THE PARIS BOOKSELLER by Kerri Maher

I was half way through this book before I realized it is essentially an accurate and lengthy biography of Sylvia Beach and her English language bookshop. Beach and her Paris shop, “Shakespeare and Company”, hosted many of the writers and thinkers of the early half of the 20th century. She came to fame with her publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses when no one else would publish it. In fact, America had declared it pornography and prevented it from being published or sold in the US. The novel also covers her relationship with Adrienne Monnier and Monnier’s French language bookshop. Both women were sponsors of American, French and British writers. The novel is well researched and well written but gets bogged down in the details. Joyce, Ulysses, Hemingway and Pound by themselves along with Beach could have made a fascinating tale that moved more quickly and kept the reader’s interest from flagging. Still, the history alone makes the book worth reading. Personally, I could have done with a hundred fewer pages. 3 of 5 stars