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Amore, morte e libri rari
È meglio leggerla, la vita, o viverla ogni giorno? Questa è la domanda che percorre tutta l’esistenza di Gabe, cresciuto tra gli scaffali della Chas. Johnson & Son, Ltd., Antiquarian Booksellers, rivendita di libri rari e di seconda mano fondata da nonno Chas. Qui, da ragazzo, ha scoperto i misteri della lettura insieme a quelli del sesso, ha perduto sua madre e ha vissuto l’ nulla gli è accaduto che non si specchiasse in un autore, in un manuale, in un libro antico o in un tascabile consumato dall’uso.
E questo diventa ancora più vero quando, dopo suo nonno e suo padre, Gabe prende in mano la gestione dell’attività di famiglia fronteggiando un mercato del libro sconvolto da Internet. Niente è più come prima, e nemmeno Gabe è più quello di un tempo. Liquida i fondi librari e decide di cominciare una nuova vita sulle sponde del lago Michigan, là dove lo riportano i ricordi di tante vacanze estive e può trovare la calma necessaria per dedicarsi al suo amato Montaigne.
Ma i suoi propositi saranno stravolti da un passato che non l’amore e i libri continueranno a intrecciarsi fino al momento estremo, quando non ci sono più errori da commettere, scommesse da perdere o distanze da colmare; c’è solo il sole che sorge su un nuovo giorno. Almeno un altro giorno da vivere.
E questo diventa ancora più vero quando, dopo suo nonno e suo padre, Gabe prende in mano la gestione dell’attività di famiglia fronteggiando un mercato del libro sconvolto da Internet. Niente è più come prima, e nemmeno Gabe è più quello di un tempo. Liquida i fondi librari e decide di cominciare una nuova vita sulle sponde del lago Michigan, là dove lo riportano i ricordi di tante vacanze estive e può trovare la calma necessaria per dedicarsi al suo amato Montaigne.
Ma i suoi propositi saranno stravolti da un passato che non l’amore e i libri continueranno a intrecciarsi fino al momento estremo, quando non ci sono più errori da commettere, scommesse da perdere o distanze da colmare; c’è solo il sole che sorge su un nuovo giorno. Almeno un altro giorno da vivere.
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2022
15 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
Robert Hellenga
11 books65 followersRobert Hellenga was an American novelist, essayist, and short story author.
His eight novels included The Sixteen Pleasures, The Fall of a Sparrow, Blues Lessons, Philosophy Made Simple, The Italian Lover, Snakewoman of Little Egypt, The Confessions of Frances Godwin and Love, Death, & Rare Books. In addition to these works, he wrote a novella, Six Weeks in Verona, along with a collection of short stories in The Truth About Death and Other Stories. Hellenga also published scholarly essays and literary or travel essays in various venues, including The National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times Sophisticated Traveler, and The Gettysburg Review.
Hellenga was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Milwaukee and Three Oaks, Michigan. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan and his graduate work at the Queen’s University of Belfast, the University of North Carolina, and Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton and began teaching English literature at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1968. In 1973–74 he was co-director of the ACM Seminar in the Humanities at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and in 1982–83 he directed the ACM Florence programs in Florence, Italy. He also worked and studied in Bologna, Verona, and Rome. He was distinguished writer in residence and professor emeritus at Knox College. Hellenga was married and had three daughters.
Hellenga received awards for his fiction from the Illinois Arts Council and from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Sixteen Pleasures received The Society of Midland Authors Award for Fiction published in 1994. The Fall of a Sparrow was included in the Los Angeles Times list of the "Best Fiction of 1998" and the Publishers Weekly list of the "Best 98 Books." Snakewoman of Little Egypt, was included in The Washington Post's list of "The Best Novels of 2010" and Kirkus Reviews' list of "2010 Best Fiction: The Top 25." The audio version of Snakewoman was a 2011 Audie Award Winner for Literary Fiction. The Confessions of Frances Godwin received The Society of Midland Authors' Award for fiction published in 2014.
Hellenga died of neuroendocrine cancer on July 18, 2020, at his home in Galesburg, Illinois.
His eight novels included The Sixteen Pleasures, The Fall of a Sparrow, Blues Lessons, Philosophy Made Simple, The Italian Lover, Snakewoman of Little Egypt, The Confessions of Frances Godwin and Love, Death, & Rare Books. In addition to these works, he wrote a novella, Six Weeks in Verona, along with a collection of short stories in The Truth About Death and Other Stories. Hellenga also published scholarly essays and literary or travel essays in various venues, including The National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times Sophisticated Traveler, and The Gettysburg Review.
Hellenga was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Milwaukee and Three Oaks, Michigan. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan and his graduate work at the Queen’s University of Belfast, the University of North Carolina, and Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton and began teaching English literature at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1968. In 1973–74 he was co-director of the ACM Seminar in the Humanities at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and in 1982–83 he directed the ACM Florence programs in Florence, Italy. He also worked and studied in Bologna, Verona, and Rome. He was distinguished writer in residence and professor emeritus at Knox College. Hellenga was married and had three daughters.
Hellenga received awards for his fiction from the Illinois Arts Council and from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Sixteen Pleasures received The Society of Midland Authors Award for Fiction published in 1994. The Fall of a Sparrow was included in the Los Angeles Times list of the "Best Fiction of 1998" and the Publishers Weekly list of the "Best 98 Books." Snakewoman of Little Egypt, was included in The Washington Post's list of "The Best Novels of 2010" and Kirkus Reviews' list of "2010 Best Fiction: The Top 25." The audio version of Snakewoman was a 2011 Audie Award Winner for Literary Fiction. The Confessions of Frances Godwin received The Society of Midland Authors' Award for fiction published in 2014.
