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P.O. Box Love: A Novel of Letters
A charming epistolary novel that chronicles the love story between Emma and Frederico, former high school sweethearts who meet again thirty years later. At Dreams & Desires, 50-year-old Emma’s quaint bookshop in Milan dedicated to romantic fiction, the passionate bookseller serves coffee and tea to her customers and completes order slips in pen rather than using a computer. One day, she finds a mysterious handwritten note stuck between the pages of a novel. The message is from her high school sweetheart Frederico, who is now a successful architect in New York and whom she hasn’t seen in thirty years. When she finally meets Frederico again, Emma is convinced that her life is about to turn into a romance novel – an intercontinental fairy tale between Milan and New York, between two post office boxes and two lovers that are separated by the Atlantic Ocean and half a life. But Frederico is married, and their epistolary romance, punctuated by once-a-year sojourns on the island of Belle Ile, seems to have no future. Paola Calvetti's PO Box Love is an ode to old-fashioned relationships (the ones that last a lifetime), old-fashioned habits (such as writing letters by hand in fountain pen) and old-fashioned notions (such as politeness, and the great lost art of conversation), and will enchant readers of such perennial favorites as 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and Same Time Next Year by Bernard Slade.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
39 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Paola Calvetti
21 books71 followersPaola Calvetti was born in Milan, Italy. She was educated at Liceo Linguistico A. Manzoni (Languages School) and graduated in DAMS (Drama, Art and Music Studies) at Bologna’s University.
After leaving school she wrote her first book Lo spazio fantastico (Emme Edizioni) dedicated to dance and mime for children.Calvetti is married. She has two children, a boy and a girl.
After graduation, she started her career as a journalist for the daily newspaper la Repubblica, contributing articles about dance and music.
Meantime she wrote five portraits for Rai 2, the second State Channel dedicated to great dance artists:
Jazz City, Alvin Ailey’s New York; La ville lumière, Roland Petit’s Paris; Water Cities, Carolyn Carlson’s Helsinki and Venice; Madrid, starring Antonio Gades and his dance ballet company, The enchanted Moon, starring Alessandra Ferri. This tv film won the first Price (Award) at the FIPA in Cannes in 1992.
In 1990, she wrote the film for Rai 2 Il ritorno, dedicated to Italian dancers dancing abroad.
In 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 she created and directed Danza&Video, film and video Festival in Milano.
She arranged and directed the series “La danza” (De Agostini), composed of 20 video-portraits of the most important dancers and coreographers of the XX century.
She wrote essays on music and dance for the Teatro alla Scala (the milanese Opera House).
From 1993 to 1997, after leaving journalism, she became chief of the press office at La Scala.
In 1996 she was the curator of the exibition and the essay Riccardo Muti alla Scala (Leonardo Editore).
In 1999 she published her first novel L’Amore segreto (Baldini&Castoldi) based on a secret love story revealed by an old lady to her lover’s daughter 40 years later. In 2000 the novel was finalist at the literary Award Bancarella and it was translated in Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Greek, Japanese.
In 2010 it was translated in Frech (L’amour secret, Presses de la cité), Rumanian, and Germany.
Her second novel, L’addio (Bompiani), again set in the world of classic music, is the story of three women and their lifetime friendship. Olga, the main character, wants to be a costumes and set designer and her dreams come true when she works as assistents for the famous editino of La Traviata directed by Luchino Visconti in 1955. The novel was translated in Portuguese (O Adeus, Rocco…)
Calvetti’s third novel Né con te né senza di te was released in 2004 and was inspired by Truffauts’s masterpiece The woman next door: the omicide-suicide of two lovers narated by their best friend.
In 2006 she published Perché tu mi hai sorriso (Bompiani), a sort of psychological duel between an old mother and her daughter, imprisoned in a mysterious an passionate relationship.
After leaving school she wrote her first book Lo spazio fantastico (Emme Edizioni) dedicated to dance and mime for children.Calvetti is married. She has two children, a boy and a girl.
After graduation, she started her career as a journalist for the daily newspaper la Repubblica, contributing articles about dance and music.
Meantime she wrote five portraits for Rai 2, the second State Channel dedicated to great dance artists:
Jazz City, Alvin Ailey’s New York; La ville lumière, Roland Petit’s Paris; Water Cities, Carolyn Carlson’s Helsinki and Venice; Madrid, starring Antonio Gades and his dance ballet company, The enchanted Moon, starring Alessandra Ferri. This tv film won the first Price (Award) at the FIPA in Cannes in 1992.
In 1990, she wrote the film for Rai 2 Il ritorno, dedicated to Italian dancers dancing abroad.
In 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 she created and directed Danza&Video, film and video Festival in Milano.
She arranged and directed the series “La danza” (De Agostini), composed of 20 video-portraits of the most important dancers and coreographers of the XX century.
She wrote essays on music and dance for the Teatro alla Scala (the milanese Opera House).
From 1993 to 1997, after leaving journalism, she became chief of the press office at La Scala.
In 1996 she was the curator of the exibition and the essay Riccardo Muti alla Scala (Leonardo Editore).
In 1999 she published her first novel L’Amore segreto (Baldini&Castoldi) based on a secret love story revealed by an old lady to her lover’s daughter 40 years later. In 2000 the novel was finalist at the literary Award Bancarella and it was translated in Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Greek, Japanese.
In 2010 it was translated in Frech (L’amour secret, Presses de la cité), Rumanian, and Germany.
Her second novel, L’addio (Bompiani), again set in the world of classic music, is the story of three women and their lifetime friendship. Olga, the main character, wants to be a costumes and set designer and her dreams come true when she works as assistents for the famous editino of La Traviata directed by Luchino Visconti in 1955. The novel was translated in Portuguese (O Adeus, Rocco…)
Calvetti’s third novel Né con te né senza di te was released in 2004 and was inspired by Truffauts’s masterpiece The woman next door: the omicide-suicide of two lovers narated by their best friend.
In 2006 she published Perché tu mi hai sorriso (Bompiani), a sort of psychological duel between an old mother and her daughter, imprisoned in a mysterious an passionate relationship.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
August 6, 2017
Emma, milanaise de 50 ans et mère célibataire, ouvre une librairie à Milan suite à un héritage. Un jour Federico son amour de lycée vient par hasard dans sa boutique et dépose son numéro de téléphone dans un livre. Elle le trouve, l'appelle, ils se voient. Ce dernier habite à New-York. Après son week-end en Italie il rentre chez lui non sans avoir auparavant déposé une lettre à Emma. Il lui propose une correspondance. Elle déteste les portables et les ordinateurs et ouvre avec joie une boite postale pour échanger avec lui.
Une belle histoire d'amour à distance, un livre très joli. La fin est un peu curieuse mais je suis très contente d'avoir lu ce livre que j'ai récupéré dans une boîte à livre (Chez Bulko pour les lyonnais).
Je le met en échange sur Latornade.fr
Une belle histoire d'amour à distance, un livre très joli. La fin est un peu curieuse mais je suis très contente d'avoir lu ce livre que j'ai récupéré dans une boîte à livre (Chez Bulko pour les lyonnais).
Je le met en échange sur Latornade.fr
August 11, 2012
The best thing about this book is that the main character opened a bookstore in Italy. I did not like the characters very much and I didn't like the ending at all.
July 6, 2018
Liber i adhurueshem. ♥♥♥♥
February 9, 2012
Previously posted at Paperback Dolls.com
P.O. Box Love was an interesting read. Even after two day I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not sure what I expected after reading the blurb we got from the author. It sounded interesting, and the story was. I just never fell in love with it. It needed more emotion.
P.O. Box Love is written as love letters and a story. Meaning part of the time you’re reading love letters between two characters and the other time you’re reading the story from the main female’s POV. The main characters are Emma and Federico. Emma’s a fifty something bookshop from living in Milan and Federico is a fifty something successful architect, working in New York City. Emma is divorced and has been for many years. She has a son, Mattie, whose graduating high school and about to attend University. Federico on the other hand is married and has been for twenty some odd years. He and his wife have a daughter, Sarah, who’s also a teenager.
Emma and Federico, in their youth, had been boyfriend/girlfriend and something happens to break them up. Now after all this time, Federico finds Emma in her bookshop, Dreams & Desires. Dreams & Desires is a bookshop designed and furnished for romantics. All Emma sells are romance novels, it doesn’t matter the size or shape. This is the part that confuses me, Emma is such a romantic, yet I didn’t get much feeling from her. She can remember just about every book she’s ever read, yet she forgets her personal history. She does this on purpose, which doesn’t make sense to me. I would’ve thought she’d care about her memories, since romantics usually do. (At least romantic writers that is, their memories give inspiration.)
When Emma and Federico decide to start corresponding with each other they do so by writing letters. These, hand written, letters are the only line of communication they have, because Emma has decided technology is a bad thing. She doesn’t own a cell phone and she dislikes the internet and computers. Needless to say she doesn’t touch either. So the story starts with former high school sweethearts becoming “pin-pals.” It’s truly a twist on You’ve Got Mail, without the technology. Emma and Federico us a P.O. Box to send, receive and store their letters so no one will find out. Their affair including the correspondence spans over six years during which Federico opens up to Emma about his life and emotions. Things he can’t share with his family. Emma begins to look at life a little different too as she adds architecture to her life. What I mean by this is that she starts looking at the beauty of buildings, whereas she’d never done that before. She seems to like hearing about Federico’s work on the Morgan and she tells him about different bookshops around New York City. They also talk about their lives but not too much. Federico stops in the stores she tells him about and he starts to enjoy the peace the stores and parks give him as he writes to her.
This affair isn’t just the letters that these two former sweethearts share. They actually do become lovers ad meet once a year on an island. The island fits their “prefect” affair since it doesn’t get any service for phones or internet. In these short encounters we get the most “emotion,” still I expected more. Don’t expect the details of their sex life, it’s not there, what we get is how they fit into each other’s life. That they enjoy each other’s company and the outside world means nothing. We the reader know this relationship is doomed even Emma knows it. She tells us so. Yet when Federico talks about his wife and his actions Emma basically says she’s okay with the status quo. She seems to like being a mistress. This is something else I don’t understand, because I don’t know why she’d want to be the other woman.
As the relationship heads to a close the book seems to skip or loss something. You find more spelling errors and sentences that don’t completely make sense. This also goes along with Emma somewhat losing herself. Plus we have the end of Federico’s letters which doesn’t seem like the right spot, especially when Emma references it within her letters. She states it’s been two weeks when it’s been two months almost to the day. Still she doesn’t make any call to see if everything is okay. There’s also a point when Federico asked to see her about a month or so before his last letter and we see nothing of that encounter. We don’t know if it happened or not, Emma doesn’t even respond to the invite if she could make it or not. Both of these events confused me. But I’d say the ending is what really through me and how we got there we don’t know. There needed to be more so that this ending made sense and could flow. As it stands you have an ending and something like an afterthought. The first would have been fine, the reader could’ve thought of their own “true ending”. What we get falls flat, and doesn’t seem to fit what had been going on.
P.O. Box Love was an interesting read. Even after two day I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not sure what I expected after reading the blurb we got from the author. It sounded interesting, and the story was. I just never fell in love with it. It needed more emotion.
P.O. Box Love is written as love letters and a story. Meaning part of the time you’re reading love letters between two characters and the other time you’re reading the story from the main female’s POV. The main characters are Emma and Federico. Emma’s a fifty something bookshop from living in Milan and Federico is a fifty something successful architect, working in New York City. Emma is divorced and has been for many years. She has a son, Mattie, whose graduating high school and about to attend University. Federico on the other hand is married and has been for twenty some odd years. He and his wife have a daughter, Sarah, who’s also a teenager.
Emma and Federico, in their youth, had been boyfriend/girlfriend and something happens to break them up. Now after all this time, Federico finds Emma in her bookshop, Dreams & Desires. Dreams & Desires is a bookshop designed and furnished for romantics. All Emma sells are romance novels, it doesn’t matter the size or shape. This is the part that confuses me, Emma is such a romantic, yet I didn’t get much feeling from her. She can remember just about every book she’s ever read, yet she forgets her personal history. She does this on purpose, which doesn’t make sense to me. I would’ve thought she’d care about her memories, since romantics usually do. (At least romantic writers that is, their memories give inspiration.)
When Emma and Federico decide to start corresponding with each other they do so by writing letters. These, hand written, letters are the only line of communication they have, because Emma has decided technology is a bad thing. She doesn’t own a cell phone and she dislikes the internet and computers. Needless to say she doesn’t touch either. So the story starts with former high school sweethearts becoming “pin-pals.” It’s truly a twist on You’ve Got Mail, without the technology. Emma and Federico us a P.O. Box to send, receive and store their letters so no one will find out. Their affair including the correspondence spans over six years during which Federico opens up to Emma about his life and emotions. Things he can’t share with his family. Emma begins to look at life a little different too as she adds architecture to her life. What I mean by this is that she starts looking at the beauty of buildings, whereas she’d never done that before. She seems to like hearing about Federico’s work on the Morgan and she tells him about different bookshops around New York City. They also talk about their lives but not too much. Federico stops in the stores she tells him about and he starts to enjoy the peace the stores and parks give him as he writes to her.
This affair isn’t just the letters that these two former sweethearts share. They actually do become lovers ad meet once a year on an island. The island fits their “prefect” affair since it doesn’t get any service for phones or internet. In these short encounters we get the most “emotion,” still I expected more. Don’t expect the details of their sex life, it’s not there, what we get is how they fit into each other’s life. That they enjoy each other’s company and the outside world means nothing. We the reader know this relationship is doomed even Emma knows it. She tells us so. Yet when Federico talks about his wife and his actions Emma basically says she’s okay with the status quo. She seems to like being a mistress. This is something else I don’t understand, because I don’t know why she’d want to be the other woman.
As the relationship heads to a close the book seems to skip or loss something. You find more spelling errors and sentences that don’t completely make sense. This also goes along with Emma somewhat losing herself. Plus we have the end of Federico’s letters which doesn’t seem like the right spot, especially when Emma references it within her letters. She states it’s been two weeks when it’s been two months almost to the day. Still she doesn’t make any call to see if everything is okay. There’s also a point when Federico asked to see her about a month or so before his last letter and we see nothing of that encounter. We don’t know if it happened or not, Emma doesn’t even respond to the invite if she could make it or not. Both of these events confused me. But I’d say the ending is what really through me and how we got there we don’t know. There needed to be more so that this ending made sense and could flow. As it stands you have an ending and something like an afterthought. The first would have been fine, the reader could’ve thought of their own “true ending”. What we get falls flat, and doesn’t seem to fit what had been going on.
April 4, 2013
Diceva Holden Caulfield, nel celeberrimo romanzo di Salinger, "quelli che mi lasciano proprio senza fiato sono i libri che quando li hai finiti di leggere vorresti che l'autore fosse un tuo amico per la pelle e poterlo chiamare al telefono tutte le volte che ti gira."
Ecco, questo libro è per me un esempio che calza a pennello con questa citazione... e la protagonista di questo romanzo, l'adorabile signora Emma, sembra uscita da un romanzo d'appendice d'altri tempi, sembra fuori contesto ai giorni nostri (se non fosse per il fatto che il libro è ambientato nel presente l'immaginerei in crinoline), refrattaria ad ogni forma di tecnologia, senza patente, proprietaria di una libreria che sembra quella del film "C'è posta per te" (citato nel libro), protagonista di una storia simile per certi versi a quella di "Che tu sia per me il coltello" (citato nel libro)... e via così... citazioni su citazioni, di versi, di titoli, di libri che ho già letto, di storie che ho già visto, che ho già sentito, che ho già vissuto... come si può fare a meno di immaginarla reale, come si può evitare di pensare "dov'è questa libreria, è il posto per me, ci vado subito"... e allora sì, vorrei chiamare al telefono queste due signore (una reale, una immaginaria) e ringraziarle per questa storia d'amore leggera leggera, che probabilmente non resterà nella storia della letteratura, ma che dentro ha tanta poesia, fatta di vetrine "a tema", di candele profumate, di vasi fioriti, di un girotondo di personaggi di ogni tipo, ma con un unico punto in comune... i libri, le storie, l'amore.
Ecco, questo libro è per me un esempio che calza a pennello con questa citazione... e la protagonista di questo romanzo, l'adorabile signora Emma, sembra uscita da un romanzo d'appendice d'altri tempi, sembra fuori contesto ai giorni nostri (se non fosse per il fatto che il libro è ambientato nel presente l'immaginerei in crinoline), refrattaria ad ogni forma di tecnologia, senza patente, proprietaria di una libreria che sembra quella del film "C'è posta per te" (citato nel libro), protagonista di una storia simile per certi versi a quella di "Che tu sia per me il coltello" (citato nel libro)... e via così... citazioni su citazioni, di versi, di titoli, di libri che ho già letto, di storie che ho già visto, che ho già sentito, che ho già vissuto... come si può fare a meno di immaginarla reale, come si può evitare di pensare "dov'è questa libreria, è il posto per me, ci vado subito"... e allora sì, vorrei chiamare al telefono queste due signore (una reale, una immaginaria) e ringraziarle per questa storia d'amore leggera leggera, che probabilmente non resterà nella storia della letteratura, ma che dentro ha tanta poesia, fatta di vetrine "a tema", di candele profumate, di vasi fioriti, di un girotondo di personaggi di ogni tipo, ma con un unico punto in comune... i libri, le storie, l'amore.
