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A Novel Bookstore

by Laurence Cossé, Alison Anderson (Translator)

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 · rating details · 1,478 ratings · 408 reviews

Ivan, a one-time world traveler, and Francesca, a ravishing Italian heiress, are the owners of a bookstore that is anything but ordinary. Rebelling against the business of bestsellers and in search of an ideal place where their literary dreams can come true, Ivan and Francesca open a store where the passion for literature is given free reign. Tucked away in a corner of Par...more

Paperback, 424 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Europa Editions (first published January 1st 2009)

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Oct 13, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: french-francophone, books-about-books, 2010, reviewed

The main thing about being a book geek is that I'm predisposed to like books about books, about reading books, holding books, and finding books. It's almost cheating to write a book about a bookstore in which there are only good books. It's like offering free chocolate upon entering a store.

The conceit of this book is what gets me. I spent too much time thinking about what I would list if asked to come up with 600 good novels, which are defined here as different from good reads or even great nov...more The main thing about being a book geek is that I'm predisposed to like books about books, about reading books, holding books, and finding books. It's almost cheating to write a book about a bookstore in which there are only good books. It's like offering free chocolate upon entering a store.

The conceit of this book is what gets me. I spent too much time thinking about what I would list if asked to come up with 600 good novels, which are defined here as different from good reads or even great novels. That's what captivated me about this book. The love stories, the triangle, the thriller aspects, were all less interesting than the writing about reading. This is what I mean:

We want necessary books, books we can read the day after the funeral, when we have no tears left from all our crying, when we can hardly stand for the pain; books that will be there like loved ones when we have tidied a dead child's room and copied out her secret notes to have them with us, always[...].

We have no time to waste on insignificant books, hollow books, books that are there to please.

We have no time for those sloppy, hurried books[...].

We want books that are written for those of us who doubt everything, who cry over the least little thing, who are startled by the slightest noise.

We want books that cost their authors a great deal, books where you can feel the years of work, the backache, the writer's block, the author's panic at the thought that he might be lost: his discouragement, his courage, his anguish, his stubbornness, the risk of failure that he has taken.

How do you not love that? It's this part that I've been thinking about for days. What is a good novel? How would I define it? I keep coming back to some sort of guide when lost in the wilderness, not so much a path or a person but a compass. It points in the right direction but you find your own way. I don't want to be told or lead. I want to find my own way.

It can't be any book. It is never going to be the cheap romance or comfort-food fantasy novel. There is something else about certain novels that make them good novels, in this sense. I acknowledge a subjective criteria and I know what are not among them. They do not include books that have the word "evocative" on the back. Prizes received because it's the author's turn. Publishers who only speak in hyperbole. Reviewers who think more about what the author will say about them when reviewing their books than what I might want to know.

I agree with Cossé that those sources have become suspect (maybe they always have been). They are suspect because their purpose is to sell books. It is their primary purpose, sometimes their sole purpose. The purpose that seems to be lost is to recognize good writers and good books, finding a way to support them so that more can be produced. I want more of those books. Every time a reader is sold a bad book, or even a mediocre book, because someone was just out to make money, the reader dies a little. She becomes more reluctant to pick up another book. She looses some of her trust, her faith, in the power of the written word. Remember how we used to believe in that power? Now it's like believing in fairies; it gets harder all the time. The audience isn't clapping very loudly; Tinker Bell's days are numbered.

That's why goodreads is important to me. I need to know that the reviewer isn't out to sell the book. The review hasn't been crafted to a specific purpose. The critical reviews haven't been removed. I need to know about the person who wrote the review. I want to know about her reading experience. I want the tangential. I want to see where the book points him. I want to know what path he takes with the book. I want to know about the relationship with the book or the topic, even if it seems unrelated sometimes.

I may not know the specific experience the reviewer writes about, but I know the emotion. I know that feeling the reviewer writes about, I hope. That is what tells me something about the book and whether or not I should look at it. Even if I don't "like" it; I can see the value of the book. It may be the only thing that will give me some hint if that one is a good novel.

I trust the reviewers here, even the ones I disagree with, because they write out of love. I trust them to be honest and I hope they also do it creatively, cleverly, wittily, openly. Anything that stifles that hurts me. It kills fairies.

I can say that The Novel Bookstore is a good novel, despite the flaws, because it makes me think about what reading means to me, what novels mean to me, what writing means to me. It gives me a view into what a good novel might be. It reminds me of their importance in my life. It makes me think about what it's like to read a good novel because another goodreader who I love and trust found the book important, moving, funny, dark, clever, ironic, well-written, compelling, or somehow a special experience. It bolsters what little faith I have left. Please don't let that change. (less)

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Aug 30, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-books-about-books, distant-lands

this is a novel that is ideal for those of us who can lose ourselves for hours in a bookstore. any bookstore; whether it be a giant chain box store, or a dusty used-bookstore. this is a book for people for whom coming across a book that is just perfect for your mood or place in your life can be the highlight of your week.

this is a book for me.

imagine coming across a bookstore that only carried "good books." now, this assessment is of course fraught with problems, "what makes a good book??", and...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Publisher Says: Ivan, a one-time world traveler, and Francesca, a ravishing Italian heiress, are the owners of a bookstore that is anything but ordinary. Rebelling against the business of bestsellers and in search of an ideal place where their literary dreams can come true, Ivan and Francesca open a store where the passion for literature is given free reign. Tucked away in a corner of Paris, the store offers its clientele a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee...more The Publisher Says: Ivan, a one-time world traveler, and Francesca, a ravishing Italian heiress, are the owners of a bookstore that is anything but ordinary. Rebelling against the business of bestsellers and in search of an ideal place where their literary dreams can come true, Ivan and Francesca open a store where the passion for literature is given free reign. Tucked away in a corner of Paris, the store offers its clientele a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee of likeminded literary connoisseurs. To their amazement, after only a few months, the little dream store proves a success. And that is precisely when their troubles begin. At first, both owners shrug off the anonymous threats that come their way and the venomous comments concerning their store circulating on the Internet, but when three members of the supposedly secret committee are attacked, they decide to call the police. One by one, the pieces of this puzzle fall ominously into place, as it becomes increasingly evident that Ivan and Francesca’s dreams will be answered with pettiness, envy and violence.

My Review: Well, okay, see, this is a French novel, and it's really, really hard for a Murrikin like me to disentangle what French novels are about, like what the author set out to do, because the French don't really have the same rules we Murrikins do for novel-writing. It seems to be about two people, a rich, smart woman and a poor, smart man, who sorta kinda fall in love in a way and yet they don't because she's married to a major Philistine a-hole and he's in love, for some unfathomable reason, with this dreary little chickie half his age who seems drippy, useless, and uninteresting to *me* and, I suspect, to the rich lady too. So the rich lady does what rich people do best and unbelts with a big pile of gelt for the poor-but-smart dude to start this bookstore that will sell only novels, and only the best, the finest, the most ut of the lit'ry output of the planet, chosen by eight of the best (French) writers now writing. Hijinks ensue, which are frankly completely incredible (in its literal sense), but are lots of fun. What this book is *not* is any species of thriller or mystery; it's a French novel. That's what it is. No more, no less, no different. So, in the end, the Philistine husband and the poor-but-smart dude part ways but the store must go on, and the book's narrator is revealed, though I have to say it's not a huge surprise, though I think it's intended that way. The end, happily ever after but sadder and wiser.

I gave the book a generous 4.1 stars because it's one of those books that, while reading, goes wildly up and down the star scale; but in the end, cover closed, glasses chewed upon, assumes a different shape than the one that the reading process creates.

I'd recommend this book to all and sundry if only because of this passage, beautifully translated by the very talented Alison Anderson, on page 150 of the Europa edition:

Literature is a source of pleasure...it is one of the rare inexhaustible joys in life, but it's not only that. It must not be dissociated from reality. Everything is there. That is why I never use the word fiction. Every subtlety in life is material for a book....Have you noticed...that I'm talking about novels? Novels don't contain only exceptional situations, life or death choices, or major ordeals; there are also everyday difficulties, temptations, ordinary disappointments; and, in response, every human attitude, every type of behavior, from the finest to the most wretched. There are books where, as you read, you wonder: What would I have done? It's a question you have to ask yourself. Listen carefully: it is a way to learn to live. There are grown-ups who will say no, literature is not life, that novels teach you nothing. They are wrong. Literature informs, instructs, it prepares you for life.

If that passage rings you like the bell you wondered if you might be, then this book will speak to you and shape you a bit differently than you were before; if it seems tediously long, avoid this book like it's got herpes, because you'll hate it.

*gooonnnggg* goes my spirit.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.(less)

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Jun 14, 2011 Greg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-books, fiction, europa, girls-girls-girls

First things first, thank you so much, Elizabeth, for this book!

