The Paris Bookseller

Kerri Maher

I picked this up because Cavan Library book club was reading it–and I loved it. It's a very easy read, and kept me hooked. I'm sure there are some obvious reasons for that. First, it's historical fiction, so I did keep wondering what was true and what wasn't. Second, some famous authors are major characters in the book: James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein–it's fascinating to see their personalities characterized, true or not. Third, Sylvia Beach's personal arc as a bibliophile who moved to Paris and opened a bookshop that became a literary hub is something I'd fantasise about doing, and the book somehow shows you the reality of it all. Fourth, the story of Ulysses itself was very new to me–its censorship, Sylvia's painstaking efforts to bring it to the world and the quirks of her and Joyce's own characters.

Some of Joyce's character traits reminded me of an Irish folk story that [Aindrias Stack] performed at Cavan Townhall Arts Centre about the 'guilt-monger', and I'm guessing that used to be a thing in Catholic Ireland.