Book Club June 2024- The Door-to-Door Bookstore
By: Carsetn Henn
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Pages: 239
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The charming international bestseller about an elderly bookseller who delivers his recommendations door-to-door and an unlikely friendship with a nine-year-old girl that changes his life, for fans of The Midnight Library and A Man Called Ove.
The bookseller Carl Christian Kollhoff delivers books to special customers in the evening hours after closing time, walking through the picturesque alleys of the city. These people are almost like friends to him, and he is their most important connection to the world.
When Kollhoff unexpectedly loses his job, it takes the power of books and a nine-year-old girl to make them all find the courage to rebuild their bonds with each other.
A bestselling phenomenon internationally, Carsten Henn’s The Door-to-Door Bookstore is a feel-good novel about books and friendship.
What I thought
I discovered this book in a Barnes & Noble sale and it sounded right up my alley. It also sounded like a good Book Club choice. I love the cover and thought a book about book lovers would be fun.
Carl has worked for a bookstore in his small town for years. He personally delivers books to his customers and has taken the same path daily. That is until the bookstore owner’s daughter takes over and 9 year old Schascha decides to join him on his walk.
I feel a little bit on the fence about this book. I loved the characters. Carl is a gem and each of his customers is fun and unique. At least at the beginning. I found Schascha to be a bit of a brat. She didn’t take no for an answer and rather than endearing I found it annoying. I also hated the bookstore owner’s daughter, which I know we’re supposed to. I also didn’t love Effi’s storyline, which is one of his customers. Oh, and Sabine, the new book owner/old book owner’s daughter is completely evil.
I don’t know if some of that was the writing getting lost in translation (literally, since this book was originally written in German), or the writing itself. I enjoyed going with Carl on his walks as well as his knowledge and love for books. Whenever he talked about books or why he recommended them, I related. However, the conflict was not my favorite. I also found the ending to be a bit quick in its peak and resolution.
Overall, I enjoyed pieces of this book, but I didn’t love it as a whole. It’s a solid 3.5 stars for me.
What Book Club Thought
We all enjoyed this one. It was interesting because the other members mentioned it had been a little hard/slow to get into, and I hadn’t noticed it on my own, but they were right. It can be a little confusing and overly literary, but gets into the swing of things about 60 pages in. For such a small book, we had a lot to talk about which was nice. I was the only one who didn’t find Schascha charming which was interesting. We all were on the same page about the pacing at the end of the book being a little bit off. I think this is a fun book to read if you are a lover of literature and is a good choice to read with a book club. It’s a fun, easy read, but has a lot of substance to discuss.