The Bookshop on the Corner

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Quick Review A sweet story about a young librarian hitting a low point in her life decides to follow her dreams, which lead her to new places, a van, people, and even herself.

I liked this novel a lot more than I thought I would. I set the bar pretty low. I wouldn’t call it canonical, but I would call it entertaining and sweet.

From the very beginning, it is obvious Colgan loves to read. Her first words are the dedication different from most, the book is to all readers. The introduction spends eight pages describing all the best places and ways to read. She is a bookworm like the best of us. It becomes even clearer she has a passion for books because they are not only a central theme but become a character in their own right.

Nina Redmond is an introverted librarian in a big city who has devoted her life to books: reading them, acquiring them, and making sure the right book finds the right person. Nina finds herself jobless due to layoffs. Between friends joking she should and telling her she can’t, she finds her way to Scotland where she buys a bus renovating it into a mobile bookstore to bring books to those who have gone without for so long. Nina finds herself loving and becoming a part of her new home in spite of herself.

Nina starts out incredibly shy to the point of meekness in her actions and her thoughts. Throughout the novel she becomes more brazen and confident as she is met with obstacles beginning with friends telling her she can’t to sexism to being underestimated to a rude and sullen landlord. Nina finds her inner strength along her journey spreading warmth, kindness, and books.

When Nina first moves to Scotland, she has always had a book as a companion. She has spent her life reading and living within the worlds books provide, she has forgotten to inhabit the world she physically resides in. Leaving the city and entering a small town life, she is able to stop using books as a fortress against the constant barrage of noise, people, and activity. She becomes a part of something for the first time.

Colgan isn’t just writing about books. She is making astute observations on the changing world we live in. A recurring theme she touches on is how the job market is changing. In a very short amount of time, there is an emphasis on youth, media, technology, and extroversion. There is also less interest in paying people living wages or caring about the generations who have not yet caught up to the new world. Colgan drives home the fact that libraries and bookstores are disappearing at alarming rates.

I really enjoyed how Colgan made sure each character was different than what they appeared. She took the effort to make each character human. There was no evil. Every character had redeeming and less than admirable qualities. Colgan ensures each character’s faults can be understood because we all have our quirks, and there is always a reason for said quirks.

I enjoyed the emphasis of the novel was not on love or finding love. Romantic love was a part of the plot; however, it took a backseat to Nina’s search for herself. Romance was not even mentioned until page 87.

I found The Bookshop on the Corner to be evocative of Nina (coincidence!) George’s Little Paris Bookshop. They both have main characters owning nontraditional bookshops: a bus and a barge, respectively. Each character likes to think of themselves as a purveyor of more than books: a matchmaker or apothecary – setting each person up with the correct book at the correct time. Although the idea is not groundbreakingly original, I much preferred Colgan’s story. It focused less on love and more on books.

The only real downside of the story for me is the fact that Colgan made up book titles within the novel. I just think there are more than enough books currently in print or out of print that could have been name dropped instead of creating new ones. But I’m being nit-picky.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan is not a book requiring a great deal of intense thought or deep contemplation. It is a lovely summer read or quiet afternoon read. It is a great novel to pick up when you want to follow along on a sweet story.

Memorable Quotes
“But sometimes she felt the world wasn’t built for people like her.”
“…she bought stationery the way other women bought lipsticks…”
“It’s like an entire generation has been thrown into a world they don’t understand and where nothing makes sense, and. they’ve just been told, tough luck, learn how to type or you can just starve to death.”
“There was a universe inside every human being every bit as big as the universe outside them.”
“Everyone’s love life went badly until the end.”

Title: The Bookshop on the Corner
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: William Morrow Publishing (HarperCollins Publishers)
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9780062467256