Hellenga died of neuroendocrine cancer on July 18, 2020, at his home in Galesburg, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 26, 2022
Look at the title—this tells prospective readers what lies in store: love relationships, deaths and the business of selling rare books.
We follow the central character, Gabe, for forty-some years. The story starts with Gabe at the age of twelve. His Italian born Mom leaves home to follow a lover--back to Italy. This is in the 1970s. He loves his mom. He curls up in her mink coat, recently bought for her by his father. He had promised her a fur coat if she dared run around their house naked, in the snow. For her it had been exhilarating and a great joke. Mother and son had a strong bond—with each other they had always spoken Italian.
Home was Chicago, where Gabe’s father and grandfather had made names for themselves as renown antiquarian booksellers. Old, unique, one-of-a kind books were the books of their trade. The importance of great literature over the ages, in different languages and representing different cultures, sets the tone of life at home. The three, grandfather, father and son, lived in a beautiful home in Chicago. It was clear, or at least hoped, that Gabe would carry on the business. However, the market and sale of books was changing. This is the third element of the story. Dot-com and electronic production and sale of books was changing everything. Could, would, Gabe carry on the business? We follow events through 2011.
Many, many books are cited. This will be of interest to book lovers.
What the book focuses upon I have now made clear, but its draw lies in Hellenga’s depiction of love scenes, amusing incidents and the loss of loved ones. If you have read other books by the author, you will recognize similarities. Bats, storms, dogs and olives pepper the tale, and characters are open to the allure of foreign cultures. The entire world is their oyster. It is this that I particularly like. I am attracted to the educated, culturally open atmosphere of the lifestyle. It is not foreign to me. It feels real; I can see myself in similar situations. I like the love scenes too.
James Patrick Cronin narrates the audio book very well, although his French isn’t topnotch. The Italian I cannot judge. An English translation is part of the text. Usually, you can hear who is speaking but not always. I am willing to give the narration four stars because it is easy to follow and is not overdramatized.
Three or four stars? Which should I pick? I am going with three because what I like has been more fully developed in his earlier books. Here it is somewhat of a repeat, and the trend describing the sale of books electronically, while accurate, is not all that interesting to me. My favorite by the author is The Fall of a Sparrow.
********************
*The Fall of a Sparrow 4 stars
*The Sixteen Pleasures 4 stars
*Blues Lessons 4 stars
*Philosophy Made Simple 4 stars
*Love, Death & Rare Books 3 stars
*Snakewoman of Little Egypt 2 stars
*The Confessions of Frances Godwin 1 star
*The Italian Lover TBR (cannot find in audio)
*The Truth About Death and Other Stories maybe
We follow the central character, Gabe, for forty-some years. The story starts with Gabe at the age of twelve. His Italian born Mom leaves home to follow a lover--back to Italy. This is in the 1970s. He loves his mom. He curls up in her mink coat, recently bought for her by his father. He had promised her a fur coat if she dared run around their house naked, in the snow. For her it had been exhilarating and a great joke. Mother and son had a strong bond—with each other they had always spoken Italian.
Home was Chicago, where Gabe’s father and grandfather had made names for themselves as renown antiquarian booksellers. Old, unique, one-of-a kind books were the books of their trade. The importance of great literature over the ages, in different languages and representing different cultures, sets the tone of life at home. The three, grandfather, father and son, lived in a beautiful home in Chicago. It was clear, or at least hoped, that Gabe would carry on the business. However, the market and sale of books was changing. This is the third element of the story. Dot-com and electronic production and sale of books was changing everything. Could, would, Gabe carry on the business? We follow events through 2011.
Many, many books are cited. This will be of interest to book lovers.
What the book focuses upon I have now made clear, but its draw lies in Hellenga’s depiction of love scenes, amusing incidents and the loss of loved ones. If you have read other books by the author, you will recognize similarities. Bats, storms, dogs and olives pepper the tale, and characters are open to the allure of foreign cultures. The entire world is their oyster. It is this that I particularly like. I am attracted to the educated, culturally open atmosphere of the lifestyle. It is not foreign to me. It feels real; I can see myself in similar situations. I like the love scenes too.
James Patrick Cronin narrates the audio book very well, although his French isn’t topnotch. The Italian I cannot judge. An English translation is part of the text. Usually, you can hear who is speaking but not always. I am willing to give the narration four stars because it is easy to follow and is not overdramatized.
Three or four stars? Which should I pick? I am going with three because what I like has been more fully developed in his earlier books. Here it is somewhat of a repeat, and the trend describing the sale of books electronically, while accurate, is not all that interesting to me. My favorite by the author is The Fall of a Sparrow.
********************
*The Fall of a Sparrow 4 stars
*The Sixteen Pleasures 4 stars
*Blues Lessons 4 stars
*Philosophy Made Simple 4 stars
*Love, Death & Rare Books 3 stars
*Snakewoman of Little Egypt 2 stars
*The Confessions of Frances Godwin 1 star
*The Italian Lover TBR (cannot find in audio)
*The Truth About Death and Other Stories maybe
February 11, 2022
This book follows the life of protagonist Gabe Johnson. Written in first person from Gabe’s perspective we learn about his family’s business selling books, with an emphasis on rare books. His grandfather started the business in Chicago. The storyline revolves around the major episodes in Gabe’s life – his coming of age, education, and becoming an integral part of his family’s book business. His mother deserts the family. He falls in love and gets hurt. He examines what is entailed in leading a meaningful life.
“I’d learned enough about happiness to know that you can’t aim at it directly. You have to sight off to one side. But what are you supposed to aim at in the first place, before you sight off to one side?”
It is an ode to the love of books, and there are plenty of literary references sprinkled throughout.