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February 27, 2013I only read this book because someone gave it to me--but I should say that it is better than the title makes it sound. By the way, the English title was given by the American publisher--the original title is less cheesy: "Noi due come un romanzo." Initially, I hated it because it seemed like a formulaic story: middle-age woman has a crisis and opens a bookstore, then meets former high-school boyfriend (now married) and begins an epistolary romance (he's in NYC, she's in Milan) while attending to her store (specialized in romance novels). The best parts are the descriptions of everyday life in contemporary Milan and NYC; there are also tons of references to love stories/novels/essays, which are all high-brow (besides the usual English ones: Marguerite Yourcenar, Sandor Marai, even Roland Barthes!) I had ambivalent feelings about these: on the one hand, yes, the author is well read; on the other, one would expect that after reading so many great writers, she could write a more sophisticated (i.e., less clichéd) novel. Also: lots of anti-technology passages, which would be fine, except that in 2001-2003, when the novel is set, many of the tech devices the author writes against were at their beginnings (she forgets they were not as widespread as today--a little like assuming everybody had access to a phone in the 1920s).
February 4, 2012
Calvetti has crafted a magical tale about the promise of love — and how true love can be sparked with a little attention and patience. Through her whimsical writing style, you can feel Calvetti’s passion for literary masterpieces and Emma is perhaps the most knowledgeable bookstore owner ever when it comes to romance novels. It is a story that will take you away to a romance story of yesteryear, of one that is simplified through classic letter-writing techniques rather than the hustle and bustle of technology.
Read my full review at www.crazybookreviews.com
Read my full review at www.crazybookreviews.com
February 21, 2012
After reading a few other reviews, this book is getting shelved. The writing is oddly florid in a "did not translate well" sort-of way. Add to that a somewhat tepid affair between former high school sweethearts, one who is STILL married, and you have a formula for distasteful of the highest level.
Despite the title, resist the urge, oh ye romantics and letter-writers. This book is not for you.
Despite the title, resist the urge, oh ye romantics and letter-writers. This book is not for you.
September 25, 2011
mia figlia ha letto il libro per prima e mi ha detto:"ti piacerà" Mi conosce bene e sa che gli ingredienti giusti ci sono tutti: i libri, una storia d'amore e un finale .. come piace a me!
March 5, 2012
Reviewed for THC Reviews
I agreed to review P. O. Box Love because it was billed as a romance and the theme of reunited loves is a favorite of mine. It definitely is a love story, however, I will caution my fellow romance readers that this is a literary romance rather than a genre romance. When I first started reading the book and realized this, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not, but in the end was very pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was. P. O. Box Love is the story of two high-school sweethearts who serendipitously find one another again after thirty years apart. They then rekindle their relationship through writing letters to one another over a period of four years, punctuated by once a year romantic interludes in France. P. O. Box Love is primarily an epistolary novel comprised of the letters exchanged by the two main characters, but these missives are interspersed with the heroine's first-person narratives. This is another way in which the story is much different than most romances I read in that Emma and Frederico spend most of the novel apart. Their romance also takes on a somewhat melancholy tone, because it is a rather impossible one due to Frederico already being married and very reluctant to leave his wife. Normally, this thread of infidelity would be quite troublesome to me, but for some reason it didn't bother nearly as much as I thought it would. I think this was mainly owing to the fact that, much like Emma, the reader gets to know very little about Frederico's wife, and as a result, it almost seems like she doesn't exist.
Being every bit as passionate about books as Emma is, it would have been impossible for me not to like her. She is the owner of a bookstore in Milan called Dreams & Desires which specializes in books relating to love and romance. I think that Emma's store shows that she is something of a hopeless romantic, which is probably why her heart was open to the possibility of reigniting a long lost love when Frederico reappears in her life, and also why she continued the relationship in spite of several times being tempted to end it. Emma is rather old-fashioned as well. She refuses to use a computer or a cell phone, and has a general aversion to most forms of technology which is how she ended up writing letters to Frederico rather than e-mailing, texting or phoning. On some level, I agree with Emma's views, because technology has created a certain loss in the art of communication. Hardly anyone ever sits down to write a letter anymore, so this aspect gave the story a very quaint feeling that I adored. I also thought it was rather sweet and funny that Emma's friends and family seemed to subconsciously view her as some sort of expert on love and romance because her store was focused on those subjects, as they all bring their relationship woes to her.
Frederico is an architect who is working in New York City on the reconstruction of the Morgan Library. We really only get to know him through his letters to Emma and the tidbits of dialog they share when they are together. He is definitely a man who is conflicted. Emma had always thought that Frederico broke up with her due to a youthful indiscretion that led her to kiss another man, but in reality, he had given in to pressure from his family who didn't feel Emma was good enough for him. In the end, he married a woman befitting his station and who was good at being a wife, but whom he never loved in the same way as Emma. He didn't deliberately seek Emma out, but when he found her again, he couldn't resist starting over with her in spite of his marriage. I believe a part of him wanted to leave his wife and be fully with Emma, but his sense of responsibility toward her and their daughter wouldn't allow him to. While I don't condone his infidelity, I did understand it on some level. It was never just about the sex, but about the fact that he enjoyed a deep friendship and an intimacy with Emma that I don't believe he ever had with his wife.
I really enjoyed the progression of Emma and Frederico's relationship and the way that they communicate their emotions through the language of books and architecture. Throughout the story they influence each other a great deal. Through Frederico's passion for architecture, Emma learns to appreciate buildings and their design more, and through Emma's passion for books, Frederico learns to appreciate them more. Suddenly, his work on the Morgan library is much more than just building something as he begins to think more about the things that will be housed there. The language of books was such a lovely way for Emma and Frederico to express their emotions. Even though I have to admit that I've read virtually none of the books mentioned, I couldn't help but feel connected to them anyway, especially Emma. The titles of the books may have been different than the ones that I usually read, but I believe wholeheartedly that the language of books is a universal one to anyone who is passionate about them.
Paola Calvetti does a wonderful job of conveying a sense of time and place too. Emma's bookstore is almost a character unto itself. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it grow and change. It was kind of like watching a butterfly emerge from it's cocoon, as was Frederico's work on the Morgan. I loved all of Emma's window displays and shelf themes. Organizing by themes is something I can definitely relate to as I do that a lot myself. All the “peaceful oases” that Frederico finds within the bustling metropolis of New York City made it seems like a much more tranquil place than I'm sure it is. The Strand bookstore and the Morgan Library itself both sound like little slices of heaven on earth to a book lover like myself. Emma and Frederico's romantic hideaway in Brittany sounded absolutely wonderful as well, a secluded place that is almost outside of time and space.
The decidedly literary quality of P. O. Box Love in many ways puts me outside its target audience. This style made for a bit more dense reading than I'm used to, but I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to read it and take a step outside my comfort zone. The prose had a beautifully lyrical, almost poetic feel to it that I appreciated for its ability to draw me into the story and make me feel like I was there with the protagonists. There were only a couple of small trouble spots that I found. One was that there were occasional major jumps in time and/or thought processes with no warning such as a page break which could be a little jarring. The other is that sometimes in the dialog it was hard to figure out who was speaking, at least when those passages first begin. Otherwise, P. O. Box Love was a well-written story. Considering that it was originally penned in Italian and translated to English, I'd say that the translation process was handled very well too. The only reason I didn't mark it higher is that in spite of enjoying the story, I can't honestly say that it was difficult to put down which is the true mark of a keeper for me. However, it was a very pleasant read that was a solid four stars and a surprising winner which has left me open to reading more from Paola Calvetti if any of her other novels are translated to English.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publicist via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I agreed to review P. O. Box Love because it was billed as a romance and the theme of reunited loves is a favorite of mine. It definitely is a love story, however, I will caution my fellow romance readers that this is a literary romance rather than a genre romance. When I first started reading the book and realized this, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not, but in the end was very pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was. P. O. Box Love is the story of two high-school sweethearts who serendipitously find one another again after thirty years apart. They then rekindle their relationship through writing letters to one another over a period of four years, punctuated by once a year romantic interludes in France. P. O. Box Love is primarily an epistolary novel comprised of the letters exchanged by the two main characters, but these missives are interspersed with the heroine's first-person narratives. This is another way in which the story is much different than most romances I read in that Emma and Frederico spend most of the novel apart. Their romance also takes on a somewhat melancholy tone, because it is a rather impossible one due to Frederico already being married and very reluctant to leave his wife. Normally, this thread of infidelity would be quite troublesome to me, but for some reason it didn't bother nearly as much as I thought it would. I think this was mainly owing to the fact that, much like Emma, the reader gets to know very little about Frederico's wife, and as a result, it almost seems like she doesn't exist.
