 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com SOAP::Data=HASH(0xb34d9dc) Average Customer Rating:  
Enjoyed this insider's look into Shakespeare and Co
| Customer Rating:  | Part memoir, part travel book, part character essay. Jeremy Mercer chronicles his months as a poor, unemployed bum living in Shakespeare & Co. in Paris under the charitable auspices of its mercurial owner George Whitman (no, not the grandson of Walt Whitman, thank you!) who befriends him. There Mercer meets a ragtag bunch of writers, some odd part-time staff and curious visitors who over time, become part of the story of that legendary bookshop. Things we take for granted are all part of Mercer's daily adventures as he scrounges for cheap food, clothes and a hot shower with hilarious results. He also shares his growing friendship with George, a lifelong Communist and Sunday pancake chef.
I may not be headed to Paris anytime soon, but I'm glad I read what is probably be the 'last firsthand account' of Shakespeare & Co. Funny and quitely moving, this is a great read and yes! a worthy addition to any library. |
Amazing bookstore, unappealing author.
| Customer Rating: | Jeremy Mercer's biographical description of Paris's Shakespeare & Company offers an amazing insight into the bookstore which accepts struggling travelers (who have a knack for writing... or at least try) by offering them a place to stay for as long as necessary (5 years for one visitor). But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this bookstore is its eccentric owner George Whitman, a man who regards money with disdain, sets fire to his hair in order to give it a trim, and decrees the bookstore's motto to be `Be kind to strangers, lest they're angels in disguise'.
Shakespeare & Company was originally a bookstore owned by Sylvia Beach, running from 1919 to 1941, attracting such literary heavyweights like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald. After being closed (with one rumor being that it was shut down when Ms Beach refused to sell the last copy of `Finnegan's Wake' to an occupying Nazi officer), a decade late George Whitman opened his own, similar bookstore in Paris under the name `Le Minstal'. It would eventually adopt the Shakespeare & Co. name, and would become renowned for its open door policy to visitors; its deep rooted communist ideals; its run-ins with the government; its cluttered yet enchanting makeup; and its undeniable charm and allure that has attracted so many thousands of visitors.
Into this world enters Jeremy Mercer, a Canadian crime-writer whose open honesty about his true character in the opening chapters immediately alienates the reader, who is likely to be somewhat put off by Mercer's admitted taste for the violence he witnesses whilst reporting. Mercer is by no means a dark and unlikable character, but his opening few chapters present him as such, with the added drawback of portraying him as an innocent young man wanting to get his hands dirty. Honestly, the reader has to struggle to persevere through this start (I not only found this, but so to did several people who also read it). But as the reader reads on about this charming bookstore and peculiar owner, Mercer finds his rhythm and is able to sustain the reader's interest.
From the moment of his discovery of the bookstore, Mercer reveals a world that seems utterly unbelievable at times. Whilst it may have appeared to be a cluttered, yet cult bookstore from the surface, the reality awaiting Mercer is one which at times appears to be sheer madness. From the employee toilet being surrounded by stacks of books (which unfortunately suffer from ungraceful sprayback), a resident locking himself in his room day and night to escape imminent eviction, to tea party's featuring guests more likely to come from a Roald Dahl fantasy, the bookstore constantly lives up to its famous and offbeat name. Ultimately the numerous misadventures and anecdotes serves to incite an intense desire on the reader's behalf to go and discover this world themselves, with the firsthand account of Shakespeare & Co. appearing almost unbelievable.
I give the book 3 stars yet this is more of a compromise. For its insight into the enchanting world of Shakespeare and Co., I would say it's 4/4.5 stars, yet for the tabloid style writing and the author's general appeal to the reader, I would say it's 1.5/2 stars. `Time Was Soft There' is however well worth the read, for it tells the tale of a bookstore inhabited by such an array of odd individuals that one can hardly believe that it is a memoir and not fiction. It makes quite easy reading (one can race through it fairly quickly), and once the hurdle of the introductory opening chapters is finished, you are able to enjoy the extraordinary tales of Shakespeare & Co., and its eccentric owner.
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Welcome to Bohemia
| Customer Rating: | | I happened on this book in an English-language bookstore in Paris during a recent trip (not Shakespeare & Co., if they had it, I didn't see it), and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect read for my journey. I've been to S & Co many times, but had no idea there was a whole down-the-rabbit-hole bohemian lifestyle associated with the place (complete with mad tea parties). Mercer's book brings that little world to life and leaves you thinking that bohemia sounds magical--but you just don't know if you could do without a daily shower. A must-read for lovers of Paris and books. |
Just okay
| Customer Rating: | | I was excited to get my teeth into this memoir but found it ultimately a little disappointing. There are some nice passages describing Whitman and his crazy personality, but I finished 'Time Was Soft There' with the feeling that Mercer had filled it out in order to have enough material for a book. Considering the literary culture of the shop, and the legacy of the authors that passed through it, there is something off-putting about this. |
Great character study of both Store and Store Proprietor
| Customer Rating: | I've had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare & Co. on my many visits to Paris in the last decade. George was always in place at the front desk, waiting (if you can call it that) on the store's patrons. He was delightful, if you were respectful of the books and the other people in the store.
But he could also exhibit a certain crankiness and excentricity. I once saw a young customer ask how much a particular book was, and George opened the book, saw no price tag anywhere, and answered, "oh, about 35 francs." The young man then looked aghast at that price (which was about 7 bucks at the time), and replied, "What?! That much?" To which George snatched the book out of this guy's hand and tossed it over his shoulder. He spat at the would-be customer, "Forget it. You can't have it. You don't deserve to read it." The guy was then unceremoniously shown the door.
This personal antedote pretty much sums up George and the bookstore planted on the lovely Left Bank of the Seine.
Jeremy Mercer captures much of the feeling and tone of Shakespere & Co. during that time, while also writing a lovely - yet unvarished - portrait of owner, George Whitman.
A good read, whether you've visited the Paris location or not. |
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