The Bookshop of Yesterdays

Meyerson, Amy. The Bookshop of Yesterdays. New York: Park Row 2018. Print

First Sentences:

The last time I saw my uncle, he bought me a dog

A golden retriever puppy with sad eyes and a heart-shaped note. I didn't have her long enough to give her a name. One moment she was running around my living room with the promise of many adventures together and the next she was gone.

It was the same way with Uncle Billy.

Description:

What's not to like about a story about books, a bookstore, and a mystery complete with clues hidden by a dead relative leading to who knows what? In Amy Meyerson's debut novel The Bookshop of Yesterdays, she gives us lucky readers all three in a clever, mixture, full of likable characters trying to find some semblance of order to everything. Throw in some complex relationships between family members and loves and you have a page-turning read good for pleasantly whiling away several hours immersed in a story that is hard to abandon.

Miranda, a book-lover who as a child, delighted in spending time in her Uncle Billy's bookstore, Prospero Books. He used to hide scavenger-hunt clues throughout the books in the store for Miranda to follow to some exotic treasure brought back by Billy from his world travels. When Billy dies and leave Prospero Books to Miranda, she plans a short visit to Los Angeles to check in on the bookshop's current condition. Soon, despite having little knowledge of running a business, Miranda finds herself immersed in the struggle to keep the bookstore afloat, postponing again and again the return to her home in the east. This requires juggling a relationship with her boyfriend on the other coast who wonders when she will return to their life ... if ever

But she discovers Billy has left a variety of literary clues again that lead her to information regarding his mysterious life, his travels, the bookstore, and the falling-out he had years ago with his sister (Miranda's mother) that lead to them not speaking or having contact for years. There is a family mystery that can only be unraveled through solving these newly-discovered literary clues. An understanding of Shakespeare's The Tempest is a particular key for Miranda who, of course, was named after the play's principle character.

It's an interesting mystery full of quirky characters who busily pursue a variety of avenues  wherever they might lead, but also keep closely guarded their own pathways that affect Miranda's life, her family, and the bookshop itself.

If nothing else, read Bookshop of Yesterdays for its challenging literary references that lead readers on a wild chase through the world of great books and authors. 

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Dunning, John. Booked to Die.   

Cliff Janeway, former cop and avid collector of rare books, opens a bookstore and finds himself involved in a murder case. As he begins to understand the world of quality and uniqueness of rare books, he also is drawn into the murder of a book scout who had provided Janeway with books. Wonderful to read descriptions of rare books, their marketability, and the trials of opening a bookstore while following the investigation in the crime. Highly recommended (previously reviewed here)