84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
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Book Reviews of 84, Charing Cross Road
Book Review: Books & London
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I found this book I was 16. Just like Helene Hanff I wanted to go to London, to walk down Charing Cross Road, to see these book stores, to hold these books. The letters are remarkable. Helene talked about books like they were old friends and Frank appeared to have the same friends. Soon Helene was sending food packages to celebrate special occasions with the people in the shop and they were sending her secret thank you notes so Frank would not find out. Helene made plans to come to London, but something would always happen to delay the trip. She had wanted to go to London to see the coronation, but found that the only crowning she would be attending involved teeth. London changed from the time just after the war to the Beatles. London was still there, but the people she had wanted to see and who would have made the visit special drifted away. Helene said in the book that someone told her London existed in exactly the way you wanted to find it. She said she wanted the literary London and he told her it was there. I found Helene's London. I did walk down Charing Cross Road and into the shops. I found the books and the people who are selling them. I still believe this is one of my favorate books.Book Review: The Romance of Books
Summary: 5 Stars
Two people review:HERS: This is a nostalgic book, set in most part during the years immediately following WWII. It is also an epistolary documentary. In the 20+ years of correspondence between a New Yorker and an English book seller an entire portait of an era is depicted. Not only the small details of daily rationings in England, or the American's employment ups and downs; but also the manners and restrained etiquette of years past. Below the surface of these formal letters, outwardly dealing with the passion for books is an underlying void of words never written but well inderstood: a platonic love affair among people who care for books. The personalities and values of the letter writers is marvelously displayed through innuendos, reticences, outright indignation, passion and despair more often than not only alluded to. It is a masterful portrait of an era, of a relationship and of the art of letter wrting!
HIS: Perfectly delightful, every page. It all works because of understatement, warranted by an assumed relationship through the love of books. So what doesn't get said doesn't need to be said, for people of like minds. Like lovers. Yet the two correspondents never met.
Book Review: A joyful book
Summary: 5 Stars
I got an immense amount of pleasure reading this little book of correspondence between a woman in New York City and a used bookseller in London. The letters span the years 1949 to 1969 and revolve primarily around Helene Hanff's search for English literature classics that she had difficulty acquiring in New York. Could a book sound any blander??? Well, I'll tell you it's not! It's a wonderful read.I'd rather not go into any details lest I diminish the pleasure of this book to anyone unfamiliar with it and considering reading it. It is not a love story, nor is it maudlin or overly sentimental, it's just wonderfully entertaining.
The only thing that might have made this book even better might have been some annotations or background information on some of the characters or the bookstore itself. Though I hesitate in mentioning this because such additional material might actually take away from the charm of the book.
A couple of her subsequent books do answer some questions, but the books themselves are not quite the same as this unique volume. Also, the book was made into a movie of the same name which was pretty good - but read the book first!
Book Review: Serendipity...84 Charing Cross Road Strikes Again!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is incredible. I laughed out loud and I felt her pain and sorrow. Helene Hanff is a fabulous writer. I went to England with her as she told her story. I received my copy of this book in a very ironic way. If I can become half the writer she is I will have succeeded! A co-worker of mine went to see the play "84 Charing Cross Road" in London last week and someone had left a copy of the book on a shelf during interval on purpose. The label on the book said "On the run!! Help me readch new horizons! Look inside and check out www.Bookcrossing.com"
Oddly enough, I received this book that started in London in memory of Allistar with Bookcrossings.com and hundreds of copies are purchased and released in her name. I will be releasing the copy that I found soon and will purchase another copy on Amazon.com to release into the wild on her behalf.
If you are interested in buying a book and helping out Allistar with Bookcrossing.com just go there and join.
The book is that good; what can I say. Buy it and I promise it will become a part of your book collection that will be re-read over the years.
Book Review: Better than reading someone's diary
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many people I saw a movie first. Naturally due to media constraints, you expect certain amount of the book to be homogenized. So I wanted to read what was missing. To my amazement very little was missing or modified. I don't normally read this sort of book. So I was surprised at finding myself wanting more when it finished.
Also until I read the book I did not realize that Charing Cross Road was a real place. The whole book is based on a collection of correspondence between Helene Hanff, an avid book reader, and Frank Doel an agent for British bookseller.
My wife has taken this one step further and is collecting all the books that were mentioned in the correspondence. Some of these books appear to have been reprinted due to this publication.
If you can find it there is a book called "The Library of Helene Hanff."
I wonder what became of all the other people described in the correspondents after the book.
84 Charing Cross Road