The Love Letter

If you can accept the idea that a bookstore in a small coastal town in the pre-kindle era could generate enough revenue to support five employees and that a thoroughly obnoxious middle-aged woman could be the hottest thing in town and attract a twenty year old lover, then this is a pretty good story. I have issues with things like that. Overlooking those little problems it is a pretty good romance and avoids the punishment doled out by most authors to people who engage in social unacceptable relationships. The surprise twist at the end was particularly good.

I can't tell you how many times I've read this book (I tend to re-read it just before Valentine's Day every year)! The premise is a 40 something woman who owns a bookstore finding an anonymous love letter and how it changes everything about her within one summer. Not only is it a love story -- you have to listen to how Schine describes things! It's almost tangible -- but this book inspires me to do something I only dream about: Open my own bookstore. In a word, THE LOVE LETTER is delicious.

The summary: Helen, the single-mom boss of her own bookstore in a college town, finds a love letter of which the writer and recipient is unknown to her, but it changes her life anyway. Her thoughts turn to love and letters, and her new 20-year-old employee Johnny, who has a crush on her. Their secret affair tears at them and threatens to be exposed as their various family members come back to live with them in Pequod.

As for the writing, the first half is torture, with its repetitveness and overall uninterestingness. The characters are either boring or slightly repulsive. Helen is a priveleged woman who delights in being a bitch. She loves to be flattered, has affairs with everyone almost indiscriminantly, and her romance with Johnny is show more cringe-inducing at first. Finally, Schine seems to warm up to the story, and the second half is a little bit better. This may be due to the introduction of the better characters later in the story: Helen's mother and grandmother. Helen's mother also has a secret, one you'll soon deduce before Helen, and the grandmother conveys that fashionable, stately aura that all entertaining, rich, elderly, literary characters do. The book is about people of leisure and money, which hinders it at first, but love finally becomes the subject later on. Helen's endearing transformation saves the book from being completely boring, but ultimately Schine falls short of creating a memorable book. show less

It's been about 10 years, so about all I remember about this book is that I really enjoyed it. More specifically, it's the only book to ever make me miss my stop while reading on the bus. And I think that happened at least twice. I also remember embarrassing myself by laughing a couple times while reading it on the bus. It was the second of three books I've read by Schine. I really need to get to the others. Sadly, I loaned this one out years ago and never got it back. Otherwise, I'd probably read it again.

Interesting, but not as good as her other works. Story of a newly divorced woman finding her way in a town, finding friends, love interest, relationship with her daughters. Keep reading this author nonetheless.

I remember reading this years ago. The story or writing wasn't anything too special but I suppose it was just the perfect "summer book" for me at the time. I am still looking for a similar light reading experience. There is something about (adult) people living a few hot summer months in a small community that appeals to me.

While divorcee Helen's daughter is away at summer camp she finds a mysterious love letter in her bookshop, and ends up having an affair with one of her casual summer workers. Good, but not as likeable as other things by her I've read.