Blurb: On a barge on the Seine, Jean Perdu runs a bookshop, or rather a 'literary apothecary', for this bookseller possess a rare gift for sensing which books will soothe his customers' troubled souls.

The only person he is unable to cure, it seems, is himself. For twenty-one years he has nursed a broken heart - and never dared open the letter his love left behind. But the arrival of an enigmatic new neighbour inspires Jean to unlock his heart, unmoor the floating bookshop and set off for Provence, in search of the past and his beloved.

*First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: I always enjoy books about books and The Little Paris Bookshop is an ode to books. Jean Perdu is a joy to read. He owns a literary apothecary and cures his costumer's souls prescribing them books to read. He has quite a simple life that he pretends to enjoy but nothing could be farther from the truth. Living in an empty flat with locked rooms and with no friends, he still misses the love of his life, who left him more than twenty years ago. But when a new neighbour awakes something more in Perdu he decides to take his barge on the trip of a lifetime around France to rediscover himself.

But Perdu doesn't travel alone, from a lost best seller author to an Italian looking for a lost love, the barge becomes a temporary home for a colourful range of characters. They all have their own stories to tell and will help Perdu in his quest to find meaning to his life. With a stunning scenery and detailed and generous descriptions, you feel like one more in the barge. Discovering the beautiful French towns and its unique inhabitants.

The Little Paris Bookshop is a book to enjoy. To take your time reading and rereading. I think you could fill various notebooks with wonderful quotes from this story. Perdu's story is life affirming and warm like a hug but also complex, deep and meaningful. You learn a lot about books, life and living while reading this book and it makes you think a lot about love and death. 

A stunning book for booklovers, one to read over lazy summer evenings. Taking in every sentence and every word. I'd say it reads like a modern fable, the moral being that to have a life you have to live it. Loving, discovering, risking, giving your everything, reading... 

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