A completely enjoyable epistolary-- I found this to be humorous, heartwarming as well as enduring for those who share the love of books. Highly recommend this read and think it would be an ideal book club selection.

An epistolary - so long since I have read one and a good one as well. Reading this book made me sad that so many of us have given up the fun of letter writing. I remember being at camp and a letter home every few days was mandatory. I also remember having my grammar and writing skills corrected and critiqued by my parents, but that was then. Before the internet and the freedom of unrestricted telephone we had paper and pen and that is how we maintained our friendships, our relationships and our romances. It wasn’t that times were simpler it was simply that was what we had and that was what we did.

Back to this wonderful little book and the writer’s workshop Esther, a French bookseller has created. Such wonderful characters each with distinct personalities and a story to be told. Such accurate dissection of what was left unsaid and the most interesting pairings of letter writers and their empathy and sympathy towards each other, at least most of the time. Every now and then there is a peek at the alpha struggle to top the other but it is done with such gentility and bonhomie you can’t help but smile.

Interesting questions percolate - if these people were thrown together in a social gathering would they have gotten beyond “How do you do and that’s an interesting thought”? Probably not. The power of the written word can be life changing and Cecile Pivot has embraced and enhanced that notion.

Great thoughts, ideas, dialogue and writing. This book is an absolute delight. Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a copy.

Content warnings: detailed descriptions of postpartum depression

The Little French Bookshop tells the story of a woman, Esther, who does run a bookshop in Lille, France but the plot revolves around a letter writing workshop she organizes to help struggling writers. It is a epistolary novel with letters between the 5 workshop participants plus narrative around a specific character. The chapters are thematically organized. The characters are drawn to the workshop because of their own memories of letter writing. The book does a really good job exploring loneliness, as well as grief. The book is ultimately uplifting and I enjoyed the evolution of the characters as they reveal themselves to each other. I enjoyed this book overall. It was lovely in parts but I found it difficult at times to become truly engaged with the plot and the characters. Covering several POVs in one chapter took me in and out of the story.

The sections of the book that appealed to me the most were the observations about the power of communication and connection with people. This observation about the differences between verbal and written communication (specifically letters where you do not expect an immediate response) was a lovely summation of the book

“When writing, we give ourselves away, we bare our soul, we take risks. The act of writing a letter, posting it and waiting for a reply adds values to the days.”

This was a beautifully written story that truly touched my heart. It was emotional, tear-jerking, and examines the processes in which all humans deal with grief in different ways, and the power that writing can have on someone's ability to move on. I would recommend this story to anyone looking to read something with beautiful prose, inspiring characters, a lovely and romantic setting, and of course, those who love the art of letter-writing.

The Little French Bookshop, the title is misleading or rather just a title and doesn't play a central or any significant role in the story itself.

The characters are participating in a letter writing workshop and write to 2 of the other participants and the workshop conductor, who is the bookshop owner.

The narration is in letter form, that is the characters writing to each other about their current situation, how they got there and where they want to head ahead.

I did enjoy reading about their lives, perhaps the experience was a bit different due to the format it is written in.

3.7 Stars

One Liner: Heartwarming but has nothing to do with the title.

Esther plans a letter-writing workshop after her father’s death. She and her father loved exchanging letters (handwritten), and Esther wants to experience the same through the workshop. She also plans to offer her copyediting skills to prospective novelists.
Imagine her surprise when the applicants are everyone else by aspiring writers! From an elderly lady to an angsty teen and a delusional businessman, a total of five people are a part of her workshop. That makes Esther the sixth participant.
She wants to help them learn how to write better. But what do they want from the workshop? A chance to express themselves? A chance to seek answers? A chance to reconcile and start fresh?
Esther realizes that her workshop is helping the participants and her in a way she didn’t expect. Letter writing isn’t about writing a letter, is it?

My Observations:
• The book takes its own sweet time to progress. (it’s a slow read). The book alters between letters and regular narration (that gives the backstories and more insight into the characters).
• The letters are arranged in a neat order almost until the end. The slight change at the end is mentioned in the first few pages and makes sense once we get there.
• Various themes, ranging from postpartum depression to loneliness to social activism, etc., are dealt with. While some are more effective, the others pale in comparison.
• Each character is distinct and can be identified by the tone of the letter. This is very important when six people are writing letters.
• The ending is happy, hopeful, and touching. It leaves the reader with a satisfied smile. A couple of issues haven’t been resolved. Guess the author left the issues that way to keep things more realistic. It works in the bigger picture, so no complaints.
• There are a few hiccups in connecting the letters. It doesn’t always feel smooth and effortless. That said, the character arcs are decent and worth mentioning. My favorites are Samuel and Juliette.
• The concept of opening up to a stranger via letters was well explored. However, I couldn’t feel the magical touch of letter writing. Maybe it’s because I was reading an electronic copy of the book. Or maybe because there weren’t images of handwritten samples or signatures to give the feeling of reading physical letters.
• Despite dealing with heavy topics, the book is not a heavy read. It’s both a plus and a minus, depending on the reader. For me, it’s a plus.

To sum up, The Little French Bookshop is a heartwarming book that deals with quite a few issues. The epistolary style makes it possible to give the topic decent space. However, the title is rather misleading. This isn’t about a bookshop, except that Esther owns a little bookshop in Lille, France.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheLittleFrenchBookshop #NetGalley

The Little French Bookshop by Cecile Pivot is actually not much to do with a bookshop. However, it is about a woman, Esther, who starts a letter writing class for 5 individuals. She and the others correspond with one another and get to know each other while helping one another with something they are each struggling with. The individuals are an older widow, a teenage boy, a traveling businessman and a husband and wife who are separated.

I used to always write letters so I enjoyed the premise and thought behind the theme of this book, which is that we communicate much differently in written letters versus email, text, etc. Also, the ending was very satisfying. It made me want to write and receive more letters!

A truly lovely story from the first pages I was totally involved with the characters their lives problems.I really enjoy epistolary novels reading letters makes the characters come alive.Looking forward to more by this wonderful author.#netgalley #hodderstoughton.

With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion
What a lovely book nice and easy can recommend.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this nice easy to read story, the characters and of course the location. Really liked it.

I love a good epistolary. This is one of them, and it was an enjoyable read. The story begins with a letter-writing workshop. Through their correspondence, the participants learn about themselves and grow in unimaginable ways…thanks to the power of the simple letter.

I admired how the character arcs grew proportionately to how much growth they needed to resolve their storylines. I also enjoyed seeing the relationships between strangers grow in very realistic ways. And the wind phone reduced me to tears.

Thank you to Hodder UK and NetGalley for this ARC

From the very first line of this book, I knew I was reading something special.
What a remarkable tale of hopes, ambitions, and surprises. I find books written in the epistolary style to be very heartwarming and intimate. There is always an emotional connection. They are often elaborate, full of funny and witty interactions. This was no exception. The center of this story is the love for books and how they can bring people together and give joy and hope in difficult times. It also made me wish that the tradition of letter-writing hadn't gone out of fashion with the rise of the internet. This was a true delight, from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley, @HodderBooks, and @HodderPublicity for sharing this free digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was such a cute read that I read really quick, it was such an easy read that i would love to read again in the summer. It was well written with an adorable storyline that was full of hope and heartwarming moments as well as moments that had me welling up. I really enjoyed it.