To start the year I read both of these books, a bit of a change from the usual genres I go for, but I like 'books about books' so thought I'd give them a go!
They are both dual-timeline stories with female lead characters and some magical realism / fantasy (moreso in The Story Collector). Easy reads with a simple writing style, not taxing on the brain at all, but they do both cover real-world issues such as domestic violence, alcoholism and misogyny albeit not in any great depth.
The Lost Bookshop begins in London, 1921, with Opaline Carlisle‘s father sharing with her a love of books but when he dies, her mother and brother decide she should be married-off and her need to run and find freedom sees her future as a book dealer form. We are also in the present day where Martha (who is also escaping her life of abuse) arrives in Dublin and takes a job as a housekeeper to the formidable Mrs Bowden. Here we also meet Henry who is in Dublin searching for a manuscript, a lost bookshop and as much information about Opaline as he can gather.
The Story Collector also runs a dual-timeline, it begins with Sarah leaving on an airplane in 2010, her marriage is over in New York and instead of going to her sister’s place in Boston, she drunkenly decides to fly to Ireland instead. Once there, she meets some local characters, finds a hideaway village and cottage to reassess her life and discovers a century-old diary of a young farm girl called Anna which opens up some curious secrets. She writes of many things including Harold, an impressive, kind, American academic who arrives in the village as part of his Irish tour, collecting fairy stories and he wants her as an assistant. They soon discover that real life can be just as dark and sinister.