It is quiet, reflective, and philosophical. It details the decline of the traditional brick and mortar bookstore, as well as the rise of online bookselling. Simultaneously, it relates fifty years of Gabe’s life. Though it is fiction, it has the feel of a memoir. The writing is elegant and descriptive.
This is a book about life. It provides a great deal of food for thought, particularly about the choices we make, and their short-and-long-term consequences. This is my first book by Robert Hellenga, and I can see why he was nominated as one of our group’s favorite authors. I enjoyed it very much and plan to read more of his work.
“I’d learned enough about happiness to know that you can’t aim at it directly. You have to sight off to one side. But what are you supposed to aim at in the first place, before you sight off to one side?”
It is an ode to the love of books, and there are plenty of literary references sprinkled throughout.
It is quiet, reflective, and philosophical. It details the decline of the traditional brick and mortar bookstore, as well as the rise of online bookselling. Simultaneously, it relates fifty years of Gabe’s life. Though it is fiction, it has the feel of a memoir. The writing is elegant and descriptive.
This is a book about life. It provides a great deal of food for thought, particularly about the choices we make, and their short-and-long-term consequences. This is my first book by Robert Hellenga, and I can see why he was nominated as one of our group’s favorite authors. I enjoyed it very much and plan to read more of his work.
August 1, 2023
Live your life, don't just read about it.
Over and over Gabe, the heart and soul of this novel, is told that again and again by one person in his life after another. Gabe is not just the 3rd generation of rare book dealers with a shop in Chicago, but also a lover of books, reading, and literature. Gabe was born and lived surrounded by the world of books, relying on books to guide him and provide his living. It was tempting for all around him to wonder if he was reading more about life than living it. He lived in the house he was born in with his extended family, worked in the shop and trade with his family, even summered in the same lake house with his family. Solid generational roots, a well-traveled path that he followed, not carving his own independent route.
Yet by the end, there is absolutely no doubt that Gabe has lived and continues to live a full rich life, not just read about it.
This is a book to be savoured, appreciated in many different ways and on many different levels. It's a life story full of events, losses, encounters, loves, and deaths. It's the love story of Gabe and Olivia, with all it's highs, lows, passions, hurts, joinings, and abandonments, including the ultimate one. I found myself not necessarily liking or even appreciating what attracted Gabe to Olivia, yet that there was love I had no doubt.
But most of all, it is a love story to both the rare book trade, to reading and literature, and to the printed book. If you want to understand why digital books on tablets will never completely replace print books, I invite you to read the extended section of Part Three, about a third of the way in, where Gabe confronts a character attending the grand opening of the new location of the rare book shop about why the rare copy of the printed book edition of the Gettysburg Address he has on display and for sale has value and will continue to have value. It is simply stunning reading.
I adored all the insight into the rare book trade, and I absolutely loved the musings on different literary works, noting mentions like Gabe choosing to reread Proust, and his frequent quoting from and musing on Montaigne's Essaies. In fact, I have been inspired to search through my bookshelves for my ancient thin paperback of Selections of Montaigne's Essaies from one of my college French Lit classes - I suspect I will appreciate them far more now.
It is not all serious either. There are a lot of light moments and levity, many real treats and surprises for the reader. One of my favorite moments was Gabe trying to visualize the 'cloud' where data now stored (Gabe is a bit of a luddite), but I couldn't get past the image of lateral filing cabinets floating around up in the sky.
This one I really related to: Gabe - shortly after moving permanently to a lake house: I could almost hear my books in the living room, boarded up in their Jefferson bookcases, crying out to me, like someone stuck in an elevator, or a coffin: “Let us out of here. We’re suffocating. Let us out. Let us OUT!” And I started to laugh. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I said. Hmmm, yes, I know exactly what that is like!
Robert Hellenga became one of my favorite authors a long time ago. He continues to occupy that position.
Over and over Gabe, the heart and soul of this novel, is told that again and again by one person in his life after another. Gabe is not just the 3rd generation of rare book dealers with a shop in Chicago, but also a lover of books, reading, and literature. Gabe was born and lived surrounded by the world of books, relying on books to guide him and provide his living. It was tempting for all around him to wonder if he was reading more about life than living it. He lived in the house he was born in with his extended family, worked in the shop and trade with his family, even summered in the same lake house with his family. Solid generational roots, a well-traveled path that he followed, not carving his own independent route.
Yet by the end, there is absolutely no doubt that Gabe has lived and continues to live a full rich life, not just read about it.
This is a book to be savoured, appreciated in many different ways and on many different levels. It's a life story full of events, losses, encounters, loves, and deaths. It's the love story of Gabe and Olivia, with all it's highs, lows, passions, hurts, joinings, and abandonments, including the ultimate one. I found myself not necessarily liking or even appreciating what attracted Gabe to Olivia, yet that there was love I had no doubt.
But most of all, it is a love story to both the rare book trade, to reading and literature, and to the printed book. If you want to understand why digital books on tablets will never completely replace print books, I invite you to read the extended section of Part Three, about a third of the way in, where Gabe confronts a character attending the grand opening of the new location of the rare book shop about why the rare copy of the printed book edition of the Gettysburg Address he has on display and for sale has value and will continue to have value. It is simply stunning reading.
I adored all the insight into the rare book trade, and I absolutely loved the musings on different literary works, noting mentions like Gabe choosing to reread Proust, and his frequent quoting from and musing on Montaigne's Essaies. In fact, I have been inspired to search through my bookshelves for my ancient thin paperback of Selections of Montaigne's Essaies from one of my college French Lit classes - I suspect I will appreciate them far more now.
It is not all serious either. There are a lot of light moments and levity, many real treats and surprises for the reader. One of my favorite moments was Gabe trying to visualize the 'cloud' where data now stored (Gabe is a bit of a luddite), but I couldn't get past the image of lateral filing cabinets floating around up in the sky.