Being every bit as passionate about books as Emma is, it would have been impossible for me not to like her. She is the owner of a bookstore in Milan called Dreams & Desires which specializes in books relating to love and romance. I think that Emma's store shows that she is something of a hopeless romantic, which is probably why her heart was open to the possibility of reigniting a long lost love when Frederico reappears in her life, and also why she continued the relationship in spite of several times being tempted to end it. Emma is rather old-fashioned as well. She refuses to use a computer or a cell phone, and has a general aversion to most forms of technology which is how she ended up writing letters to Frederico rather than e-mailing, texting or phoning. On some level, I agree with Emma's views, because technology has created a certain loss in the art of communication. Hardly anyone ever sits down to write a letter anymore, so this aspect gave the story a very quaint feeling that I adored. I also thought it was rather sweet and funny that Emma's friends and family seemed to subconsciously view her as some sort of expert on love and romance because her store was focused on those subjects, as they all bring their relationship woes to her.
Frederico is an architect who is working in New York City on the reconstruction of the Morgan Library. We really only get to know him through his letters to Emma and the tidbits of dialog they share when they are together. He is definitely a man who is conflicted. Emma had always thought that Frederico broke up with her due to a youthful indiscretion that led her to kiss another man, but in reality, he had given in to pressure from his family who didn't feel Emma was good enough for him. In the end, he married a woman befitting his station and who was good at being a wife, but whom he never loved in the same way as Emma. He didn't deliberately seek Emma out, but when he found her again, he couldn't resist starting over with her in spite of his marriage. I believe a part of him wanted to leave his wife and be fully with Emma, but his sense of responsibility toward her and their daughter wouldn't allow him to. While I don't condone his infidelity, I did understand it on some level. It was never just about the sex, but about the fact that he enjoyed a deep friendship and an intimacy with Emma that I don't believe he ever had with his wife.
I really enjoyed the progression of Emma and Frederico's relationship and the way that they communicate their emotions through the language of books and architecture. Throughout the story they influence each other a great deal. Through Frederico's passion for architecture, Emma learns to appreciate buildings and their design more, and through Emma's passion for books, Frederico learns to appreciate them more. Suddenly, his work on the Morgan library is much more than just building something as he begins to think more about the things that will be housed there. The language of books was such a lovely way for Emma and Frederico to express their emotions. Even though I have to admit that I've read virtually none of the books mentioned, I couldn't help but feel connected to them anyway, especially Emma. The titles of the books may have been different than the ones that I usually read, but I believe wholeheartedly that the language of books is a universal one to anyone who is passionate about them.
Paola Calvetti does a wonderful job of conveying a sense of time and place too. Emma's bookstore is almost a character unto itself. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it grow and change. It was kind of like watching a butterfly emerge from it's cocoon, as was Frederico's work on the Morgan. I loved all of Emma's window displays and shelf themes. Organizing by themes is something I can definitely relate to as I do that a lot myself. All the “peaceful oases” that Frederico finds within the bustling metropolis of New York City made it seems like a much more tranquil place than I'm sure it is. The Strand bookstore and the Morgan Library itself both sound like little slices of heaven on earth to a book lover like myself. Emma and Frederico's romantic hideaway in Brittany sounded absolutely wonderful as well, a secluded place that is almost outside of time and space.
The decidedly literary quality of P. O. Box Love in many ways puts me outside its target audience. This style made for a bit more dense reading than I'm used to, but I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to read it and take a step outside my comfort zone. The prose had a beautifully lyrical, almost poetic feel to it that I appreciated for its ability to draw me into the story and make me feel like I was there with the protagonists. There were only a couple of small trouble spots that I found. One was that there were occasional major jumps in time and/or thought processes with no warning such as a page break which could be a little jarring. The other is that sometimes in the dialog it was hard to figure out who was speaking, at least when those passages first begin. Otherwise, P. O. Box Love was a well-written story. Considering that it was originally penned in Italian and translated to English, I'd say that the translation process was handled very well too. The only reason I didn't mark it higher is that in spite of enjoying the story, I can't honestly say that it was difficult to put down which is the true mark of a keeper for me. However, it was a very pleasant read that was a solid four stars and a surprising winner which has left me open to reading more from Paola Calvetti if any of her other novels are translated to English.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publicist via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 21, 2021
De très belles réflexions sur les livres, des passages dans la librairie Rêves et Sortilèges qui donnent envie d'y passer des journées entières...
MAIS trop de longueurs, trop de descriptions métaphoriques qui m'ont bien souvent sortie de l'histoire, trop de détails sur l'architecture dans les lettres de Federico que je n'avais que faire.
Bref, 2,5/5 étoiles.
C'est vraiment dommage car vu le sujet, j'aurais vraiment aimé plus accrocher avec ce livre.
MAIS trop de longueurs, trop de descriptions métaphoriques qui m'ont bien souvent sortie de l'histoire, trop de détails sur l'architecture dans les lettres de Federico que je n'avais que faire.
Bref, 2,5/5 étoiles.
C'est vraiment dommage car vu le sujet, j'aurais vraiment aimé plus accrocher avec ce livre.
October 14, 2017
Ma che carino... Magari poi, a mente fredda, ragioni sul fatto che è un po' lungo e lento. Magari anche sul fatto che non è umanamente possibile che a 'sta qui vada tutto bene (lavorativamente parlando!)... ma è tanto carino che viene perdonato d'ufficio.
July 1, 2012
P.O. Box Love was an interesting read. Even after two day I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not sure what I expected after reading the blurb we got from the author. It sounded interesting, and the story was. I just never fell in love with it. It needed more emotion.
P.O. Box Love is written as love letters and a story. Meaning part of the time you’re reading love letters between two characters and the other time you’re reading the story from the main female’s POV. The main characters are Emma and Federico. Emma’s a fifty something bookshop from living in Milan and Federico is a fifty something successful architect, working in New York City. Emma is divorced and has been for many years. She has a son, Mattie, whose graduating high school and about to attend University. Federico on the other hand is married and has been for twenty some odd years. He and his wife have a daughter, Sarah, who’s also a teenager.
Emma and Federico, in their youth, had been boyfriend/girlfriend and something happens to break them up. Now after all this time, Federico finds Emma in her bookshop, Dreams & Desires. Dreams & Desires is a bookshop designed and furnished for romantics. All Emma sells are romance novels, it doesn’t matter the size or shape. This is the part that confuses me, Emma is such a romantic, yet I didn’t get much feeling from her. She can remember just about every book she’s ever read, yet she forgets her personal history. She does this on purpose, which doesn’t make sense to me. I would’ve thought she’d care about her memories, since romantics usually do. (At least romantic writers that is, their memories give inspiration.)
When Emma and Federico decide to start corresponding with each other they do so by writing letters. These, hand written, letters are the only line of communication they have, because Emma has decided technology is a bad thing. She doesn’t own a cell phone and she dislikes the internet and computers. Needless to say she doesn’t touch either. So the story starts with former high school sweethearts becoming “pin-pals.” It’s truly a twist on You’ve Got Mail, without the technology. Emma and Federico us a P.O. Box to send, receive and store their letters so no one will find out. Their affair including the correspondence spans over six years during which Federico opens up to Emma about his life and emotions. Things he can’t share with his family. Emma begins to look at life a little different too as she adds architecture to her life. What I mean by this is that she starts looking at the beauty of buildings, whereas she’d never done that before. She seems to like hearing about Federico’s work on the Morgan and she tells him about different bookshops around New York City. They also talk about their lives but not too much. Federico stops in the stores she tells him about and he starts to enjoy the peace the stores and parks give him as he writes to her.
This affair isn’t just the letters that these two former sweethearts share. They actually do become lovers ad meet once a year on an island. The island fits their “prefect” affair since it doesn’t get any service for phones or internet. In these short encounters we get the most “emotion,” still I expected more. Don’t expect the details of their sex life, it’s not there, what we get is how they fit into each other’s life. That they enjoy each other’s company and the outside world means nothing. We the reader know this relationship is doomed even Emma knows it. She tells us so. Yet when Federico talks about his wife and his actions Emma basically says she’s okay with the status quo. She seems to like being a mistress. This is something else I don’t understand, because I don’t know why she’d want to be the other woman.
As the relationship heads to a close the book seems to skip or loss something. You find more spelling errors and sentences that don’t completely make sense. This also goes along with Emma somewhat losing herself. Plus we have the end of Federico’s letters which doesn’t seem like the right spot, especially when Emma references it within her letters. She states it’s been two weeks when it’s been two months almost to the day. Still she doesn’t make any call to see if everything is okay. There’s also a point when Federico asked to see her about a month or so before his last letter and we see nothing of that encounter. We don’t know if it happened or not, Emma doesn’t even respond to the invite if she could make it or not. Both of these events confused me. But I’d say the ending is what really through me and how we got there we don’t know. There needed to be more so that this ending made sense and could flow. As it stands you have an ending and something like an afterthought. The first would have been fine, the reader could’ve thought of their own “true ending”. What we get falls flat, and doesn’t seem to fit what had been going on.
