Just finished this one, it was pretty great!  It was one of those that I was actually willing to sit on the couch and try to read it while the kids were climbing all over me. That doesn’t happen very often with books.

From Amazon.com, The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George:

Monsieur Perdu can prescribe the perfect book for a broken heart. But can he fix his own?
 
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

What’d  I think?

I really enjoyed the overall story, the variety of characters, and felt that it was very well written. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a deep philosophical story. It does have some moments of deep though, but overall it’s bordering on fluff-lit in my opinion.

If you get easily offended by books that discuss sex, then it’s not for you. There are a few, not many, points in which Perdu is recalling his memories of his lost love, her body, their time together. I didn’t feel that it was horrible, but a few word choices did catch me a bit off-guard at first.

What fascinated me about this book, was Monsieur Perdu’s ability to “prescribe” books. I think one of the things that is lost in the large chain bookstores is the personal recommendations of books from one individual to another, particularly when you frequent the same place over and over again, where they’re able to get to know you.

Overall, it was a good read and one that I would recommend if you are a lover of the French life, books, words, love and life!

**I received this book for free from BloggingforBooks.com: The opinions above are entirely my own. You can read my full disclosure policy here.