This one I really related to: Gabe - shortly after moving permanently to a lake house: I could almost hear my books in the living room, boarded up in their Jefferson bookcases, crying out to me, like someone stuck in an elevator, or a coffin: “Let us out of here. We’re suffocating. Let us out. Let us OUT!” And I started to laugh. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I said. Hmmm, yes, I know exactly what that is like!
Robert Hellenga became one of my favorite authors a long time ago. He continues to occupy that position.
December 15, 2020
Robert Hellenga is one of my very favorite authors, and he is no James Patterson, so whenever one of his books is published, I am sure to read it. I was thrilled when I saw that he was coming out with a new book, Love, Death & Rare Books. Besides being an author, Hellenga is also a Professor of English and at the Knox College website where he teaches he states:
"I'm very interested in the nature of literary experience, which is affective as well as interpretative. What is this experience like? Why do we value it so highly? The heavy emphasis we place on interpretation has pushed questions about the affective dimension of literary experience to the periphery of literary studies. I'd like to nudge them a little closer to the center."
The perfect quote for an author of a book about a bookseller of rare books. If you are not just a reader, but a lover of books, then this is definitely a book for you as it is about Gabe Johnson a third generation dealer in rare books. This is not a book to be rushed through but taken languidly as we journey with Gabe from his youth through his 50's, always with a book in hand and a deal to make in selling them.
This is a love affair not just with books, but with Gabe and Olivia. But we must not rush it we need to allow it to live, breathe and mutate. I confess that there were times in this book, I was waiting for Gabe to put his book down and "Live a little," as his mother did when she left him as a child.
In the end, I was glad, I persevered and waited.
"I'm very interested in the nature of literary experience, which is affective as well as interpretative. What is this experience like? Why do we value it so highly? The heavy emphasis we place on interpretation has pushed questions about the affective dimension of literary experience to the periphery of literary studies. I'd like to nudge them a little closer to the center."
The perfect quote for an author of a book about a bookseller of rare books. If you are not just a reader, but a lover of books, then this is definitely a book for you as it is about Gabe Johnson a third generation dealer in rare books. This is not a book to be rushed through but taken languidly as we journey with Gabe from his youth through his 50's, always with a book in hand and a deal to make in selling them.
This is a love affair not just with books, but with Gabe and Olivia. But we must not rush it we need to allow it to live, breathe and mutate. I confess that there were times in this book, I was waiting for Gabe to put his book down and "Live a little," as his mother did when she left him as a child.
In the end, I was glad, I persevered and waited.
June 2, 2024
It’s been a minute since I read Robert Hellenga and I forgot that he has exhaustive knowledge of things dear to his heart: books, jazz music, italy, etc. If they happen to be things dear to your heart, you will be in Heaven with his books. If you are into rare books, book binding, book collecting, book sniffing (for real), you’ll love those sections but perhaps not others. I admit I skimmed a lot with this one because when he gets in the weeds, he gets IN THE WEEDS. Not my favorite of his novels but if he writes something, I’ll read it.
March 23, 2020
I found this book full of evocative details that made it seem like I was hearing an old friend's story. Whether he was capturing the idiosyncrasies of booksellers, the feel of a vacation town, or the way we interact with parents as adults, Helleenga captures the moment. Ultimately, the book is really a meditation on all of the choices we make of the course of our lives and their intended or unintended consequences.
October 7, 2020
I felt this novel’s themes of love and death only at a distance, and I’m not sure that this wasn’t partly because the author had chosen to write as if it were a memoir rather than a novel. How to explain the sense of difference…? In answer to that rhetorical/musing question, I suppose the answer lies in Hellenga’s refusal to indulge in dramatics. There is a decorous and pastoral quality to the novel, what one might belittle as a tepidness. There is no great obstacle that Gabe Johnson must overcome, and throughout his life there is abiding love. Gabe is willing to bear for decades both the proximity and the separation from his beloved, the aptly name Olivia Bennison. Gabe has grown up with a sense of the prodigality of love, so that even when his mother leaves him and his father, and their devotion to her is a bulwark against bitterness. In Gabe’s universe, the absence of the beloved is no real obstacle.
In a novel about bookdealers, there will be bookish allusions and literary matters: hovering always about Olivia is her infatuation with her conception of Romanticism, which she even attempts to critically deconstruct in her doctoral work at Yale. Gabe meanwhile assumes no theoretical construct for his life, and he conforms to his circumstances and the flow of events, taking them as they come, grateful for what he is allotted. Hellenga prefaces the novel with a poem from Raymond Carver, and this poem echos fittingly in the novel’s final pages. “At Least” is a poem about grace and gratitude, recognizing the blessings of the myriads of things in one’s life, and accepting that what the future holds will also have its blessings.
Hellenga’s memoir-like narrative depicts the slow-motion courtship of Olivia and Gabe played out over a lifetime, allowing Gabe to proceed with and narrate the discrete events of his life—not as some logical progression, but just as background. His mother’s departure, his introduction to sex, his grandfather’s death, the bombing of the bookstore, his father’s death, the re-organization and relocation of the bookstore, his move to a lakeside house in Michigan, and his odd friendship with the aging scion of mobsters… Meanwhile, Olivia is plagued with doubts and ambitions and regrets, and these great upheavals of mind and emotion seem to her irreconcilable. When everything finally aligns for her to accept Gabe’s proposal, she discovers she has cancer. As with the novel in general, there are no histrionics, and events play themselves out almost calmly. They marry, Olivia dies, and Gabe abides—not stoic—simply “wait[ing] to see what’s going to happen.”