P.O. Box Love is written as love letters and a story. Meaning part of the time you’re reading love letters between two characters and the other time you’re reading the story from the main female’s POV. The main characters are Emma and Federico. Emma’s a fifty something bookshop from living in Milan and Federico is a fifty something successful architect, working in New York City. Emma is divorced and has been for many years. She has a son, Mattie, whose graduating high school and about to attend University. Federico on the other hand is married and has been for twenty some odd years. He and his wife have a daughter, Sarah, who’s also a teenager.
Emma and Federico, in their youth, had been boyfriend/girlfriend and something happens to break them up. Now after all this time, Federico finds Emma in her bookshop, Dreams & Desires. Dreams & Desires is a bookshop designed and furnished for romantics. All Emma sells are romance novels, it doesn’t matter the size or shape. This is the part that confuses me, Emma is such a romantic, yet I didn’t get much feeling from her. She can remember just about every book she’s ever read, yet she forgets her personal history. She does this on purpose, which doesn’t make sense to me. I would’ve thought she’d care about her memories, since romantics usually do. (At least romantic writers that is, their memories give inspiration.)
When Emma and Federico decide to start corresponding with each other they do so by writing letters. These, hand written, letters are the only line of communication they have, because Emma has decided technology is a bad thing. She doesn’t own a cell phone and she dislikes the internet and computers. Needless to say she doesn’t touch either. So the story starts with former high school sweethearts becoming “pin-pals.” It’s truly a twist on You’ve Got Mail, without the technology. Emma and Federico us a P.O. Box to send, receive and store their letters so no one will find out. Their affair including the correspondence spans over six years during which Federico opens up to Emma about his life and emotions. Things he can’t share with his family. Emma begins to look at life a little different too as she adds architecture to her life. What I mean by this is that she starts looking at the beauty of buildings, whereas she’d never done that before. She seems to like hearing about Federico’s work on the Morgan and she tells him about different bookshops around New York City. They also talk about their lives but not too much. Federico stops in the stores she tells him about and he starts to enjoy the peace the stores and parks give him as he writes to her.
This affair isn’t just the letters that these two former sweethearts share. They actually do become lovers ad meet once a year on an island. The island fits their “prefect” affair since it doesn’t get any service for phones or internet. In these short encounters we get the most “emotion,” still I expected more. Don’t expect the details of their sex life, it’s not there, what we get is how they fit into each other’s life. That they enjoy each other’s company and the outside world means nothing. We the reader know this relationship is doomed even Emma knows it. She tells us so. Yet when Federico talks about his wife and his actions Emma basically says she’s okay with the status quo. She seems to like being a mistress. This is something else I don’t understand, because I don’t know why she’d want to be the other woman.
As the relationship heads to a close the book seems to skip or loss something. You find more spelling errors and sentences that don’t completely make sense. This also goes along with Emma somewhat losing herself. Plus we have the end of Federico’s letters which doesn’t seem like the right spot, especially when Emma references it within her letters. She states it’s been two weeks when it’s been two months almost to the day. Still she doesn’t make any call to see if everything is okay. There’s also a point when Federico asked to see her about a month or so before his last letter and we see nothing of that encounter. We don’t know if it happened or not, Emma doesn’t even respond to the invite if she could make it or not. Both of these events confused me. But I’d say the ending is what really through me and how we got there we don’t know. There needed to be more so that this ending made sense and could flow. As it stands you have an ending and something like an afterthought. The first would have been fine, the reader could’ve thought of their own “true ending”. What we get falls flat, and doesn’t seem to fit what had been going on.
February 14, 2012
When is the last time you wrote a letter. I mean a real snail mail letter? These days with email, instant messaging, and social networking why would someone pick up a pen and paper? It is a dying art. Paola Calvetti takes us this very scenario in her fifth novel, P.O. Box love. Set in Milan Italy the protagonist, Emma, opens an old fashion bookstore. The inventory is kept in a ledger along with the financial books. The store, Dreams & Desires, doesn’t even have a website. Emma has filled the shelves with contemporary and classic romantic fiction. She does not send emails, doesn’t own a personal computer, and rarely carries a cell phone. My goodness could any of us survive in this manner?
One day while dusting the shelves she has organized by types of love stories, she finds a handwritten note stuck between pages of a novel. Her high school sweetheart Federico, who is quite successful and living in New York City, is the writer. She has not seen him in thirty years. When he asks her to to communicate with him through ‘real’ letters that will be sent to his P.O.box.
“I put the key in the lock and, before turning it, stared as the matte brass box with the same eagerness I would have felt stumbling upon a large seashell hidden in the sand. In it—so they told me when I was a child (and I believed it!)—was the pearl that would make me a rich man. I opened the box. The pale blue Smythson of Bond Street envelope was right in front of my nose. I tucked it safely away in my jacket, climbed on the Vespa, and felt like Gregory Peck, while you, my invisible Audrey, tightened your arms around your prince’s waist. I drove to Manhattan as excited as an idiotic kid; the manhole covers looked like medallions set in the cement and the patrician residences along Madison Avenue seemed like abbesses ready for evening vespers. The envelope stayed in my pocket until the afternoon. I always put things off when I have to face something important. What if you told me to leave you alone, so long and good-bye, ti’s been nice remembering the good times, and so on?”
Emma believes her life is about turn into an international fairy tale between Italy and America. But Federico is married, and even though he presents himself very well on paper, will the relationship go anywhere? Should it?
P.O. Box is a tribute to old fashion romantic relationships. It takes life down a notch and gives the reader breathing room. If you love a good love story, Italy, and the thought of real letter writing, not to mention books, this novel is a must for your shelves.
One day while dusting the shelves she has organized by types of love stories, she finds a handwritten note stuck between pages of a novel. Her high school sweetheart Federico, who is quite successful and living in New York City, is the writer. She has not seen him in thirty years. When he asks her to to communicate with him through ‘real’ letters that will be sent to his P.O.box.
“I put the key in the lock and, before turning it, stared as the matte brass box with the same eagerness I would have felt stumbling upon a large seashell hidden in the sand. In it—so they told me when I was a child (and I believed it!)—was the pearl that would make me a rich man. I opened the box. The pale blue Smythson of Bond Street envelope was right in front of my nose. I tucked it safely away in my jacket, climbed on the Vespa, and felt like Gregory Peck, while you, my invisible Audrey, tightened your arms around your prince’s waist. I drove to Manhattan as excited as an idiotic kid; the manhole covers looked like medallions set in the cement and the patrician residences along Madison Avenue seemed like abbesses ready for evening vespers. The envelope stayed in my pocket until the afternoon. I always put things off when I have to face something important. What if you told me to leave you alone, so long and good-bye, ti’s been nice remembering the good times, and so on?”
Emma believes her life is about turn into an international fairy tale between Italy and America. But Federico is married, and even though he presents himself very well on paper, will the relationship go anywhere? Should it?
P.O. Box is a tribute to old fashion romantic relationships. It takes life down a notch and gives the reader breathing room. If you love a good love story, Italy, and the thought of real letter writing, not to mention books, this novel is a must for your shelves.
February 24, 2012
What a lovely book! There are some books that I rush through and can't wait to finish to find out what happens. This was not one of those. Much like a glass of wine or a luscious slice of cheesecake, I enjoyed savoring this story. I purposely put it down at times to be able to appreciate some of the thoughts and experiences. I did want to know the ending, but I didn't want the book to end. I loved the setting, the characters and the reality of the story. Maybe because I am Emma's age, or perhaps because I love books and bookstores and was once a bookseller myself, I really loved this book. I loved that the main characters weren't perfect. Emma and Frederico were very real and each had things about them that could be considered flaws. I also loved the people who gravitated to the bookstore. I could picture being one of them and sitting and enjoying a latte or pastry while listening to a reading. They were great friends. The author has a beautiful style of writing. The letter idea, while at first glance seemed a bit dated, actually allowed the lovers to share their thoughts and emotions freely. Sometimes I knew what they were feeling and other times it surprised me, but it was always right. I could go on, but I really just want to recommend this book to anyone who has loved or been loved. It is a literary love story that will touch your heart.
November 14, 2010
un'idea molto originale, la libreria dedicata agli amori. sarebbe quasi da fare davvero...
un libro dai personaggi minori indimenticabili, mentre la vicenda amorosa non è nemmeno la prima protagonista (e, sinceramente, neanche un gran che, un po' scontata). E' il trionfo dell'amore per i libri, del recupero dei tempi lenti, dei rapporti umani, delle chiacchiere tra vicini, del piacere di prendere un tè insieme.
qualche idea infelice (un negozio piccolo che fa libreria, bar, fioraio? e poi un albergo??? un assoluto e forzato happy end...) in un libro che ho amato molto e che mi manca già tantissimo!!!
un libro dai personaggi minori indimenticabili, mentre la vicenda amorosa non è nemmeno la prima protagonista (e, sinceramente, neanche un gran che, un po' scontata). E' il trionfo dell'amore per i libri, del recupero dei tempi lenti, dei rapporti umani, delle chiacchiere tra vicini, del piacere di prendere un tè insieme.
qualche idea infelice (un negozio piccolo che fa libreria, bar, fioraio? e poi un albergo??? un assoluto e forzato happy end...) in un libro che ho amato molto e che mi manca già tantissimo!!!
