Book Review: The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

The Printed Letter Bookshop. Katherine Reay. Thomas Nelson (2019). 324 pages.  Genre: Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Women's Fiction.

First Lines:  "People parted around us in the courtyard.  No one stopped to say anything - why would they? No one had ever seen us before."

Summary:  Madeline Cullen is a rising lawyer in the Chicago area.  She anticipates being made a partner very soon.  However, the firm has different ideas.  When the partner position is given to a man at the firm, Madeline hands in her resignation.  She immediately has doubts, but realizes you only get one shot at becoming partner.  She has no plans for what to do next.

Her aunt recently passed away.  She attended the funeral with her parents.  Madeline has wonderful memories of spending time with her aunt and uncle when she was young.  However, there was a disagreement between her dad and aunt which led to the families not spending time together.  Madeline was loyal to her dad, but her own memories of her aunt are different than the aunt her dad seems to be portraying.  When Madeline receives a phone call from her aunt's lawyer letting her know that her aunt's house and bookshop have been left to her, she is stunned.  She doesn't want it.  She is a lawyer who lives in the city, not a bookshop owner.  

Madeline has no choice but to go visit the bookshop and the house to figure out what needs to be done to get them ready to sell.  However, she immediately feels at home in her aunt's house and is drawn to the bookshop.  The more time she spends there, the more she wants to stay.  

There are two women who work at the bookshop and loved Aunt Maddie, Claire and Janet.  At first they are polite, but cold toward Madeline.  She realizes how much they loved her aunt and feels remorse that she didn't spend more time with her.  But how could she without betraying her dad?  The bookshop is very important to both Claire and Janet.  Madeline begins to catch their vision.  Can the women work together to keep the bookshop afloat, or are they too late?

My thoughts:  There are so many things to like about this story.  First, much of the book takes place in a bookshop and the characters are surrounded by books.  The characters are likeable and the relationships between them are rich and deep.  While this is a feel good story in many ways, the characters deal with some significant difficulties.

The bookshop is an amazing place that people enjoy.  There is so much of Aunt Maddie in the shop.  She loved people and always made them feel welcome.  Along with her will, Maddie left an envelope for Claire, Janet and Madeline.  In each envelope was a list of books to read.  The lists were personalized based on what Maddie knew of each one and what she thought they needed.  How I would love to see those lists!  The author tells us that each list was a love letter that must be kept private.  However, some of the books each character is reading are mentioned as well as many other books.  The author has included a list of all the books mentioned.

Madeline, Claire and Janet all grow in significant ways throughout the story.  Each of them becomes a better person and deals with some things that were keeping them from being the best person they could be.  They also become great friends.  One of the major themes in the book is forgiveness and along with that, apology.  

Madeline's relationship with her parents is really good, but it also grows in the course of the story.  She is able to see her mom as a person and not just "mom".  She respects her dad and is still loyal to him even as she begins to understand what happened between her aunt and dad.

Claire is married and has two children who are teenagers.  She struggles with finding her place in life now that her kids don't need her as much.  Claire loves working at the Printed Letter Bookshop, but her daughter seems to resent it.  Claire struggles with the way her daughter seems to be pulling away and is not sure what to do about it.  She and her husband love one another, but so much of their focus is on their kids these days.

Janet was recently divorced and is still struggling with guilt from that.  Her children seem distant as well and she blames herself for ruining their family.  

This was a deep, moving story full of books, friendship, forgiveness and a touch of romance.  I highly recommend it.