In a novel about bookdealers, there will be bookish allusions and literary matters: hovering always about Olivia is her infatuation with her conception of Romanticism, which she even attempts to critically deconstruct in her doctoral work at Yale. Gabe meanwhile assumes no theoretical construct for his life, and he conforms to his circumstances and the flow of events, taking them as they come, grateful for what he is allotted. Hellenga prefaces the novel with a poem from Raymond Carver, and this poem echos fittingly in the novel’s final pages. “At Least” is a poem about grace and gratitude, recognizing the blessings of the myriads of things in one’s life, and accepting that what the future holds will also have its blessings.
Hellenga’s memoir-like narrative depicts the slow-motion courtship of Olivia and Gabe played out over a lifetime, allowing Gabe to proceed with and narrate the discrete events of his life—not as some logical progression, but just as background. His mother’s departure, his introduction to sex, his grandfather’s death, the bombing of the bookstore, his father’s death, the re-organization and relocation of the bookstore, his move to a lakeside house in Michigan, and his odd friendship with the aging scion of mobsters… Meanwhile, Olivia is plagued with doubts and ambitions and regrets, and these great upheavals of mind and emotion seem to her irreconcilable. When everything finally aligns for her to accept Gabe’s proposal, she discovers she has cancer. As with the novel in general, there are no histrionics, and events play themselves out almost calmly. They marry, Olivia dies, and Gabe abides—not stoic—simply “wait[ing] to see what’s going to happen.”
July 24, 2020
*2.5 stars
The premise for the story is fairly simple: Boy meets girl, falls in love, tries to marry her, then finally succeeds before time runs out. Multi-faceted family dynamics surround these two, providing character development along the way. The common bond between Gabe and Olivia is literature, which for a writer and bibliophile such as myself, seemed like a great idea for a book. Maybe it still is, but not the way it was used here.
Hellenga’s tale strives to be heartfelt and poignant, but it fails because it is so damn hard to make a connection with these characters. Much of the dialogue references arcane works. Yes, Gabe and his family, along with Olivia, are experts in the rare book trade (thus the name), but they are still people who should converse like most people do. The one passage that felt right was when Gabe gently confronts someone about the value of books vs the convenience of e-readers. He spoke with passion about what books represent in terms of emotions and life’s milestones... it was a very real and human moment. I only wish that same consideration had been shown consistently throughout during various character interactions; perhaps then it would not have felt so unrealistic and pretentious.
I’m a stickler for details, so shame on the editor and/or proofreader. For one, there appeared to be a page or section missing in my copy; no pages were removed, so it was a mistake in printing. The use of quotation marks was absolutely abominable — some were missing, some randomly appeared in the middle of a spoken piece. This made it really difficult at times to follow who was speaking, or if they were actually speaking at all.
What is love? How is meaning in life defined? How do we approach loss? My two cent’s worth is that other books provide a more fulfilling experience when seeking these answers.
The premise for the story is fairly simple: Boy meets girl, falls in love, tries to marry her, then finally succeeds before time runs out. Multi-faceted family dynamics surround these two, providing character development along the way. The common bond between Gabe and Olivia is literature, which for a writer and bibliophile such as myself, seemed like a great idea for a book. Maybe it still is, but not the way it was used here.
Hellenga’s tale strives to be heartfelt and poignant, but it fails because it is so damn hard to make a connection with these characters. Much of the dialogue references arcane works. Yes, Gabe and his family, along with Olivia, are experts in the rare book trade (thus the name), but they are still people who should converse like most people do. The one passage that felt right was when Gabe gently confronts someone about the value of books vs the convenience of e-readers. He spoke with passion about what books represent in terms of emotions and life’s milestones... it was a very real and human moment. I only wish that same consideration had been shown consistently throughout during various character interactions; perhaps then it would not have felt so unrealistic and pretentious.
I’m a stickler for details, so shame on the editor and/or proofreader. For one, there appeared to be a page or section missing in my copy; no pages were removed, so it was a mistake in printing. The use of quotation marks was absolutely abominable — some were missing, some randomly appeared in the middle of a spoken piece. This made it really difficult at times to follow who was speaking, or if they were actually speaking at all.
What is love? How is meaning in life defined? How do we approach loss? My two cent’s worth is that other books provide a more fulfilling experience when seeking these answers.
January 10, 2021
Slow at the beginning but became truly delightful once the story moved to Michigan. I appreciated Bob's nods to Galesburg including Corner Connection and Innkeeper's Coffee. Also I had no idea that Carl Sandburg had lived in Michigan. I'm sad this is the last book but a fitting one to close his prolific career.
Read
July 2, 2022DNF - I get the appeal of this book. A book about books is a book lovers dream! But I struggled to connect to the memoir style writing of the book and the main character. Maybe bc I’m a 30s female and the story is the life of a 50s man coming of age in the 70s?
It got a little weird for me when Gabe shares how his father arranged for him to lose his virginity (unbeknownst to him) to a prostitute when Gabe is only 15! A woman his father also sleeps with. This is revealed early on in the book and just left me with a weird vibe.
So I skipped around and read some passages and the end.
It got a little weird for me when Gabe shares how his father arranged for him to lose his virginity (unbeknownst to him) to a prostitute when Gabe is only 15! A woman his father also sleeps with. This is revealed early on in the book and just left me with a weird vibe.
So I skipped around and read some passages and the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2022
Love, Death & Rare Books - Hellenga
4 stars
This was a rambling sort of story that follows Gabe Johnson’s life from childhood to his retirement years. The book reminded me of Patchett’s The Dutch House. Like Danny Conry, Gabe is telling the story of a family with all of its tangled threads. It is not a house, but a family owned rare bookstore that is the centerpiece of this story. This is a book about books, reading, and readers. As with other Hellenga books, the narrator is introspective. His thoughts and conversations are often philosophical. The characters in this book are knowledgeable readers. I enjoyed eavesdropping on their discussions.
Gabe’s life is colored by two women. His vibrant mother abandons her family when he is a young boy because she ‘wants to live life, not read about it’. The education and career ambitions of Oliva, his first serious lover, leaves him with an on and (mostly) off again relationship. Gabe continues to work within and eventually run the family business. He comes to retirement with the inevitable closing of the book store. I think the book became more interesting at this point, with the changes in Gabe’s life and the influx of some quirky characters. There is no sense of his life ending at the end of the book. I had a feeling that he would have more years of personal growth and reflection.
Given that much of this book focused on the beauty of rare books and the changes in book publishing, I found it interesting that the kindle edition was a mess. The problems were not typos or spelling mistakes. There were unexplained variations in type size and fonts. There were strange color highlights of words or single letters. It left me wondering if there was a deliberate message.
4 stars
This was a rambling sort of story that follows Gabe Johnson’s life from childhood to his retirement years. The book reminded me of Patchett’s The Dutch House. Like Danny Conry, Gabe is telling the story of a family with all of its tangled threads. It is not a house, but a family owned rare bookstore that is the centerpiece of this story. This is a book about books, reading, and readers. As with other Hellenga books, the narrator is introspective. His thoughts and conversations are often philosophical. The characters in this book are knowledgeable readers. I enjoyed eavesdropping on their discussions.
Gabe’s life is colored by two women. His vibrant mother abandons her family when he is a young boy because she ‘wants to live life, not read about it’. The education and career ambitions of Oliva, his first serious lover, leaves him with an on and (mostly) off again relationship. Gabe continues to work within and eventually run the family business. He comes to retirement with the inevitable closing of the book store. I think the book became more interesting at this point, with the changes in Gabe’s life and the influx of some quirky characters. There is no sense of his life ending at the end of the book. I had a feeling that he would have more years of personal growth and reflection.
Given that much of this book focused on the beauty of rare books and the changes in book publishing, I found it interesting that the kindle edition was a mess. The problems were not typos or spelling mistakes. There were unexplained variations in type size and fonts. There were strange color highlights of words or single letters. It left me wondering if there was a deliberate message.
May 25, 2025
There are so many reasons why I love this book. It is a world about bookstores, amazing books and love. The story addresses hard hitting questions and wrestles with life and death in such beautiful ways. I have no idea where I got this books but what a find!
June 19, 2021
I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the descriptions and histories of the books, and the characters were ... real. I guess that is the best way to describe them. They are all less-than-perfect, engaging, and interesting human beings.
April 18, 2020
There’s something about books and book stores that I’ve always been drawn to. Reading about a city, a country, and yes, even a book store is what encourages me to visit said city, country or book store. Robert Hellenga’s Love, Death and Rare Books was one I could not put down. It captivated me from page one and didn’t let me go until I reached the end. And even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about Gabe. I felt a sense of loneliness in Gabe’s life that made my heart cry out to him. So when visitors to Gabe’s family’s rare book store say to him “I want to live life, not read about it,” I tend to want to scream. But this book is so much more than the story of a lonely man. It is about love, hope, redemption and yes, even starting over. So if you are looking for a book that is so much more than a story about books, Love, Death and Rare Books should most definitely be on the top of your must-read list.
August 13, 2020
A good book to read along with viewing the wonderful documentary The Booksellers, as it will be burnished by the glow of that film's eccentrics. Gabe, the antiquarian bookseller protagonist of the novel, is not as charismatic, quirky or adventurous as any of the movie's eccentrics, but as one of their tribe, his preoccupation with the physical matter of books, his obsession with literature and his attempt to make a living selling his darlings will have more meaning. Because otherwise this is a love letter to Hellenga's own preoccupations with certain authors, philosophies and Midwestern locales, with not much plot and even less action. But it's a pleasant way to while away a few hours, though it left me realizing I might make a choice I rarely do - see the film, skip the book!
October 30, 2020
I learned a lot about the rare book business and specific titles that were discussed I found quite interesting but I could not get on board with one of the main characters, Olivia. Her whole "life quest" storyline was a little too heavy for me. I feel like Gabe would have been better off without her in his life and the book would have appealed to me more if Gabe had chosen a life path without her in it!
May 24, 2020
A melancholy look at the life of a man - an antiquarian bookseller - as he navigates, life, love, and loss at the dawning of the e-book age.
I liked the story but I felt like I lost some of my English major credibility as I struggled with the meaning of the many quotations from literature and verse. I even learned a new word or two.
I liked the story but I felt like I lost some of my English major credibility as I struggled with the meaning of the many quotations from literature and verse. I even learned a new word or two.
July 8, 2020
Expected more
Love, Death & Rare Books is a tribute to rare books. Most of the book tells of Gabe Johnson and what he does with the rare books left to him when his father dies (Death). A lot of quotes from rare books. Gabe is 51, never married, carrying on a long affair with Olivia who was married to another man. (Love) I would have preferred more story. Not up to his usual.
Love, Death & Rare Books is a tribute to rare books. Most of the book tells of Gabe Johnson and what he does with the rare books left to him when his father dies (Death). A lot of quotes from rare books. Gabe is 51, never married, carrying on a long affair with Olivia who was married to another man. (Love) I would have preferred more story. Not up to his usual.
May 3, 2020
I expected to check my Goodreads bookshelf/tag "Italy," but Hellenga surprised me. There were traces of Italy throughout this book, but we did not end by the author describing the main character’s trip to Italy to meet his mother who left Gabe and his father in Chicago to return to her native Italy with her Italian lover.
