Saturday 6 June 2020

The Printed Letter Bookshop

Finished June 3
The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

This gem of a book has been sitting for a bit waiting for a read, and I really enjoyed it. Madeline Cullen is a young lawyer in a high-powered Chicago practice, and gunning for a partnership position. As the book opens she is attending her aunt's funeral. Her aunt, Maddie, was someone she was close to when she was young, until a rift opened between her aunt and her father, and she was forced to choose sides. After the hedge fund crash, she dealt with attitude from kids at school due to her father's role as a fund manager and she chose to go to school in Chicago to escape that and find her own life. This brought her near her aunt again, yet she seldom visited, still reluctant to break with her father's side. This means that she now regrets not talking the time to get to know her aunt better while it was still possible.
When, a couple of days after the funeral, her aunt's lawyer informs her that she is the heir, she struggles with what to do, and how to balance what is happening in her own life. As she takes the time to get to know the store and the two employees Janet and Claire, she learns about her aunt through them, and discovers new friends in the process. She also learns other things about herself as well.
This book follows Madeline, Claire, and Janet through their own voices in the same situations and we see how each woman regards the same events.
It is a sort of coming-of-age book for Madeline, but Claire and Janet also learn important things about themselves that moves each of them forward to a better future.
There is also a booklist that has a place in the story, and I always like a good booklist.
I really enjoyed this read.

1 comment: