We LOVE comments! Please put your thoughts on The Little Paris Bookshop Book Club Questions in the comments area below.
1.What prompted you to read The Little Paris Bookshop?
2. Did you find the premise of this book to be believable or unbelievable?
3. Did you connect with the protagonist Jean Perdue and get into his suffering?
4. As you were reading did you expect the development of the characters who came on board Lulu to end in romantic and lasting relationships?
5. Were you expecting Jean Perdu to end up a happy man?
6. What did you think and feel about Manon at the end of the book and did your opinion of her change throughout the book?
7. Would you recommend The Little Paris Bookshop to your friends?
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Max lived in the same apartment building as Jean. Maybe the landlady (a big gossip) or another one of the residents share the obit with Max, who hid it in one of the books on the barge quickly when on the boat.
Hi Dee Please scroll down to my explanation from May 2 2016. It has been quite some time since I read The Little Paris Bookshop but I remember feeling this was the answer to the missing death notice and letter. Thanks
Death notice must have been put in Proust by Jean. He had to have known she died, but repressed the reality in his grief. This only contributes to his refusal to open her letter. He will not accept reality. I feel this book had great potential but got bogged down in over analysis of a romance – 20 plus years!! Many great characters, wonderful references to the healing nature and joy of books, but by the end Manon was just annoying.
I just finished reading this book and loved it!
I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. It’s heartwarming and uplifting.
Hi Katherine!
Thanks for sharing your thought on The Little Paris Bookshop.
I really enjoyed this book too for exactly what you said.
I especially enjoyed the happy ending!
Thanks for stopping by!
I sort of thought that Jean would end up happy- he was miserable for such a long time; just existing. It’s what I would have wanted for him and I am glad it was a happy ending!
Hi Mary!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions.
I liked the happy ending too, especially since Jean suffered so much over all those years. I do believe in second chances and Jean is lucky to get his with Catherine.
Thanks for stopping by!
You are right and, well, that’s kind of the whole point. What others and I are pointing out is a conflict (unresolvable?) between that passage about the cutting and the running theme that the letter was unopened and Jean never knew of the death.
The message I got from the book was that life goes on, and not to stop living, as it will just be a big regret at the end of it if you did. Life is beautiful…
What an uplifting book!
I loved the happy ending and how the journey on the boat brought everyone together.
Hi Norma!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I agree with you that The Little Paris Bookshop was heartwarming and uplifting.
It was a nice book with a happy ending. I love those books that you you feeling warm and fuzzy.
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for your explanation. I know that makes the most sense. Its unbelievable how involved I got with Perdu’s character…guess that’s a sign of good writing and a good book. Thanks again
I loved “The Little Paris Bookshop”, but I’m puzzled but one passage in the book. In Chapter 28, pages 221-222, when Perdu announces that his love, Manon, has been dead for 21 years. Max produces a news clipping of her death announcement that he found in a book. Where and when did this come from? If Perdu had obtained it, wouldn’t he know about her daughter and the details of her death? I just wondered if anyone else was as puzzled by this?
Hi Pat,
The way I see it is that Jean never saw the notice of Manon’s passing until Max presented it to him on the barge when Jean announced her death to the people there. He had only learned about her illness and upcoming death when he finally read the letter that Catherine returned to him.
Max says that he saw the death notice back in Briare and hid it in one of the thousands of books in the bookshop and put the book back on the shelf and then forget about it. Max forgot he hid the notice in Proust. When Jean had previously talked about Manon to Max , Max did not let on that he knew Manon died.
This confused me also. If she died 21 years ago, the obituary would have been 21 years old. Where did Max find a 21 year old newspaper and how did he know what name to look for? Their relationship was secret so his name would not have been mentioned.
I haven’t finished the book yet, but this is puzzling me, I hope there will be a logical answer as I continue to read.
Hi Susan!
Thanks for pointing out the 21 years old obituary. Um, I am not sure about it either now that you mentioned it. I will take another look and see if make sense!
Hi Susan,
on reading chapter 28, on pages 221-222, it seems that Max found the death notice in Briare, in Proust. He then stuffed it in one of the “first available book at the Literary Apothecary” and put it on the shelf and then forgot about it.
I guess Max came across it by accident as he was not looking for it.
I hope this makes sense.
To me, the text clearly says that Max found the cutting in a book that was already at the bookshop. Later on it clearly says “he” meaning Jean had put it there . It really does not make sense to me either.
Hi Raleigh,
Jean couldn’t have put it in the book as he didn’t know about her death. He only found out she was ill when he got the letter that Catherine returned to him.
She was dead for 21 years already and he didn’t know before that or when it was happening.
It’s so sad he had that letter and never opened it up…all those lost years!
I just finished reading the book and I had the same question, Pat!!