October 4, 2012
Paola Calvetti (English translation by Anne Milano Appel) has woven a wonderful tale about the promise of love, and how true love can be sparked with patience and a little attention. You can feel the author's passion for writing! It is a story that will take you back in time to a romance story of time gone by, one of hand written missives vs. the elctronic emails and text messages of this modern world.
January 14, 2013
Ritrovare l'amore a cinquant'anni è come scoprirsi di nuovo adolescenti...Tutto gira intorno al passato, e al presente ma non si pensa mai al futuro, ad una conseguenza di un azione.
Si vive e basta!
Emma se lo chiede a volte che cosa fare del futuro e anche Federico, ma subito ricoprono questo pensiero continuando a vivere solo per quel 10 aprile...Brava Paola!
Sono curiosa di leggere altri suoi libri!
Si vive e basta!
Emma se lo chiede a volte che cosa fare del futuro e anche Federico, ma subito ricoprono questo pensiero continuando a vivere solo per quel 10 aprile...Brava Paola!
Sono curiosa di leggere altri suoi libri!
August 17, 2011
I've written it and I love it...
June 4, 2016
I want to have a bookshop like this! Loved that the most. Apart from that, I don't get how the lovestory starts and ends, the characters are not that real, but all in all an okay read.
May 14, 2020
Questo romanzo è stata una piacevolissima scoperta.
Inizio però dicendo che la trama riportata qui trae in inganno benché non dica niente di falso, fornisce un’impressione della storia che non è affatto quella reale che si riceve leggendo il libro. In particolar modo io non l’ho affatto vissuta come una commedia frizzante e anche di romantico a voler essere onesti in fondo c’è ben poco, a parte l’argomento dei libri della libreria Sogni e bisogni, che Emma apre nella vecchia cartoleria che la zia le lascia in eredità, per cui decide di cambiare drasticamente la sua vita e lasciare il lavoro che finora l’ha assorbita tanto, portandola in giro per il mondo. La libreria tratta solo romanzi d’amore, di tutti i tipi di amore, da quello coniugale a quello extra coniugale, da quello sofferto a quello familiare, diventando in poco tempo, grazie anche all’aiuto di Alice, collaboratrice fidata e di altri dipendenti acquisiti in seguito, un luogo di ritrovo per gli appassionati della lettura e di piccoli negozi indipendenti che preferiscono evitare le catene specializzate e il supermarket per l’acquisto delle loro letture.
Qui dentro vediamo l’evoluzione di Emma, donna divorziata con un figlio e un passato difficile (che però ci viene in realtà svelato poco), a livello caratteriale, con l’acquisizione di una sicurezza sempre maggiore e della realizzazione personale, superando la crisi di mezza età che la assale all’avvicinarsi del cinquantesimo compleanno, e insieme a lei crescerà la libreria, arricchendosi di nuove iniziative e della Locanda con dolcetti dai nomi letterari, e di un piccolo albergo con tre stanze dai nomi di citazioni di autori famosi, per ospitare gli scrittori che soggiornino in Italia per promuovere i loro libri. Tutto questo con l’aiuto del commercialista Alberto, Nemico Fedele, marito della più cara amica Gabriella.
In questa libreria capiterà anche per caso un ex fidanzato del liceo, Federico, che ha avuto un ruolo molto importante per la nostra protagonista, e che le lascerà il suo contatto in un libro, piacevolmente stupito di ritrovarla. I due si ritroveranno vicini come non avrebbero creduto, e scopriranno di non aver mai smesso di amarsi.
Federico però attualmente è sposato e con una figlia, e vive a New York per il tempo di portare a conclusione un progetto di costruzione della Morgan library, la più grande biblioteca antica americana, e il cui fondatore, JP Morgan ha una storia molto ricca ed affascinante che ci accompagnerà per tutto il libro.
I due decidono perciò di scriversi e non telefonarsi per tutto il periodo da un incontro all’altro, ma solo lettere cartacee e non email, e neanche telefonarsi, perché Emma aborre tutti i nuovi metodi tecnologici e moderni di comunicazione. Federico imporrà invece la regola di vedersi una sola volta all’anno in un’isola della Bretagna dalla storia caratteristica e panorami mozzafiato, Belle Ile.
Nonostante ciò che possa sembrare a primo impatto, ho trovato la storia d’amore un tema secondario nella narrazione, dove le librerie e tutto ciò che ci gira intorno la fanno da padrone.
È stato molto piacevole, coinvolgente e a volte divertente leggere tanti aneddoti letterari e scoprirne molti a me sconosciuti, su autori che pure apprezzo decisamente.
La parte più bella è stata quella successiva all’ingrandimento e all’ampliamento delle attività connesse alla libreria, soprattutto con le conferenze e firma copie di tanti autori contemporanei.
È stato curioso leggere di community di scambio e lettura e del sito maremagnum, cosa che non mi era mai capitata finora in un libro.
Le sensazioni descritte dalla protagonista sono in gran parte a me familiari, come nel caso della rimozione della parte del passato che porta più stimoli dolorosi, del “rigurgito di dolore all’altezza dello sterno, nel luogo deputato al cartongesso, l’acidità del boccone andato a male”, del tornare nei luoghi condivisi per dire addio tra le lacrime al passato concluso; sono tutte esperienze che mi hanno accompagnata in certi periodi.
Non ho trovato fuori luogo, anche se abbastanza surreale, il tragico colpo di scena, che ci sta bene comunque nel contesto di una storia del genere.
Ciò che però proprio non sono riuscita ad apprezzare è la conclusione: al di là del discorso di lieto fine o meno, le vicende si sarebbero potute risolvere in mille modi diversi e più complessi, ma la scelta di coinvolgere Mattia, nonostante sia stata emozionante la scena in cui si dispera e la madre non ne conosca nè comprenda il motivo, risulta alquanto fiabesca, come se la Calvetti avesse avuto la necessita di introdurre un deus ex machina che in quattro e quattr’otto risolvesse la faccenda.
Purtroppo questo le ha fatto perdere la quinta stellina in quanto lascia la sensazione che le pagine a disposizione fossero finite e che si sia quindi condensato in dieci pagine ciò che usandone di più avrebbe potuto ricevere maggiore attenzione e complessità.
Comunque lettura molto molto piacevole e di cui consiglierei la lettura!
Inizio però dicendo che la trama riportata qui trae in inganno benché non dica niente di falso, fornisce un’impressione della storia che non è affatto quella reale che si riceve leggendo il libro. In particolar modo io non l’ho affatto vissuta come una commedia frizzante e anche di romantico a voler essere onesti in fondo c’è ben poco, a parte l’argomento dei libri della libreria Sogni e bisogni, che Emma apre nella vecchia cartoleria che la zia le lascia in eredità, per cui decide di cambiare drasticamente la sua vita e lasciare il lavoro che finora l’ha assorbita tanto, portandola in giro per il mondo. La libreria tratta solo romanzi d’amore, di tutti i tipi di amore, da quello coniugale a quello extra coniugale, da quello sofferto a quello familiare, diventando in poco tempo, grazie anche all’aiuto di Alice, collaboratrice fidata e di altri dipendenti acquisiti in seguito, un luogo di ritrovo per gli appassionati della lettura e di piccoli negozi indipendenti che preferiscono evitare le catene specializzate e il supermarket per l’acquisto delle loro letture.
Qui dentro vediamo l’evoluzione di Emma, donna divorziata con un figlio e un passato difficile (che però ci viene in realtà svelato poco), a livello caratteriale, con l’acquisizione di una sicurezza sempre maggiore e della realizzazione personale, superando la crisi di mezza età che la assale all’avvicinarsi del cinquantesimo compleanno, e insieme a lei crescerà la libreria, arricchendosi di nuove iniziative e della Locanda con dolcetti dai nomi letterari, e di un piccolo albergo con tre stanze dai nomi di citazioni di autori famosi, per ospitare gli scrittori che soggiornino in Italia per promuovere i loro libri. Tutto questo con l’aiuto del commercialista Alberto, Nemico Fedele, marito della più cara amica Gabriella.
In questa libreria capiterà anche per caso un ex fidanzato del liceo, Federico, che ha avuto un ruolo molto importante per la nostra protagonista, e che le lascerà il suo contatto in un libro, piacevolmente stupito di ritrovarla. I due si ritroveranno vicini come non avrebbero creduto, e scopriranno di non aver mai smesso di amarsi.