I loved this book, and it wasn't just because I saw a little bit of Karen and myself and the ways we try to promote 'good' books over the onslaught of 'not-so-good' books. Of course we work in an evil corporate bookstore, but along with others at our particular evil corporate bookstore I think we do a fairly good job at fighting the good fight, so to speak. Elizabeth already wrote an excellent review for this book, and it has the q...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kelly by: Elizabeth

Shelves: 21st-century, bibliophilia, fiction, tres-francais, europa-editions, owned, grande-dames

I would like to say before I begin this review that I am a liar. Those five stars above are in many ways undeserved. They are certainly not given for any objective literary merit. They are not given for superior plotting (darlings, you thought I was that blind?) or suspense, for consistently admirable positions- whether political or otherwise (there is a reason that all the blurbs on the back of this book are taken from French newspapers that are standard bearers for the political right), for a...more

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May 31, 2011 Garnette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Gripped with excitement for the first half, then dismayed by change of plot direction. However, I DO see that the author had no where else to go but to increase the tension after the blissful first half. Planning, designing, gathering, publicizing, inviting readers, finally launching even a gorgeous Parisian bookstore does not a book make. Except maybe to me and other aficionadas of the independent bookstore. So plot must take its place. I suppose. Still I read on, delighting in the writing, the...more

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Apr 05, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

Broke genius literateur Ivan and exquisitely beautiful and rich heiress Francesca decide to open a bookshop in Paris that will go completely against the grain of a French literary scene dominated by the Gallic corporate equivalents of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Called Au Bon Roman (the original and much better French title of this book; approx. "The Good Novel"), this store has a stock that eschews all the fifteen-minutes-in-the-limelight bestsellers du jour, focusing instead entirely on nov...more

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Nov 02, 2010 Djinnjer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: booksellers

Shelves: 2010, translated, fiction, reviewed

A beautifully written book by an author who clearly loves words, literature and bookstores. One of those books that I wanted to quote incessantly at people. One of those books that made me want to read every book mentioned within it.

Why not five stars?

Well, that's all tied up with the ending. So, spoilers ahead.

I feel as though I ought to be bothered that the mystery hook which lured me into the novel is solved but unresolved, or perhaps resolved but unsolved. Though to tell the truth, by the ti...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Lisetta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Terminato il romanzo, subito mi sono posta una domanda:

Ma questo libro dove andrebbe inserito, tra i libri di qualit��, o tra le novit�� editoriali che andrebbero snobbate, finch�� non sar�� il tempo a decretarne il successo?Ma perch�� i classici sono tali solo per il successo e le vendite che hanno ottenuto nel tempo?

La scrittrice furbescamente ha voluto provocare, ben consapevole delle polemiche che sarebbero sorte intorno alla oramai storica diatriba tra qualit�� e quantit��. Fa leva sul lett...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Elderberrywine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

Now that was something completely different. An odd pair of partners (wealthy industrialist's wife, still heartsick over the death of her daughter, and a rambling booklover of no means at all) conjure up a book store to be called the Good Novel. It will only sell fiction of the highest quality, and that selection process, involving various writers who select their picks in the greatest of secrecy from the public and each other, is given a great deal of attention and many, many pages. Alas, once...more

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Apr 03, 2012 David Hebblethwaite rated it 3 of 5 stars

A Novel Bookstore is the ninth novel by French writer Laurence Cossé (the translaltion is by Alison Anderson); one of the launch titles for the UK imprint of Europa Editions; and a celebration of literature. Ivan Georg is a bookseller who has reached his forties mostly drifting through life; but that all changes when he meets Francesca Aldo-Valbelli, a fellow-lover of literature, with the wealth to turn a vision into reality – and the particular vision which the pair has is a bookstore which wil...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Triciareader added it

I love Europa editions. I had to buy this book because I loved it so much - I want to go through the book and make a list of the books which they recommend and start reading them. There are two pages mid-book that I want to see as a poster ... a manifesto for good books, not merely what is popular.

"For as long as literature has existed, suffering, joy, horror, grace, and everything that is great in humankind has produced great novels. These exceptional books are often not very well-known, and...more

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Apr 26, 2011 Erincolleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-book-club

A novel every novel lover needs to read.

The genius of this book lies in the structure. A Novel Bookstore starts out with a bang as we witness several mysterious crimes perpetrated against an even more mysterious cast of charaters. The first third or so reads like the run-of-the-mill thrillers our heroes eschew, with anonymous menacing thugs and hints of a secret society or conspiracy peeking out from behind the curtain.

The action slows down considerably, however, in the remainder of the novel,...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Paula rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well,now, what to say about this literary non thriller set in Paris. Let's see, it has a terrific opening that led me to believe it would be a mystery about books and book lovers. But that hope was dashed when the owners begin telling the tale of the Novel Bookstore to the police. Convoluted to say the least and really not all that riveting, but I was charmed by the idea of a bookstore devoted only to great literature. The problem being, of course, who is to decide what constitutes great. The ow...more

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Dec 05, 2010 Lyndsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though the idea that anyone can decide what is a "good" book is a difficult premise to support, I think most book lovers understand and possibly support the concept (If being discerning makes me an elitist then sign me up! I'm not hurting anyone but myself). As much fun as it is to read the latest bestseller, we know in the back of our heads that it is candy for the brain- not food for the soul. Hey, I've read Twilight just like everyone else. It didn't change my life. But it did make vacation w...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Dee rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really felt hampered reading this book because I know so little about French literature -- especially current stuff.

The idea of a bookstore that sifts its holdings so that only "good" stuff is sold is interesting, and lovely. The picture of the customers standing for hours reading -- "lost" in the novel is one that I cherish.

The plot seemed somewhat odd --- maybe because I am unfamiliar with the constructs of French novels. The three selectors whose attacks start off the book are truely wierd...more I really felt hampered reading this book because I know so little about French literature -- especially current stuff.

The idea of a bookstore that sifts its holdings so that only "good" stuff is sold is interesting, and lovely. The picture of the customers standing for hours reading -- "lost" in the novel is one that I cherish.

The plot seemed somewhat odd --- maybe because I am unfamiliar with the constructs of French novels. The three selectors whose attacks start off the book are truely wierd --- for a murder mystery reader they seemed tame. It wasn't until I got much farther into this convoluted telling of the story, that their menace made sense. The "attackers" who are never given a solid persona, want to scare foo the selectors and the owners of the "Good Novel" bookstore.

The gradual meance that spreads throughout the story is pretty good, but its confused with the double plots of the owner, Francesca, a trust-baby (who actually earned her money from publishing her father's papers) who's married to a mysterious and threatening publishing tycoom Dourlement --- prsumably a loveless marraige -- he has lots of outside sexual interests. The second plot, concerning the "hopeless love of the manager of the bookstore, Ivan, for Anis, the frightened, young woman, who is desparately afaid of intimacy. (Turns out she has been repeatedly sexually abused by an older step father and cannot prevent PTSD like symptoms from flooding her encounters with Ivan.) At the end of the book a first-person narrator, who takes up thestory in part two is identified as Anis. She speaks of herself in the third person during the narration of the story, which is very confusing and is it necessary?
The major flaw is that the villian(s) are not identified except as a name(s). Very unsatisfactory, as no emotional reaction is possible. No part of the plot is given to the villians, as to reason, or their emotions, or ? So, the book feels unidimensional, and unfinished. Francesca dies, Dourlement takes over the book store, insists that F."s "Loans" be repaid, then, finally sells the space. Ivan and Anis end up at another space, continuing the "good fight."

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Nov 04, 2010 Nancy added it

This book really hooked me. It is not particularly well constucted and the characters are not drawn with depth, but the detailed description of starting up a bookstore in Paris really drew me in. When I followed the invitation on the last page to "join the conversation" by visiting the Web site, on first perusal I thought the bookstore must be a real place and that I was meeting the book characters who came up with the idea for this marvelous place. The feeling was thrilling, sort of like being...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars

So far, I've been impressed by the books I've read from Europa Books (The Elegance of the Hedgehog is just one that pops to mind). Cosse's novel was satisfying on a number of levels: as a frame for a tangle of human romances; as a delicious romance for any book- or bookstore-lover; as an intriguing "whodunnit" in the murder of said bookstore; and as a breezy compilation of fairly recent French literature. The central relationship between Ivan and Francesca was compelling, guarded, a dance around...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Cascata Nerina rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Book Lovers

Recommended to Cascata by: Mom saw it and showed me the title while in D.C.

Shelves: my-600, utopia, literary-fiction, mystery

This book is not light reading. However, it is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Especially outside of genre novels (which I read a lot of). The plot is twisty and complicated with several threads moving together. Many of which do not resolve until the end. Another thing that makes it hard to read is that it is written in first person, but the narrator is never directly identified and my only be deduced very near the end of the book.

During my reading of this book I compared it to...more This book is not light reading. However, it is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Especially outside of genre novels (which I read a lot of). The plot is twisty and complicated with several threads moving together. Many of which do not resolve until the end. Another thing that makes it hard to read is that it is written in first person, but the narrator is never directly identified and my only be deduced very near the end of the book.

During my reading of this book I compared it to both "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Callahan's Chronicals" for different reasons. The philosophy and the problems presented by the mob in the book are very like what both groups have and have to fight in the other novels. Indeed "The Good Novel" deserves a place on the same street as Callahan's Place (and it's replacements), Lady Sally's and the Institute for Martian Language and Philosophy (I refuse to call it a church).