I learned of Hellenga’s latest novel a couple weeks into our stay-at-home advisory (oh how I hope I need that prompt to recall this time someday in the future when I read this and that we are not still living separate lives within our own private spaces). I enjoy spending time with Hellenga’s academic characters. I won’t try to recreate the plot of copy all the places and quotations I jotted on the final fly leaves. I learned of this the same time the documentary “The Booksellers” appeared, but I prefer this novel’s Chicago setting to the NY focus of the movie, although I certainly enjoyed and recommend that too. Of course the Chicago and Michigan settings felt familiar. I often miss that area and my mom. I love where I am and try to live without regrets, but especially now—with a visit for mother’s day cancelled—I’m regretting how far I am from her. I learned a little about Michigan history. The first mention of the lake by that name in 1682. Ring Lardner. Carl Sandberg. James Fenimore Cooper set a novel in Kalamazoo.
Why isn't reading considered living? Several characters advise Gabe, even his father--the bookseller, although that was on his deathbed—to live life rather than read it. (Pages 12, 26, 106I believe reading is living. It’s yet another way to expose yourself to new viewpoints, places, emotions. Not instead, in addition. I suspect Hellenga shares that without explicitly arguing it. Many of his characters live it. Innumerable quotes pepper the pages. Sometimes it feels false, even to me, whom Jim calls the bookworm. Maybe not false so much as a stretch.
Sent me to pull out my Montaigne, the Penguin pb I read in college, omitting “On Solitude,” which I know I read sometime. Had to get that. Chose a Penguin Greats, good reading for the subway or plane. Then I needed his complete works. My Penguin is the Screech translation, so for comparison I chose an edition with Frame’s American translation. I was not readily available and I bid (and won) an edition on Ebay. (I try to avoid buying books on Ebay where the sellers aren’t reliably knowledgeable about books. They tend to say “very good” when really it is fair or acceptable.)
137 I know and love this sensation: “The air was warm but the san was cold on our feet.”
219 “There’s nothing really out there except what we project.” [Why fear that?]
One quibble: 266 “Augie gave Olivia away…” Olivia would never have allowed herself to be “given away.”
I knew where the book was heading (even if Hellenga chose not to show us the ending I expected), but I didn’t mind. I enjoyed the journey.
I didn’t know Raymond Carver wrote poetry. Hellenga uses “At Least” as his epigraph, and the characters mention (267). I wonder, why wasn’t the last line chosen for Olivia’s tombstone? Instead of “just wait, to see what’s going to happen” he chose the Hebrew: Blessed is the True Judge.” At first I thought the first wasn’t chosen because he doesn’t believe in an afterlife, but if you don’t believe in an afterlife, is the true judge?
I learned of Hellenga’s latest novel a couple weeks into our stay-at-home advisory (oh how I hope I need that prompt to recall this time someday in the future when I read this and that we are not still living separate lives within our own private spaces). I enjoy spending time with Hellenga’s academic characters. I won’t try to recreate the plot of copy all the places and quotations I jotted on the final fly leaves. I learned of this the same time the documentary “The Booksellers” appeared, but I prefer this novel’s Chicago setting to the NY focus of the movie, although I certainly enjoyed and recommend that too. Of course the Chicago and Michigan settings felt familiar. I often miss that area and my mom. I love where I am and try to live without regrets, but especially now—with a visit for mother’s day cancelled—I’m regretting how far I am from her. I learned a little about Michigan history. The first mention of the lake by that name in 1682. Ring Lardner. Carl Sandberg. James Fenimore Cooper set a novel in Kalamazoo.
Why isn't reading considered living? Several characters advise Gabe, even his father--the bookseller, although that was on his deathbed—to live life rather than read it. (Pages 12, 26, 106I believe reading is living. It’s yet another way to expose yourself to new viewpoints, places, emotions. Not instead, in addition. I suspect Hellenga shares that without explicitly arguing it. Many of his characters live it. Innumerable quotes pepper the pages. Sometimes it feels false, even to me, whom Jim calls the bookworm. Maybe not false so much as a stretch.
Sent me to pull out my Montaigne, the Penguin pb I read in college, omitting “On Solitude,” which I know I read sometime. Had to get that. Chose a Penguin Greats, good reading for the subway or plane. Then I needed his complete works. My Penguin is the Screech translation, so for comparison I chose an edition with Frame’s American translation. I was not readily available and I bid (and won) an edition on Ebay. (I try to avoid buying books on Ebay where the sellers aren’t reliably knowledgeable about books. They tend to say “very good” when really it is fair or acceptable.)
137 I know and love this sensation: “The air was warm but the san was cold on our feet.”
219 “There’s nothing really out there except what we project.” [Why fear that?]
One quibble: 266 “Augie gave Olivia away…” Olivia would never have allowed herself to be “given away.”
I knew where the book was heading (even if Hellenga chose not to show us the ending I expected), but I didn’t mind. I enjoyed the journey.
I didn’t know Raymond Carver wrote poetry. Hellenga uses “At Least” as his epigraph, and the characters mention (267). I wonder, why wasn’t the last line chosen for Olivia’s tombstone? Instead of “just wait, to see what’s going to happen” he chose the Hebrew: Blessed is the True Judge.” At first I thought the first wasn’t chosen because he doesn’t believe in an afterlife, but if you don’t believe in an afterlife, is the true judge?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2024
Honestly, I would not have made it past the first 100 pages had I not been on an airplane with a dead cell phone and this was my only option. When the topic of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma was introduced to the storyline, I almost quit reading because that subject is still painful. But I made it through to the end and am glad I did. It is an interesting story that follows the life of a 3rd-generation rare book dealer and his relationships from boyhood to "old" age.
"Chas. Johnson & Sons has been a family operation for three generations—grandfather, father and son. But when it comes time for Gabe Johnson to take the reins of the business, the world of books has changed, and the combination of the internet and inner city rents forces the store to close. But instead of folding his hand, Gabe decides to risk everything he has and reopen the shop—and, in a sense restart his life—in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Haunted his entire life by an obsession with a former lover, he finds her again only to be faced with yet another even more difficult challenge that threatens the well-being of the revival of the bookstore as well as the fate of his rekindled relationship."