Federico però attualmente è sposato e con una figlia, e vive a New York per il tempo di portare a conclusione un progetto di costruzione della Morgan library, la più grande biblioteca antica americana, e il cui fondatore, JP Morgan ha una storia molto ricca ed affascinante che ci accompagnerà per tutto il libro.
I due decidono perciò di scriversi e non telefonarsi per tutto il periodo da un incontro all’altro, ma solo lettere cartacee e non email, e neanche telefonarsi, perché Emma aborre tutti i nuovi metodi tecnologici e moderni di comunicazione. Federico imporrà invece la regola di vedersi una sola volta all’anno in un’isola della Bretagna dalla storia caratteristica e panorami mozzafiato, Belle Ile.
Nonostante ciò che possa sembrare a primo impatto, ho trovato la storia d’amore un tema secondario nella narrazione, dove le librerie e tutto ciò che ci gira intorno la fanno da padrone.
È stato molto piacevole, coinvolgente e a volte divertente leggere tanti aneddoti letterari e scoprirne molti a me sconosciuti, su autori che pure apprezzo decisamente.
La parte più bella è stata quella successiva all’ingrandimento e all’ampliamento delle attività connesse alla libreria, soprattutto con le conferenze e firma copie di tanti autori contemporanei.
È stato curioso leggere di community di scambio e lettura e del sito maremagnum, cosa che non mi era mai capitata finora in un libro.
Le sensazioni descritte dalla protagonista sono in gran parte a me familiari, come nel caso della rimozione della parte del passato che porta più stimoli dolorosi, del “rigurgito di dolore all’altezza dello sterno, nel luogo deputato al cartongesso, l’acidità del boccone andato a male”, del tornare nei luoghi condivisi per dire addio tra le lacrime al passato concluso; sono tutte esperienze che mi hanno accompagnata in certi periodi.
Non ho trovato fuori luogo, anche se abbastanza surreale, il tragico colpo di scena, che ci sta bene comunque nel contesto di una storia del genere.
Ciò che però proprio non sono riuscita ad apprezzare è la conclusione: al di là del discorso di lieto fine o meno, le vicende si sarebbero potute risolvere in mille modi diversi e più complessi, ma la scelta di coinvolgere Mattia, nonostante sia stata emozionante la scena in cui si dispera e la madre non ne conosca nè comprenda il motivo, risulta alquanto fiabesca, come se la Calvetti avesse avuto la necessita di introdurre un deus ex machina che in quattro e quattr’otto risolvesse la faccenda.
Purtroppo questo le ha fatto perdere la quinta stellina in quanto lascia la sensazione che le pagine a disposizione fossero finite e che si sia quindi condensato in dieci pagine ciò che usandone di più avrebbe potuto ricevere maggiore attenzione e complessità.
Comunque lettura molto molto piacevole e di cui consiglierei la lettura!
November 9, 2017
L'amour est à la lettre A, un titre qui m'a tout de suite attirée. Je m'attendais à une grande et belle histoire d'amour mais, j'ai vite déchanté. Dans ce livre nous suivons Emma, une quinquagénaire qui vit à Milan. Un jour, elle retrouve son amour de lycée, Federico qui vit désormais à New York. S'ensuit un échange de lettres entre les deux âmes-sœurs.
Vous l'aurez compris, ici nous avons le droit à un roman épistolaire. J'adore ce genre mais là, j'ai eu beaucoup de mal. Tout d'abord, j'ai mis du temps à rentrer dans l'histoire, à m'habituer aux personnages et à la plume de l'auteur. Aussi, il y a pas mal de changements de rythme puisque parfois nous avons des lettres et parfois, nous avons des passages narrés par Emma. Au début cette alternance était bien mais, à la fin, les passages de narration deviennent beaucoup trop longs et plombent le rythme. Surtout que dans ce livre, il n'y a absolument pas d'actions, pas la moindre péripétie alors si l'auteure casse le peu de rythme qu'il y a dans son livre, ce n'est pas terrible. L'auteure se contente de montrer les sentiments des personnages et leur côté psychologique. Même si au début c'est intéressant, suivre la psychologie des personnages durant 381 pages, ça devient vite long. Du coup, il y a énormément de passages inutiles qui sont plutôt ennuyeux et redondants. L'auteure aurait pu enlever au moins 100 pages où il ne se passe pas grand chose. J'ai mis deux mois pour lire ce livre (oui je sais, c'est laborieux...) à cause de ce que j'ai évoqué précédemment mais aussi à cause des pages trop denses. Parfois, dix pages d'affilée sont écrites d'un bloc sans le moindre espace ou le moindre paragraphe. Je peux vous assurer que ça allonge considérablement le temps de lecture.
J'ai été gênée également par le manque de concordance entre les lettres. Emma et Federico s'envoient des lettres et ne répondent pas aux questions qu'ils se posent mutuellement. Je ne vois pas l’intérêt de s'envoyer des lettres si on ne répond pas aux questions que l'autre nous pose. Il y a peu de véritables échanges entre nos deux personnages et souvent, l'auteur passe du coq à l'âne sans transition.
Je ne me suis pas trop attachée aux personnages. Surement parce que nos deux personnages principaux ont la cinquantaine donc c'est compliqué pour moi de m'identifier à eux. Les personnages secondaires sont quant à eux trop peu présents pour que l'on puisse s'identifier ou s'attacher à eux.
Mais, il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce livre, il ne faut pas croire. Paola Calvetti a une écriture très belle, très poétique, pleine de figures de style. Paola a sans conteste l'une des plus belles plumes que j'ai eu l'occasion de découvrir. L'auteure fait également beaucoup de références aux grands classiques de la littérature et elle donne vraiment envie de découvrir ces livres desquels elle parle avec passion. Emma est libraire et elle a sa propre librairie Rêves & Sortilèges. Franchement, c'est une librairie de rêve. C'est un petit cocon dans lequel on voudrait passer des heures tranquillement dans un coin à bouquiner.
Vous l'aurez compris, malgré quelques points positifs, la lecture de ce livre a été la croix et la bannière. J'avais l'impression qu'on me rajoutait des pages en douce au fur et à mesure de ma lecture. Je ne vous conseille pas trop ce livre mais libre à vous de tenter l'aventure si vous aimez les contemporains, la romance et les belles paroles.
Twogirlsandbooks
Vous l'aurez compris, ici nous avons le droit à un roman épistolaire. J'adore ce genre mais là, j'ai eu beaucoup de mal. Tout d'abord, j'ai mis du temps à rentrer dans l'histoire, à m'habituer aux personnages et à la plume de l'auteur. Aussi, il y a pas mal de changements de rythme puisque parfois nous avons des lettres et parfois, nous avons des passages narrés par Emma. Au début cette alternance était bien mais, à la fin, les passages de narration deviennent beaucoup trop longs et plombent le rythme. Surtout que dans ce livre, il n'y a absolument pas d'actions, pas la moindre péripétie alors si l'auteure casse le peu de rythme qu'il y a dans son livre, ce n'est pas terrible. L'auteure se contente de montrer les sentiments des personnages et leur côté psychologique. Même si au début c'est intéressant, suivre la psychologie des personnages durant 381 pages, ça devient vite long. Du coup, il y a énormément de passages inutiles qui sont plutôt ennuyeux et redondants. L'auteure aurait pu enlever au moins 100 pages où il ne se passe pas grand chose. J'ai mis deux mois pour lire ce livre (oui je sais, c'est laborieux...) à cause de ce que j'ai évoqué précédemment mais aussi à cause des pages trop denses. Parfois, dix pages d'affilée sont écrites d'un bloc sans le moindre espace ou le moindre paragraphe. Je peux vous assurer que ça allonge considérablement le temps de lecture.
J'ai été gênée également par le manque de concordance entre les lettres. Emma et Federico s'envoient des lettres et ne répondent pas aux questions qu'ils se posent mutuellement. Je ne vois pas l’intérêt de s'envoyer des lettres si on ne répond pas aux questions que l'autre nous pose. Il y a peu de véritables échanges entre nos deux personnages et souvent, l'auteur passe du coq à l'âne sans transition.
Je ne me suis pas trop attachée aux personnages. Surement parce que nos deux personnages principaux ont la cinquantaine donc c'est compliqué pour moi de m'identifier à eux. Les personnages secondaires sont quant à eux trop peu présents pour que l'on puisse s'identifier ou s'attacher à eux.
Mais, il y a quand même des points positifs dans ce livre, il ne faut pas croire. Paola Calvetti a une écriture très belle, très poétique, pleine de figures de style. Paola a sans conteste l'une des plus belles plumes que j'ai eu l'occasion de découvrir. L'auteure fait également beaucoup de références aux grands classiques de la littérature et elle donne vraiment envie de découvrir ces livres desquels elle parle avec passion. Emma est libraire et elle a sa propre librairie Rêves & Sortilèges. Franchement, c'est une librairie de rêve. C'est un petit cocon dans lequel on voudrait passer des heures tranquillement dans un coin à bouquiner.