But that's enough diversion. "A Novel Bookstore" was originally written in French and then translated into English; and, true to it's literary ideals, the titles of many of the books in the novel are not given in English. Those most especially of the ones that originated in French. I could translate or make a good guess at many of the titles, and those who took the language in school could probably guess even more. However, I did not recognize any but the most famous of the novels they mentioned.

Which is part of the philosophy of The Good Novel - to revive good, but forgotten, novels. So, at least in French it succeeds in its goals. Or so I am forced to assume, because just like after a certain black and red novel containing several sparkling persons revived the novel Wuthering Heights by Bronte. In France this one probably prompted several avid book lovers to head out into the night and buy the novels listed in the story.

The book flap bills itself as a mystery, and in some small way it is. There is the mystery of who attacked the three persons listed inside the front book flap. However, the attacked, the attackers, nor even the detective who investigates is the main character. The main character is really The Good Novel, for it is the story of this most unusual bookstore which calls on the populace to put down books not worth reading and read that which is.

Here I am on two sides of the fence. Because when I am in school, or working full time I have very little time for serious reading. I wouldn't have read this, for instance, if I was still on the Cliff, or if I was teaching English in Korea. The heavy novels I do read tend to grow to be my favorites. On the other side of the fence is all the fluff - the pop novels that are pushed by the publishers; the romances so numerous one could build a city of them. These I devour by the dozens, and in an average week I can read one a day (assuming I'm reading and not writing); but they are not great works of thought, they are meant to be read for pleasure. These are the very books most often excluded in The Good Novel; but they are usually what start people reading in the first place. For an average joe or jane to pick up something heavy like A Novel Bookstore, or Stranger in a Strange Land, or something so genre as Callahan's Chronicals (or indeed a thousand other books that fit into either or both categories), for them to pick it up, read it, and enjoy it would be most unusual. However, if they go on an airplane ride with a single book of fluff, and it opens a world of reading to them. They may read fluff for years before they read something heavy. But when they do, they will have read it at least. Probably, if they chose wisely, they will have enjoyed it too. Thus, someone that would never have read the "Good Novels" which are available at The Good Novel, would come to read. So there is a place in the world for both "Good Novels" (however one defines it beyond the blockbuster and the fluffy bits of nothing novels found in Walmarts around the world) and those very same Blockbuster and Fluffy pieces.

A Novel Bookstore is not for someone who's just starting out reading, but if you have a love of books. If you've stayed at a book store until closing. If you've resisted buying an eReader because you love the feel of the paper and the smell of the ink or if you've given in because otherwise you just can't keep your library in hand then you should at least try A Novel Bookstore.

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Aug 04, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paris

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Reviews on Goodreads talked about how perfect this was for people who love both books and reading about books -- qualifications I have in spades -- but I wasn't enchanted. There are some beautiful quotes and soundbites, but this ended up being too long and lacked an interesting mystery. (And the end was a total letdown!)

Ivan, an itinerant bookseller, and Francesca, a wealthy heiress, join forces to create The Good Novel: a bookstore that includ...more I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Reviews on Goodreads talked about how perfect this was for people who love both books and reading about books -- qualifications I have in spades -- but I wasn't enchanted. There are some beautiful quotes and soundbites, but this ended up being too long and lacked an interesting mystery. (And the end was a total letdown!)

Ivan, an itinerant bookseller, and Francesca, a wealthy heiress, join forces to create The Good Novel: a bookstore that includes only good books. The novels are chosen by a small committee of authors, whose identities are purposefully kept secret. The Good Novel doesn't stock newer novels, since Cossé's characters believe that most publishing houses are only interested in selling whatever "trash" they can get onto the market, and that literary prizes are corrupt, determined mainly by politics. As the story continues, various shadowy figures and organizations threaten The Good Novel's survival. Ivan and Francesca go to the police for help, and the mystery progresses from there.

Unfortunately, the mystery here isn't all that interesting. Most of the backstory revolves around Ivan and Francesca's zeal for creating the perfect collection. They shroud the committee in secrecy, going to some truly absurd levels to keep it a mystery. (I rolled my eyes a little at some of their procedures. Was it so absolutely necessary to commit names to memory and assign code names, for example?) Their preparations and The Good Novel's story is fun to read, but it all rolls to a slow stop without anything actually happening once the police are on the case. There are a few love stories intertwined with the plot. Ivan becomes involved with an exceptionally boring university student, Anis, who I could never quite like. The relationship between Francesca and her husband is interesting, but it becomes increasingly simplified as the book continues.

