Sunaina Luthra On  May 07, 2024, In Book Review, The Lost Bookshop By Evie Woods– Fiction

Rating: 5/5

The Lost Bookshop By Evie Woods Book Review

Why is it always necessary to navigate a difficult terrain to realize one’s purpose of life?

We carry an unclaimed anguish and opportune resilience to craft a perspective lapidary of life. Does it come out to be a successful treaty or churns an abstruse battlement, time will tell? But one thing is for sure, the soiled ground underneath will always bear the patches of our disgruntlements and defiance, sometimes a victorious murmur of possible edification.

The three characters in ‘The Lost Bookshop’ by Evie Woods delve into the theme of self-discovery. At the heart of the story is the indomitable Opaline Carlisle, who flees to Paris in abnegation of the deplorable societal norms and her forceful marriage; London in 1921 was basking under the influence of traditional gender roles ensnaring women in a web of limited choices and opportunities. She finds solace and purpose in the embrace of a bookshop ‘Shakespeare and Company’. It gives her an opportunity to start a career as a rare book dealer to ultimately let her find the lost manuscript of acclaimed American novelist and poet- Emily Bronte.

However, life grows under her skin as a belligerent papilloma when her brother confines her to a mental asylum.

Martha’s life mirrors a restrictive significance. She decides to flee the suffocative clutches of her abusive marriage and embarks on a relentless quest for self-discovery. In the desolate terrain of job searches, she stumbles upon an opening for a house keeper in the household of the elderly and wealthy Madame Bowden in Dublin. The unbridled sanctuary changes the trajectory of her life forever. She comes across a single book in the solitary confinement of a secret chamber in Madame Bowden’s abode. It is not an irrelevant discovery but a one that feels like a force is weaving her into the intricate fabric of literature, igniting an unexpected fervor to carve a meaningful existence.

Henry, a Ph.D. student with a penchant for literature, crosses path with a lost manuscript and bookshop in his search to complete his thesis. Henry carries along a proof in a cryptic letter written by a famous rare book collector encumbering the existence of an elusive manuscript, and that he had set foot in the bookshop once. If Henry is successful in locating the bookshop, what makes the bookshop vanish without any trace?  

Martha’s and Henry’s path intertwines, and they are united to unearth the lost manuscript and mystery that shrouds the bookshop.

Evie Woods has penned a flawless narrative that crosses different timelines seamlessly. ’The lost Bookshop’ serves as a bridge connecting the past and the present, and the intertwined destinies of Opaline, Henry and Martha.