What can I say? I'm lost for words!
Loveday on her passion:
'Anyone who’s worked in a bookshop for longer than an afternoon will tell you that people buy books for all sorts of reasons. There’s the simple love of books, of course: the knowledge that here is an escape, a chance to learn, a place for your heart and mind to romp and play'.
I read that statement, and I was sold. I knew I'd love this book.
Stephanie Butlands story started out as a quirky, cute little read. So bookish and perfect for anyone who has a penchant for books about books.
Lost for Words is the name of the book shop where our main protagonist works. Loveday (yes, that's her wonderful name, and strangely my kindle auto corrects it to the word library, which pleases me) is a sweet, quiet soul, who has wonderful relationships with books and words, but humans, well, that's a different matter altogether.
Loveday on people:
'I don’t really do ‘nice until you prove you’re not’– I find it saves time to work it the other way around, in the normal way of things'.
She spends her days working in the second hand book shop, reluctantly dealing with customers and colleagues, just wanting to be left to immerse herself in books. They're her escapism, for which I completely get. She's so passionate about poetry and stories, her body is a canvas of book~quote tattoos. Wow, I just love that!
As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Lovedays introverted personality is the product of a childhood trauma, and she's dealing with it. That's until strange packages start to arrive at the shop, and Lovedays world is turned slowly upside down.
All the characters in Lost for Words are so convincingly real. Loveday has so many endearing qualities, she's funny, dry and full of wit. But she doesn't even realise it, she's adorable. Archie, her book shop boss had me visualising Sir Ian McKellen playing the part. And Nathan. Lovely gorgeous, bonkers Nathan, with his DM's laced up all wrong, he is a magical, mystical character. And rather bookishly good looking I'd imagine.
The chapters range from 'Poetry', 'History' and 'Crime', with various timelines that steadily combine to form the 'bigger picture' and pull the reader in with emotionally charged realism. I felt as though I was 'people watching' in this book. At times I was THAT ENGROSSED that I felt as though I was hiding at the end of the bookshop, (among the Classics) ear-wigging everything that was going on!
Everyone and everything sat very vividly in my mind, and that is a sure sign of superb writing.
Lost for Words is an enlightening, powerful and rather heartbreaking read. There's lots of life~lessons in here as well as laugh out loud moments. Bad stuff happens to good people sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it apart from accept it and move forward.
For those of you who enjoyed Gail Honeymans 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', I urge you to give this book a go. I found a few similarities throughout the story, which I loved because Honeymans book was brilliant. And so is this.
I'm going to give this a 4.5 star rating, rounded up to 5 stars as 4 isn't enough. And it's going on my 'best of 2017' Goodreads shelf.