The Lost Bookshop

The idea of lost is so prevalent in literature, but the way Evie Woods weaves this theme into the story of a bookshop with history as deep as the roots of a tree brought me to a place of childhood wonder. I loved the story told in parallel between our two main characters Opaline and Martha. To feel the sadness when they felt sad and to feel the joy when they were ecstatic was a journey I was happy to be on.

Though there were aspects of this story that brought me to a place of anger and upset, it was not with the literature, but with what the book said to us and showed us in the way women were treated in their pursuit of something bigger. To be bigger and better than their family name or the role assigned to them by their fathers or the men in their lives. This aspect of reaching and climbing to something grander than what we had or could have.

The three women who's lives we spend the book with are all relatable in their own ways and at different parts of their lives as we see their stories weave in and out of each other. One moment we are in Dublin in the past, chasing down rare books. The next, we are in Dublin in the future, solving the mystery of stories, The final, we are in Dublin, searching for the next person who would fill the void.

This book will live on, rent free, in my head for quite awhile and I am happy for it to do so.

The Lost Bookshop is my favorite book of 2023.

Martha searched for truth and healing in the present while Opaline searched for strength and direction in the past. Both women found more questions than answers in old bookstores and back alleys across Europe, while overshadowed by specters from their pasts.

The author wove Irish, English and French history together into a sparkling story with characters that I'd expect to meet living and breathing, here and now. A little magical realism was sprinkled across the second half, but I was so riveted by the mysterious breadcrumbs as the adventure picked up pace that I wasn't taken out of the story.

Martha and Opaline almost lost hold of their dreams and sanity as they weathered their own storms. Each found their footing in unexpected ways. The literary easter eggs also added to the richness of the characters and story.

What an exciting and fun read! I was actually sad when I finished this book.

Books with similar vibes: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid