The Lost Bookshop by Irish author Evie Woods is historical fiction meets magical realism with lashings of romance. Published in 2023 to great acclaim, the novel unfolds in alternating chapters and features three main characters.
In 1921, Opaline has run away to France to avoid an arranged marriage at the hands of her brother and finds a job working for Shakespeare and Company bookshop. With an eye for buying and selling antiquarian books her overbearing brother is hot on her trail, sending her to an asylum when he catches up with her in Dublin and finds her pregnant out of wedlock.
The contemporary narrative is set in Dublin where Martha escapes an abusive relationship and takes a job working as a housekeeper for the eccentric Mrs Bowden. Henry is a PhD student searching for a rare manuscript and a bookshop he walked into but can never find again when he meets Martha.
All three narratives were first person perspectives and there were many literary references and bookish quotes to keep book lovers turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed this one concerning the motivations of a rare book dealer:
"Never trust a book dealer who lets sentimentality get in the way. I had to own it because there is only one of it in the world - that's all there is to it. If I own it, then no one else can. I have known men to hazard their fortunes, go long journeys halfway about the world, forget friendships, even lie, cheat, and steal, all for the gain of a book." Page 169The author does an excellent job creating a bookish atmosphere and I longed to browse the aisles of the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in addition to the mysterious shelves of the lost bookshop of the title.
However, there were romantic relationships in all three narratives that quickly grew tiresome. All too often, romance bogs down a far more interesting plot and this was the case for me here. I also found it difficult to accept that both Opaline and Martha would be ready for romance without more breathing time after their respective prior experiences.
There are some significant elements of magical realism in the story - largely focussed around Martha for some inexplicable reason - and most of these were creative and absorbing, but never adequately explained.
At the end there were a number of loose narrative threads that were left unresolved and too many unanswered questions about the true identity of Mrs Bowden when I
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods will appeal to book lovers who enjoy historical fiction, magical realism and romance and who don't mind finding the meaning between the lines.
