The Bookman’s Tale – Charlie Lovett
Engaging. Shows the power of remaindered books; it is a 2013 imprint, just picked up from the discount bin.
What an intriguing tale, Shakespeare, books, bibliography, and the hallowed halls of academia.
For those of us who love books, bookshops, and the smell of old books, yes.
Halfway through I was amazed at the intricacies of the divergent historical plot lines, all unraveling at a frantic pace. There was, in my own mind, a gentleness to the prose, through, part romance, part love story, and part love of books.
Maybe halfway through, I realized the similarity in some settings, and narrative structures to The Weird Sisters —
Romance and obsession, not that the two are distant, no.
Fascinating read, and good to the last page. The single problem was a slightly predictable denouement, maybe I don’t read enough romance genre. Or it’s a touch of the paranormal?
Ghosts are real, and the book carefully illustrates how books can haunt us.
The Bookman’s Tale
It’s about books, the lovers of books, and lovers. Thoroughly modern in some respects, and yet, gracefully bounces between years. The apparent scholarship is more than the average lit major, but none of it was new material to me.
The tale was artfully crafted and does a number on the question of “Who wrote Shakespeare?” As always, there’s precious little evidence — one way or another.
Absolute gas to read. Just a blast. My biggest complaint? I was reading a book, and a digital version — local library didn’t seem to have one — but a digital version would’ve resulted in a number of quotes plus endless fact-checking web–searches. Apparently, I don’t know much about “Art History.”
Author’s site —
The Bookman’s Tale – Charlie Lovett
The Bookman’s Tale: A Novel of Obsession