Another reviewer pointed out that she couldn't really judge the books included because she doesn't know much about contemporary French literature. I would agree with that; I wish I knew more about Christian Gailly, or Noëlle Revaz, so that I could get a sense of what these characters believe are "good" novels. I'm now interested in reading several older books mentioned. On the other hand, I have no idea if this book is less or more pretentious that it seems. I have no problem with curated collections of literature, especially if "literature" transcends genre lines and can include some popular fiction. But it's difficult to know if Cossé is actually talking about "good" books or about some ideal of literature that includes mostly classics. There's a level of snobbery in the book that's hard to take, especially since Ivan and Francesca are so obsessed with secrecy.

I did enjoy reading this, but it felt overblown. If there had been a satisfying conclusion to the mystery, or perhaps more compelling reasons why The Good Novel needed the layers of secrecy, I might have enjoyed this more. I love books! Just not this one.(less)

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Dec 16, 2011 Amari rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 02, 2011 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: france

I had been waiting impatiently to be able to read this book. I think the concept is fantastic: have you never dreamed of the perfect bookstore, where you would only be able to find GOOD novels, and not the junk not worth wasting your time reading? The idea is so good that some people thought this store DID exist for sure; a friend even went to an address in Paris, given on the website connected to the book, only to find out it was a shop selling Afghan jewellery! How funny!
I was hooked from the...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: plus-11-in-11

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 04, 2012 Dee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery, philosophy, lifestyle

What an interesting book. Well written about Novels...the popular mass market ones and the old classics and everything in between. Takes place in France. The more French you understand, the better you will like this book. I read it because another book by this author was recommended, but I couldn't find that one. In line with the story..I guess I'm not as much of an afficianado of literature as I would like to think I am. I've read a lot in my life and continue to do so. I read many different ge...more

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May 27, 2011 Fionnuala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A bookshop with space to linger and permission to read as much as you like.
A bookshop where the latest prize winners aren’t automatically promoted.
A book shop where you won’t come across stacks and stacks of current blockbusters.
A bookshop full of good novels you already know and many more waiting to be discoverd.
Such is the uncomplicated dream of this novel’s main characters when they decide to open Au Bon Roman on rue Duypuytrin in the centre of Paris. But who should decide what is good? A...more

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Apr 20, 2011 marg rated it 4 of 5 stars

For a very long time now I have fantasized about opening up a bookstore - not a bookopolis ala B&N, or a cozy used bookstore per se, as much as one that instead of sporting categories such as fiction, non fiction, etc, mine would have 'I really loved this and everyone must read it,' 'this is really dark but so worth reading,' 'I couldn't finish this but everyone else seems to like it' shelves. In essence it would be the living breathing physical version of my goodreads list.
I think that most...more For a very long time now I have fantasized about opening up a bookstore - not a bookopolis ala B&N, or a cozy used bookstore per se, as much as one that instead of sporting categories such as fiction, non fiction, etc, mine would have 'I really loved this and everyone must read it,' 'this is really dark but so worth reading,' 'I couldn't finish this but everyone else seems to like it' shelves. In essence it would be the living breathing physical version of my goodreads list.
I think that most people who love reading have such fantasies, because we know what it is to walk into a bookstore and need help, far more help than the formal labels of mystery and historical fiction can ever give. I want an average star rating, I want Amazon comments, I want to know what to read and what won't waste my time and money.
For this reason, A Novel Bookstore was bound to steal my heart for the premise alone- a bookstore that is built upon a desire to have only truly good reads in the bookstore.
This highly appealing concept prompts a world of issues, inevitably, as what determines a truly good book? The store at first takes Paris by storm - but soon enough people resent the elitism, the snobbery, and the insult that comes with selection. Things turn ugly as the top secret selection committee is hunted down and, person by person, stalked and attacked so as to settle the score of such prejudice.
I don't do mystery, but this was no cliched whodunnit with you guessing all the suspects and finding there to be little merit to the storyline otherwise. Rather, this is a love letter to literature, and then (raising it from three stars to four for me, more on that later) the novel transcends even this and serves as a fascinating metaphor of the general question of capitalism versus communism - is there a place for mediocre literature, is there an inherent problem in having standards, will a store like this reenergize the publishing world by encouraging people to be placed in such a store or does it insult the variety that literature offers by being an array of flavors and even quality?
The novel itself, by being translated and taking place in Paris is at times stilted and, yes, pretentious - but who can blame the book for that? Paris would not be Paris without its pretentious charm, and a book about snubbing books can be no other way as well (and as an unabashed book snob, I can only applaud its stance). Indeed, the novel, through its characters, shows the reverse snobbery that occurs as well as people grapple with have and have nots, quality and sub par and who can be the judge.
I love books about books, and I love the idea, fantastical though it may be, that such a store could exist and thrive. A business built purely on ideals, while making the story wholly unrealistic, is certainly refreshing to read about, and for anyone who feels not much good has come since the early 1900s where literature is concerned, this is certainly a validating read.
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Oct 15, 2012 Yvann S rated it 3 of 5 stars

“We want splendid books ... books that prove to us that love is at work in the world next to evil, right up against it, at times indistinctly, and that it always will be ...”