"Chas. Johnson & Sons has been a family operation for three generations—grandfather, father and son. But when it comes time for Gabe Johnson to take the reins of the business, the world of books has changed, and the combination of the internet and inner city rents forces the store to close. But instead of folding his hand, Gabe decides to risk everything he has and reopen the shop—and, in a sense restart his life—in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Haunted his entire life by an obsession with a former lover, he finds her again only to be faced with yet another even more difficult challenge that threatens the well-being of the revival of the bookstore as well as the fate of his rekindled relationship."
March 27, 2022
A 40 year saga of the life of an antiquarian book seller begins in Chicago with Gabe working for his father and grandfather. The neighborhood seems to be near the U. of Chicago, which can be a bit iffy for the casual shopper at a bookstore. After surviving a couple of bombings in the 1980s, gentrification drives Gabe to find an affordable place for his business: the internet and his lover Olivia manage to bring the business into the 21st century, on the shores of Lake Michigan. However, Olivia's unfortunate spiritual quest leads her to ignore everything else about and around her.
This has to be the best book I've read since the pandemic began. Although the writing is less than lyrical, Hellenga's trade knowledge and his knowledge of his settings makes this a wonderful read. If you're unfamiliar with Chicago, it might have less appeal, but the Michigan setting (I suspect a mashup of St. Joseph & Niles) will make up for it. Absolutely a 5 star book.
This has to be the best book I've read since the pandemic began. Although the writing is less than lyrical, Hellenga's trade knowledge and his knowledge of his settings makes this a wonderful read. If you're unfamiliar with Chicago, it might have less appeal, but the Michigan setting (I suspect a mashup of St. Joseph & Niles) will make up for it. Absolutely a 5 star book.
December 26, 2021
Mixed feelings on this book heavy on philosophy and unanswered questions. Although the passages on rare books, the trade in them, and the reasons for their value wrapped in history were very interesting, the balance of the book dealt with an excruciatingly slow advancement of the story. The character of Gabe was over developed, with long stream-of-thought passages that only serve to show the reader his confusion. The other characters in the book were all flat, cardboard cutouts only there to ask more questions. Normally I like character study books, but this one bored me so bad that the last 50 pages I just skimmed to get it done. Overall, OK, but not my cup of tea.
June 10, 2020
Took me a while to get into this. Gabriel Johnson is the third generation of his family working in their rare books store in Chicago. While it's a story of his family, and Gabe growing up, finding a girl, losing a girl, and finally getting her back, only to lose her again, it is also a picture of the declining bookstore community in the last part of the 1900s, and early 2000s. Chicago area readers will recognize many things mentioned. Also interesting is the focus on literary reading of the classics.
August 10, 2021
Trust the True Judge
This is a profound book about love and death. Because the characters are bookish people, the book business is a suitable backdrop. There is plenty here to amuse and inform serious readers and book collectors. But the main attraction is a modern love and the two people who evade it and finally let it come to them. There is much here to induce you to reflect on life, on love, on words and languages, on fear, and death. At times the truths the book opens for reflection are brutal.No holds barred. Bring a thinking cap and a box of kleenex.
This is a profound book about love and death. Because the characters are bookish people, the book business is a suitable backdrop. There is plenty here to amuse and inform serious readers and book collectors. But the main attraction is a modern love and the two people who evade it and finally let it come to them. There is much here to induce you to reflect on life, on love, on words and languages, on fear, and death. At times the truths the book opens for reflection are brutal.No holds barred. Bring a thinking cap and a box of kleenex.
March 31, 2021
Lovely book. About real people doing the things that people do, working, going to school, falling in love with the right people, the wrong people, the right people, trying to understand the choices their parents made, what they mean for themselves, moving house, helping each other, all the real stuff.
And if you’ve lived in Chicago, especially in Hyde Park, or if you like bookshops, it feels familiar.
It’s well written. It’s deep. I’ll probably read it again.
And if you’ve lived in Chicago, especially in Hyde Park, or if you like bookshops, it feels familiar.
It’s well written. It’s deep. I’ll probably read it again.
February 1, 2022
I'd recommend The Sixteen Pleasures and The Fall of a Sparrow over this, his final novel.
SPOILER: The author died of cancer within a year or two of finishing this novel (which is definitely of interest to those interested in the world of rare books), and I wondered through the second half of the story if Hellenga was creating in the character of Olivia a model for his own forthcoming death.
SPOILER: The author died of cancer within a year or two of finishing this novel (which is definitely of interest to those interested in the world of rare books), and I wondered through the second half of the story if Hellenga was creating in the character of Olivia a model for his own forthcoming death.
July 19, 2020
I like a book about books. Gabe is in the used and rare book business with his father and grandfather in Chicago. His Italian mother left the family and returned to Italy when he was a boy. He meets and falls in love with elusive Olivia. See paper notes for a list of some of the books mentioned and page number of Gabe’s defense of the physical book and missing dialogue (purposeful omission?)
September 30, 2021
This book is terrible. It’s a novel written in the form of a memoir, but the main character is a man so boring and pretentious that he never should have written a memoir. I spent the first half of the book waiting for something interesting to happen and the second half just hoping it would be over quickly.
November 8, 2020
Aside from not knowing 90 percent of the various references and books mentioned or discussed, I enjoyed the complexity of the main chAracters and the relationships of the son, father and grandfather . Olivia was unique, deep and complicated . I would recommend this book and author highly.
April 14, 2021
I enjoyed all the details about the rare book trade and running a family business. The love relationship took a long time to catch fire, but it was involving once it did. I know this area of Michigan as well as the Chicago locale, so that was interesting to me too.
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