide when Soliman needs to leave. She is overwhelmed until the man with the green hat, a fellow Metro rider spends time at the shop kindly listening to Juliette unburdening herself. He and Zaide help her find her footing. Before long she discovers her calling and takes to the road with lots of books for company.

A little dream of a book. show less