A Novel Bookstore

by Laurence Cossé, Alison Anderson (Translator)

Overview

A Europa classic about love, deceit, Paris, and books!

Ivan and Francesca decide to open a bookstore devoted solely to good literature and their love of books. Frustrated by the glut of mediocre books printed every month and envisioning a true literary paradise, they offer a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee of like-minded literary connoisseurs.

To their amazement, after only a few months, their vision proves popular. Very popular. Tucked away in a corner of Paris, the bookstore quickly becomes a haven for bibliophiles. Indeed, it becomes so successful that the great majority of Parisian readers are now buying their books only at Ivan and Francesca’s store, and other stores in the city are starting to change how they order and display books too. Now big publishing’s powerful elite are desperately trying to adapt their business model to the demand for quality above all else. As the store’s success grows, venomous comments begin circulating online and the owners, and their selection committee, become the target of vicious editorials and threats.

A Novel Bookstore blends book love and bookstore love with a brilliantly conceived and entertaining mystery and is a delight for readers of all tastes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609455781
Publisher:	Europa Editions, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/20/2019
Pages:	424
Sales rank:	654,865
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Laurence Cossé worked as a journalist before devoting herself entirely to fiction. She is the author of the satirical thriller, The Corner of the Veil, and the bestselling Prime Minister’s Woman. A Novel Bookstore is her ninth novel. She lives in France.

Alison Anderson has translated numerous works of literary fiction, including the bestselling novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. She has also written her own works of fiction and resides in Switzerland.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A Novel Bookstore

“Reader manifestos, tricksy narration, a dash of mystery, somewhat surreal plotting – Cossé stacks her novel full of the delights of sophisticated writing.” —The Guardian

“Eminently readable, it is a love letter to the novel (literature junkies will find within its pages a seemingly endless supply of book suggestions) and a profound exploration of human nature." —Library Journal

“Cossé poignantly depicts characters who have turned to literature for solace against the pain in their lives.” —Publishers Weekly

“Marvelous and stimulating.” —San Francisco Chronicle

"Ivan has a passion for books, but only 'good' books. Francesca shares his book lust. Together they open a remarkable bookstore in Paris, a store with only 'good' books, a place for readers who love the written word. Initial success is followed by fear and heartbreak as their shop comes under attack. Who is trying to kill the bookstore? This is a treasure for all of us who love books." —Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music

From the Publisher

The founding of a unique Paris bookstore triggers jealousies and threats in Cossé's intriguing follow-up to The Corner of the Veil (1999). Former comic-book seller Ivan "Van" Georg and stylish Francesca Aldo-Valbelli team to establish the Good Novel, a bookshop that will stock only masterpieces in fiction, which are selected by a secret committee of writers. At first, the warm welcome of the bookstore results in soaring sales. Then attacks in the press, the opening of rival bookstores, and attempts against the lives of committee members by persons unknown sour the atmosphere for the Good Novel's community of readers and writers. Cossé poignantly depicts characters who have turned to literature for solace against the pain in their lives, creates ongoing speculation as to the shadowy first-person narrator, and furnishes sly commentary about gatekeeping in the literary world. Though purists may be disappointed with the solution to the mystery, there's plenty of food for thought. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Heiress Francesca and bookseller Ivan don't expect to make a profit when they open a bookstore in Paris that sells nothing but the best fiction. The store's unexpected success produces a powerful backlash: an outcry from pundits, negative ad campaigns, targeted competition, and threats that escalate to physical violence. When members of the store's secret inventory selection committee are attacked, barely escaping with their lives, it becomes imperative for the owners to find out who is behind the intimidation. With this work, French novelist Cossé (A Corner of the Veil) gives readers a truly literary thriller. Eminently readable, it is a love letter to the novel (literature junkies will find within its pages a seemingly endless supply of book suggestions) and a profound exploration of human nature. VERDICT If the success of Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, also translated by Andersen, is any indication, this work will be in high demand.—Karen Walton Morse, Univ. at Buffalo Libs.

Library Journal

When French author Cossé(A Corner of the Veil, 1999, etc.) pairs unlikely business partners in the opening of a unique Parisian bookstore, The Good Novel, that will sell only the best fiction, their venture succeeds and draws vehement criticism—and worse.

The selection process at The Good Novel, owned and backed by the lovely Aldo-Valbella Francesca and run by Ivan Georg, is rigorous. Members of a secret committee of writers and bibliophiles compile novels that they consider superior to the usual bestseller-list folderol. Their bookstore is a success. But almost immediately detractors publish diatribes accusing The Good Novel's proprietors and denizens of snobbery. Worse, someone is pasting these attacks up around town. When attempts are made against the lives of several members of the selection committee, Ivan and Francesca turn to the law in the person of a publishing-industry veteran turned cop, Gonzague Heffner, to determine how it is that seemingly coordinated thugs have learned the meticulously concealed identities of committee members. Is there a centralized plot by publishing interests to overthrow the upstart store, or are these the isolated jabs of irate inferior writers who take issue with the store's exclusive policies? As the investigation unfolds, rival bookstores open, initially strong sales falter, and it becomes clear that the attacks are a reaction to the very concept of quality in literature. This mystery is however incidental to larger themes of what superlative work in the literary sphere constitutes. Not without its surprises,the book doesn't quite live up to the high literary standards that its characters apply. While the central mystery stalls and dissipates without satisfactory resolution, the central conceit—what place is there for great and often difficult literature in a mercenary world—is manifest in the plight of the store and the disruptive influence it has on critics and booksellers the world over. The book's real strength is its romances—of both the bookish and human varieties. In attention to matters of the heart the story is redeemed, delivering a touché where its original thrust misses the mark.

A literary idyll preselected for bookworms and bibliophiles.

Kirkus Reviews