From Library Journal:
'Florence Green, a widow, has lived for ten years in a small village in Suffolk, England. With a modest inheritance, she plans to open the first and only bookstore in the area. Florence purchases a damp, haunted property that has stood vacant for many years but encounters unexpected resistance from one of the local gentry, Mrs. Gamart, who has a sudden yen to establish an arts center in the same building. Florence goes ahead with her plan in spite of Mrs. Gamart and meets with some small success. However, Mrs. Gamart surreptitiously places obstacles in Florence's way, going so far as to have a nephew in Parliament write and pass legislation that eventually evicts Florence from her shop and her home. This work by veteran writer Fitzgerald (The Blue Flower, LJ 3/1/97), originally published in Great Britain, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1978. Both witty and sad, it boasts whimsical characters who are masterfully portrayed. Highly recommended.'
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This is the first Penelope Fitzgerald novel I have read, and I thought it was quite good. I have three more of her books to read, which I'm looking forward to.
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6.15.04
Mailed to BC'er Bookczuk today...enjoy!!
:-)

I'm so excited! This book has been on my wish list for a while. And it came with a GREAT bookmark!

Thank you, Beachglass!

Will journal when read.

There is a certain type of novel where the strength of the writing is not in the action, or the mystery or the excitement of the plot, but in the evocative nature of the words- the very plainness and chronicling of ordinary times for ordinary people. No tidy wind up of happy endings...

It reminds me of Elizabeth Goudge, who once. in describing herself said, "I am not a serious chronicler of the very terrible contemporary scene, but just a storyteller. There is so much tragedy about us everywhere today that we surely don't want it in the storybooks to which we turn when we are ill or unhappy. We must escape somewhere." (Her The Rosemary Tree falls into this category of book.)

Why I bring this up is that Penelope Fitzgerald is also a master at this. This is the second of her works I have read. The stories are not monumental, but they are real. The plot is not fast-paced, so if you want the equivalent of a Schwarenegger film, or Mission Impossible, go elsewhere. If you want Julia and Richard in a romance, it won't be here. But if you want a simple story of everyday life and people, though not in the every day we currently inhabit, pick this one up.

Some of the things that charmed me in this novel? Well for starters, there was the town's reaction to the *new* novel Lolita. Having just decided that Lolita is not something I have to force myself to finish, I was particularly alert to what people thought. The exchange of letters between Florence and her lawyer had me chuckling in my chair while reading.

Off in the mail to another Bookcrosser who just finished reading Lolita. She may, or may not remember that I am sending this, but either way, I hope she'll enjoy it!

Pictured: Downtown Charleston

I did not remember that you were sending it, but I'm glad you did! I have a ring or two ahead of it, but having recently finished Lolita, I do want to read this soon.

Thanks for sharing!