Francesca and Ivan are kindred spirits in search of their perfect bookstore, where Danielle Steel and Dan Brown are nowhere to be seen. Instead, they arrange for eight of France's eminent authors to submit lists of the very best books, and thus a bookstore is born. When it's too successful for their enemies' liking, however,...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Khaya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Khaya by: marg

Shelves: mysteriesthrillers, should-ve-been-shorter

What do French novels and Seinfeld have in common?

Well, if I got your attention with that question, my first answer is a disclaimer -- I have limited exposure to both and probably shouldn't be making judgments. But I won't let that stop me from offering my second answer, which is that both seem to create a great deal of drama around a nothing premise.

Maybe "nothing premise" isn't really fair or accurate. There was a premise here. "A Novel Bookstore" is yet another addition to the books-are-aweso...more What do French novels and Seinfeld have in common?

Well, if I got your attention with that question, my first answer is a disclaimer -- I have limited exposure to both and probably shouldn't be making judgments. But I won't let that stop me from offering my second answer, which is that both seem to create a great deal of drama around a nothing premise.

Maybe "nothing premise" isn't really fair or accurate. There was a premise here. "A Novel Bookstore" is yet another addition to the books-are-awesome-and-change-lives genre. (As a little aside, I must once again reference Daniel's review where he asks why books feel this constant need to justify their existence, particularly when they're clearly preaching to the choir -- if you're choosing to spend your limited leisure time reading this book, you probably already think books are pretty awesome.)

Having said that, this is arguably one of the better examples of this genre. A wealthy heiress and off-the-beaten-path bookseller collaborate to open a bookstore which is clearly meant to shove it in the face of all those mega-bookstores out there -- instead of a large multi-story complex, this small bookstore is highly selective and only includes "good novels" -- those nominated by a secret committee of high-brow authors.

And here's the rub -- the members of the committee are top secret! Oh, if this gets out! Whatever shall we do? Well, maybe I just don't get French culture but I couldn't understand why Renee, the concierge in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, was so desperate to hide her literary interests and here too, the need for absolute secrecy wasn't at all clear to me. But it created drama, so I guess we'll just have to accept it.

What was even more dramatic was the reaction to this bookstore's initial wild success. Oh, the anger. Oh, the wrath. Again, maybe I just don't get France. Isn't it a free country? Can't anyone open whatever kind of bookstore they want to, selective, mass-market, whatever? Can't people simply vote with their feet if they don't like the bookstore? Why all this intensity?

But what starts as internet flaming eventually culminates on physical attacks on a few of the secret committee members (gasp! How did the secret ever get out?), and now there's a mystery to be solved about who engineered this. There's also a love story which was pretty unimpressive. I hate to say it, but it's kind of ironic when a novel glorifying good novels doesn't manage to be one.

Okay. I'm being a little harsh here. It kept me reading until the end, and I was in fact charmed by the fantasy of a selective bookstore stocked with only good novels (although I have to add here that in my experience, authors actually aren't always the best sources of book recommendations. I wasn't crazy about many of the book's on Stephen King's must-read list, and I also haven't been thrilled with a lot of other author's recommendations). And I think some of my distance could be attributed to the not-particularly-eloquent translation, for which I can't blame the author or the book.

So I'll give this three stars because it had its redeeming features, and probably most goodreaders would appreciate the fantasy of a store which is kind of like goodreads in real time. (less)

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Meredith I tried to read this several months back, but my heart just wasn't in it. I generally love Europa Edition books and tend to gravitate toward them when...more
Mar 16, 2012 07:30am

Khaya Yay! I love good comments discussions! Thanks so much for weighing in, guys, and especially for being polite about it. I'll try to offer some response...more
Mar 16, 2012 07:42am

May 08, 2013 Jose Vera rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este libro es especial pues está escrito para aquellos a los que realmente les gusta leer; para a los que les gusta pasar horas en una librería buscando una novela, para aquellos que odian los libros que se venden y producen como si fueran autos.

