May 15, 2023
George offers an appealing companion piece to The Little Paris Bookshop, featuring a bookseller in the South of France with a magical ability. Marie-Jeanne Claudel, an orphan, is adopted as an infant in 1958 by Elsa Malbec and Francis Meurienne, a middle-aged couple in Nyons. At nine, Marie-Jeanne notices a glow on her friends Loulou and Luca and realizes it’s because they love each other, though they’re oblivious and constantly bicker. Then, over Elsa’s objections, after Marie-Jeanne turns 10, she helps Francis launch the Philis Mobile Library, delivering books throughout the week to nearby towns. George then fast-forwards to the 1980s, with Marie-Jeanne running her own bookstore, Lumières du Sud, a few hours from Nyons, which becomes a place where people meet and fall in love, thanks to a nudge from Marie-Jeanne. A parallel narrative follows Elsa and Francis, who finally discover passion after joining a book group together when Marie-Jeanne is a teen, and Loulou and Luca, now married, whose twin daughters also adore books. The prose is simplistic (young Marie-Jeanne initially finds Waiting for Godot “rude,” but eventually realizes, “books sometimes don’t say what they say but instead contain a hidden message”). Still, George convincingly portrays her characters’ emotions, particularly the lovesick Francis. The result is a bit more straightforward than the books Marie-Jeanne comes to love, but charming nonetheless. Agent: Cecile Barendsma, Cecile B. Literary.
Starred review from September 1, 2023
George (The Book of Dreams) brings to fruition the previously fictitious novel that inspired Monsieur Perdu's floating bookshop in her best-selling The Little Paris Bookshop. After being accidentally touched by Love as an infant, Marie-Jeanne gained the remarkable ability to see others' "southern lights," the streams of light that connect soulmates. Traveling the French countryside with her foster father and his mobile library, Marie-Jeanne watches him match people to books as she matches people to each other. Eventually, however, she realizes that the gift that allows her to see love in others may be keeping her from recognizing her own match. George's moving, magical relationship novel is full of pain and promise. Narrator Mary Jane Wells gives an enchanting performance with a wide range of accents and emotions; her presentation of the heartwarming narrative is not to be missed. Steve West is equally engaging in his brief prologue appearance, reprising his role from Bookshop. VERDICT Will appeal to listeners seeking an atmospheric, magical realism/relationship fiction mash-up. Recommended for fans of Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Rebecca Serle, and Sarah Jost.--Lauren Hackert
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