Book: Time was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.
Author: Jeremy Mercer
Published: 2005
Publisher: Picador
Date Read: 27 November 2013
Format: Paperback
First Line: "It was a gray winter Sunday when I came to the bookstore."
Genre/Rating: Memoir, 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.81
Review: I purchased this memoir based upon a recommendation by Lesley of wordsofareader, whose tastes in books I greatly admire and can easily relate to. It has been on my shelf for quite some time and I am certainly glad I finally read it for it is one amazing read.
Going into the novel, based upon the title, I thought I would be reading a memoir of Sylvia Beach's bookstore , Shakespeare & Co., made famous by Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast; however, Time was Soft There is a memoir which explore yet another famous Parisian bookstore and the man, George Whitman, who made it famous.
This memoir was written by Jeremy Mercer, a Canadian journalist, who betrayed a source in print and had to flee the country in fear for his life. Mercer finds himself in Paris, with little money, no friends or family, and no where to live. In his dire circumstances, he is invited to tea at Shakespeare & Co. and meets the proprietor, George Whitman, who is a great friend and supporter of the world's castoffs, ragamuffins, misfits, and disenfranchised. Whitman learns Mercer is a writer and offers him a bed at Shakespeare and Co. for as long as he needs it. Mercer is quickly immersed within the three story bookstore and the community of other castoffs who call it home.
This memoir is a most enjoyable read and I highly recommend it to those who love books about books!
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