Con una prosa muy cuidada, clara y detallista, Laurence Cossé nos mete en esta historia de misterio muy particular; todo inicia con la desaparición de Paul Néon a quien vemos correr por un bosque otoñal, perseguido por algo más que los demonios que surge...more Este libro es especial pues está escrito para aquellos a los que realmente les gusta leer; para a los que les gusta pasar horas en una librería buscando una novela, para aquellos que odian los libros que se venden y producen como si fueran autos.

Con una prosa muy cuidada, clara y detallista, Laurence Cossé nos mete en esta historia de misterio muy particular; todo inicia con la desaparición de Paul Néon a quien vemos correr por un bosque otoñal, perseguido por algo más que los demonios que surgen por el alcohol. Este comienzo nos embarca en una historia fantástica por su argumento, envidiable por aquellos a los que nos apasiona la lectura (la buena lectura, no esas cosas como “Crepúsculo”) y, estoy seguro, ha dado con el sueño que más de uno de nosotros ha tenido: el de poner una librería. Pero una buena librería, con buenas novelas.

Mezclado con una historia de misterio, vemos como Iván Georg y Francesca Aldo-Valbelli se conocen en una pequeña pero selectiva librería que regenta el propio Iván. Gracias a este encuentro, ambos empiezan a soñar y proyectar lo que sería su librería ideal, una librería con buenas novelas.

Así nace la “La Buena Novela”, un remanso de cultura y buenos libros en el frenético París de hoy día. Un sitio en donde gracias a un comité secreto lo único que se va a encontrar ahí son novelas, y buenas. Nada de novedades a menos que sea de una calidad literaria inigualable.

Esta sola librería causa un revuelo en el mundo editorial francés. Es una librería diferente. Sus clientes son especiales (somos nosotros, nos reconocemos en las actitudes, en los deseos, en las lecturas), su selección de libros, impecable, el personal que trabaja ahí (desde el barrendero hasta el gerente) son apasionados lectores; un lugar en donde un verdadero lector puede elegir una buena lectura.

El inicio de esta aventura no podía ser mejor, la librería es un rotundo éxito, las ventas están en aumento, los clientes son fieles y defienden la especialización de esta libreria con fervor.

Pero todo éxito genera envidias. ¿por qué sólo buenas novelas?, ¿quienes son ellos para decidir que es buena o mala lectura?. De esa manera esta pequeña librería se ve atacada frontal y ferozmente por una serie de detractores cada cual con mayor o menor influencia.

El desarrollo de la trama de esta puesta en marcha de un sueño y la siguiente conspiración para destruirlo esta bellamente entremezclado, con una (o dos) historias de amor.la formación del proyecto, la ejecución y defensa posterior del mismo es el eje en donde de manera paulatina, se desarrolla este amorío entre un hombre acostumbrado a la soledad y una mujer que no cree en si.

"La buena novela" es un libro que cualquier adicto a la lectura debe leer, no una si no dos veces. La primera para disfrutarlo y la segunda para anotar todos aquellos buenos libros y autores que se mencionan.(less)

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Mar 05, 2013 Plamen Miltenoff added it

P83 by definition confusion is beneficial to mediocraty
P 143 the perfect elegance
I mean elegance in the broadest sense-intellectual, moral, physical, elegance in one’s relations with other people… I was sixteen years old when I heard a quote on the radio by the painter Martini, a quote that left its mark on me for life. Simone Martini said that his aim was to attain the “perfect elegance”-or was it the commentator who said that Martini was aiming for ‘perfect elegance’? Either way, the two words...more

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About Laurence Cossé

She was first a journalist in the French newspaper Le Quotidien de Paris and then at the French public radio France Culture. Most of her novels have been published by the French publishing house Gallimard.

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Quotes from A Novel Bookstore

“Literature is a source of pleasure, he said, it is one of the rare inexhaustible joys in life, but it's not only that. It must not be disassociated from reality. Everything is there. That is why I never use the word fiction. Every subtlety in life is material for a book. He insisted on the fact. Have you noticed, he'd say, that I'm talking about novels? Novels don't contain only exceptional situations, life or death choices, or major ordeals; there are also everyday difficulties, temptations, ordinary disappointments; and, in response, every human attitude, every type of behavior, from the finest to the most wretched. There are books where, as you read, you wonder: What would I have done? It's a question you have to ask yourself. Listen carefully: it is a way to learn to live. There are grown-ups who would say no, that literature is not life, that novels teach you nothing. They are wrong. Literature performs, instructs, it prepares you for life.” — 10 people liked it

“We have no time to waste on insignificant books, hollow books, books that are there to please...

We want books that cost their authors a great deal, books where you can feel the years of work, the backache, the writer's block, the author's panic at the thought that he might be lost: his discouragement, his courage, his anguish, his stubbornness, the risk of failure that he has taken.” — 5 people liked it

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