Vous l'aurez compris, malgré quelques points positifs, la lecture de ce livre a été la croix et la bannière. J'avais l'impression qu'on me rajoutait des pages en douce au fur et à mesure de ma lecture. Je ne vous conseille pas trop ce livre mais libre à vous de tenter l'aventure si vous aimez les contemporains, la romance et les belles paroles.
Twogirlsandbooks
April 16, 2025
Emma, la protagonista di queste pagine di carta ed inchiostro ma che spesso te ne dimentichi per quanto la storia, la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, dei luoghi, i dialoghi, siano così reali, è una quasi cinquantenne divorziata, con un figlio adolescente che adora e che fortuna vuole, un giorno rileverà la cartoleria ereditata da una zia e che presto trasformerà nella libreria dei suoi sogni battezzandola appunto con il nome Sogni&Bisogni, una libreria di soli romanzi d’amore, un rifugio, un porto sicuro dove poter ritrovare se stessa e la sua libertà di donna single dopo il divorzio. Senza sapere che un bel giorno, arriverà, o meglio, tornerà il suo primo, grande amore della sua vita, Federico. Soltanto che Federico vive a New York ed è sposato. Questo è un piccolo dettaglio, o enorme, a seconda dei punti di vista. Tuttavia, sono più che convinta che a volte – soprattutto per il nostro bene – dovremmo pensare che quella che abbiamo tra le mani è solo una storia fatta di carta, non di carne ed ossa. Penso che, vedendo la cosa in questo modo, tutti i giudizi e i pregiudizi che inevitabilmente piovono da tutte le parti ogniqualvolta si parli di adulterio o tradimento in genere, possano essere messi da parte. Forse, proprio grazie alla lettura di questo libro ricorderete a voi stesse che quando un uomo non vi ama più e comincia a guardarsi intorno in cerca di altro, è molto meglio lasciarlo andare, e non farvi più trattare come uno zerbino.
October 17, 2022
This book would have been more satisfying if the male character had a voice between letters as the heroine did.
Quotable:
All human beings tell the story of their lives by selection, choosing and reinforcing some memories, relegating others to oblivion.
A word is intangible, yet in my eyes it is more powerful than any physical act. It sprouts from an idea, a thought, from any observation of nature or a street, a building, a face; it materializes from a slap or an embrace and – bam! – it can change your world.
I see the shadow of the rest home looming, a very old Emma, shrewish and angry. I will become so, of course. The idea is unbearable, and I don’t understand the enthusiasm of those who argue that we should live increasingly longer, longer, longer. Will it really be a good thing?
[John Piermont] Morgan placed his trust blindly in this sensual, intelligent woman [Belle da Costa Greene] who bewitched both men and women, loved pearls, went around wearing scarves wound as turbans, feathered hats, or, alternatively, dressed as a man. When a reported asked her why she dressed so elegantly, she replied, “Just because I am a librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”
This is why we men are ignorant in matters of love: We haven’t read the right books.
Quotable:
All human beings tell the story of their lives by selection, choosing and reinforcing some memories, relegating others to oblivion.
A word is intangible, yet in my eyes it is more powerful than any physical act. It sprouts from an idea, a thought, from any observation of nature or a street, a building, a face; it materializes from a slap or an embrace and – bam! – it can change your world.
I see the shadow of the rest home looming, a very old Emma, shrewish and angry. I will become so, of course. The idea is unbearable, and I don’t understand the enthusiasm of those who argue that we should live increasingly longer, longer, longer. Will it really be a good thing?
[John Piermont] Morgan placed his trust blindly in this sensual, intelligent woman [Belle da Costa Greene] who bewitched both men and women, loved pearls, went around wearing scarves wound as turbans, feathered hats, or, alternatively, dressed as a man. When a reported asked her why she dressed so elegantly, she replied, “Just because I am a librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”
This is why we men are ignorant in matters of love: We haven’t read the right books.
May 24, 2024
Ecco un bel libro che parla di passione in senso lato: per i romanzi d'amore innanzitutto, ma anche per un uomo che la protagonista e voce narrante- Emma- rincontra dopo trentacinque anni, nonché per la di lei libreria "Sogni &Bisogni" che vende, per l'appunto, solo storie d'amore.
E' originale questo "Noi due come un romanzo" (benché il titolo non lasci presagire nella di buono): le citazioni, numerose e variegate, intessono il corpo del romanzo amalgamandovisi e la distanza geografica che separa i due protagonisti che si scrivono molto più di quanto si incontrino acuisce il desiderio del lettore (almeno per quel che mi riguarda) di vederli insieme dopo tutto.
E' originale questo "Noi due come un romanzo" (benché il titolo non lasci presagire nella di buono): le citazioni, numerose e variegate, intessono il corpo del romanzo amalgamandovisi e la distanza geografica che separa i due protagonisti che si scrivono molto più di quanto si incontrino acuisce il desiderio del lettore (almeno per quel che mi riguarda) di vederli insieme dopo tutto.
March 4, 2017
Een aardig verhaal, maar wat een schrijfstijl. Het verhaal is veeeeel te lang uitgerekt. Zo'n dik boek was echt niet nodig om dit verhaal te vertellen. Bij de brieven die de twee hoofdpersonen elkaar schrijven viel ik regelmatig in slaap.
De setting in Emma's eigen boekwinkel is leuk, de personages die ze daar om zich heen heeft (Alice, zoon Mattia, de boekhouder) zijn ook aardig. De relatie met een oude schoolliefde is een goed uitgangspunt. Maar het feit dat hij op lange afstand woont, wordt al gauw lastig. Het schrijven van brieven blijft niet lang interessant.
De setting in Emma's eigen boekwinkel is leuk, de personages die ze daar om zich heen heeft (Alice, zoon Mattia, de boekhouder) zijn ook aardig. De relatie met een oude schoolliefde is een goed uitgangspunt. Maar het feit dat hij op lange afstand woont, wordt al gauw lastig. Het schrijven van brieven blijft niet lang interessant.
December 31, 2020
Je me suis ennuyée pendant la lecture de ce roman épistolaire et je n'ai pas été touchée par cette histoire d'amour et pourtant je suis très fleur bleue.
Certaines lettres sont ennuyeuses à lire surtout quand Federico parle d'architecture. J'ai même survolé quelques passages.
Heureusement qu'il y a les passages sur la librairie tenue par Emma pour relever un peu le niveau. De nombreuses références aux écrivains et à leurs œuvres parsèment l'histoire. C'est le gros point positif pour moi de ce livre. En même temps, normal c'est ma passion, mon oxygène.
Certaines lettres sont ennuyeuses à lire surtout quand Federico parle d'architecture. J'ai même survolé quelques passages.
Heureusement qu'il y a les passages sur la librairie tenue par Emma pour relever un peu le niveau. De nombreuses références aux écrivains et à leurs œuvres parsèment l'histoire. C'est le gros point positif pour moi de ce livre. En même temps, normal c'est ma passion, mon oxygène.
August 28, 2020
P. O. Box Love is one of the few books that are so well written that reading them is a pleasure, regardless of the plot. For a translation, it is exceptionally good.
Slightly slow but the book held my interest right till the very end. Emma, Federico, Alice, Mattia, Dreams and Desires all were so vividly visible in my mind. Of Italy, foolishness of youth, first love, letters written long hand, books, books and more books.. I enjoyed reading it. What's not to love?
Slightly slow but the book held my interest right till the very end. Emma, Federico, Alice, Mattia, Dreams and Desires all were so vividly visible in my mind. Of Italy, foolishness of youth, first love, letters written long hand, books, books and more books.. I enjoyed reading it. What's not to love?
December 22, 2024
Otro libro más de hombre-apuesto-rescata-a-mujer-patética. Emma es una divorciada que está más sola que la una y tiene una librería de novelas románticas en Italia. Un día se pasa por allí un antiguo noviete de juventud y retoman el contacto. Se ven de vez en cuando y se cartean, porque él vive en Estados Unidos, y ella se enamora perdidamente mientras él sigue casado y sin intención de dejar a su mujer y su hija.
December 13, 2017
I fell in love with this book. We had an awkward courtship, short meetings punctuated by the confusion of learning. Then we took a trip together, and the romance took heat.
I traveled to Milan, Paris, New York and Brittany. I wept, was shocked and loved.
This book is raw and poignant and deserves to be read—but be warned, the bookshop is only in your heart, not in stone.
I traveled to Milan, Paris, New York and Brittany. I wept, was shocked and loved.
This book is raw and poignant and deserves to be read—but be warned, the bookshop is only in your heart, not in stone.
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