The Paris Bookseller

A novel based on the life of Sylvia Beach and her bookstore Shakespeare and Co., this is not one of those books she would have favored in her offerings. The writing is never more than serviceable, and sometimes worthy of romance literature at its most cliched. But it does give the reader a flavor of Paris between the wars, when writers we now know by name were young and daring and milling about, influencing each other and drinking too much.

If Sylvia Beach is a focus of this book, another is James Joyce, struggling to write [Ulysses], stay solvent and keep his marriage intact, all at once. As with many struggling artists, he makes use of the devotion of others without always rewarding them. The author claims as much authority as can be show more gleaned from letters, diaries, autobiographies, etc. so it may pass as historical fiction. And i think the book itself is shaped as an ellipse around these foci, gracefully winding down with an epilogue letting us know when everyone died. show less

It's the story of Sylvia Beach, a women's rights activist, a bookseller, the woman who was the first to produce Ulysses when no male publisher cared and nearly perished in the process.
In 1919 Sylvia opened her bookshop 'Shakespeare and Company'. She did this with the support of her friend and later partner Adrienne Monnier, who already had a French bookshop where French authors and intellectuals came and went. This encouraged Sylvia to open an English-language bookshop. Not only did the French authors support her, but she soon counted American and English authors among her friends. On the one hand, she ran the bookshop as a kind of lending library and on the other, she also sold the books.
Everything was going well until James Joyce came show more to her, who was looking to get his book Ulysses published somehow. In America, the first chapters were already among the 'forbidden books'. There was no chance that his work would ever be published. Joyce was a very unpleasant contemporary. Many of Sylvia's friends called him the false Jesus. He took the worst possible advantage of his fellow human beings and disappeared when he had to pay his debts.
Sylvia, however, felt that she had to support him and threw herself into an adventure as a publisher, but also into debt and hopelessness until her health suffered.

I was very impressed by this story. I also didn't realise that at the beginning of the 20th century, same-sex love and cohabitation were not a problem in France.
I can warmly recommend this book. show less

Young Sylvia Beach has always dreamt of writing books, but soon she must recognise that writing isn't hers. When in Paris, the American meets Susanne and Adrienne who run a bookshop and she is immediately fascinated by them. She decides to open a bookshop herself to provide Paris and its masses of expatriates with English books. A risky adventure in 1919, but her small store "Shakespeare and Company" is going to make history. Not only do the Roaring Twenties make Paris the centre of the literary world, the bookshop and Sylvia become its very own epicentre and when she comes across an extraordinary novel nobody wants to publish, she decides to do it herself thus making James Joyce and his "Ulysses" one of the greatest novels of the show more century.

Kerri Maher tells the story of a young and adventurous woman who follows her instincts and is willing to risk a lot to make her dreams come true. “The Paris Bookseller” portrays an outstanding personality whose strong character can be felt in every line of the novel. On the other hand, the novel is a remarkable depiction of misogynist behaviour in the literary world and, on the other, also of strong women who can accomplish a lot when working together.

I totally adored following Sylvia's way from naive American tourist to one of the most important characters in the literary world between the wars. Surely Paris was the place to be and she was there at the right time, but also her endeavour and spirit were decisive to make it the best known bookstore in the world.

I wasn't aware of how hostile towards women the time and publishing industry was, quite interestingly, it wasn't people like Hemingway of whom I could have easily expected such a behaviour, quite the opposite, the educated and seemingly decent people were the most abominable.

A great read which gives insight in a time already a century ago and most certainly a must read for all booklovers of classics and the great time a century ago. show less

I cracked this one open eagerly diving into the world of Sylvia Beach and Shakespeare and Company during my favorite Parisian literary era. There was no shortage of name dropping and lusty lesbian romance which I was all in for...but then the novel honed in on James Joyce. After awhile I began to wonder if the novel was actually just an excuse to write about Joyce under the guise of a more interesting lens. Then it turned into a full on James Joyce spotlight. I kept on hoping that the tide would turn and the story would focus back in on Beach but nope. It felt like she was just a tool to tell the Joyce publishing obscenity debacle so I tapped out. This was DNF about halfway through. The writing itself was great but I feel tricked into show more reading about another white dude for which women were props. No thank you. show less

This is the fictionalized account of the very real Sylvia Beach, and American bibliophile who opened an English bookstore in Paris. As her store attracted the blossoming crowd of writers in Paris during that time, she fostered relationships with such authors as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. When the climate of censorship in the United States prevented the publication of Joyce's Ulysses, which Beach recognized as a major masterpiece of the 20th Century, she had the courage to publish it herself under the umbrella of her store, Shakespeare and Company. Maher describes the relationship between Beach and her longtime lover and soulmate Adrienne Monnier, who also owned a bookstore and shared her passion for show more literature. This romantic historical fiction provides a most engaging glimpse into the Lost Generation as it may have been experienced by some literary icons. show less

Although I am not usually a historical fiction reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The liberalism of the times, the Paris setting and the cameos of emerging writers visiting Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare and Company bookshop were really engaging. Sylvia’s own development as a businesswoman as early as 1919 made for a compelling central character.
Although Sylvia is affected by a lack of confidence, she is really brave in running her own business and supporting the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, a book that had been banned for obscenity. Joyce is depicted as as a self centred, heartless bastard who doesn’t share the same integrity when it comes to business agreements and publishing. A lot of the authors who come into show more Sylvia’s orbit can also be considered as egotistical and unstable. Sylvia is continually forgiving and supportive. Sylvia and her partner, Adrienne act as patrons of many artists.
This was a really interesting look at Paris and the literary arts in the early 20th century. show less

Sylvia Beach is an American in Paris in the 1920's. Amazed by the French bookstore named after proprietress Adrienne Monnier, Sylvia is inspired to open Shakespeare and Company, an English speaking bookstore and lending library. Famous writers come in and out of her doors, and Sylvia befriends James Joyce as he writes his monumental tome Ulysses. After Ulysses is ruled illegal in the US courts, Sylvia offers to publish it herself. The story follows Sylvia and her travails with Joyce and Ulysses through to 1936.
This story was so engaging, from the beginning to the end. The boldness of an American expatriate opening a bookstore in Paris captured my imagination and held it captive. I wasn't familiar with the publication of Ulysses and I show more may find some of the source material to learn more. show less