The Bookshop on the Quay

by Patricia Lynch

Orphaned Shane Madden comes to Dublin looking for his Uncle Tim, and finds work at The Four Masters Bookshop.

Genres: Childrens, Books About Books, Fiction, Middle Grade, Ireland, Irish Literature, Historical Fiction

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Patricia Lynch (c. 1894–1972) was an Irish writer of children's literature and a journalist. She was the author of some 48 novels and 200 short stories. She is best known for blending Irish rural life and fantasy fiction. [From wikipedia]

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1956 book about a family running a bookshop in Dublin, and Shane, the orphan boy they take in who becomes a shop assistant was really hard to rate. It was quirky and sometimes charming, and I loved the bookstore setting, but certain things frustrated me. I didn't want to read 70 pages of Shane's backstory just when we'd been introduced to the delightful shop. The fantasy element in one chapter was odd and random. And the ending...It's so bothersome that authors writing about large collections of books so often decide to end with a conflagration as a dramatic conclusion to the story. Don't they realize that will upset so many of their readers? So I decided to be firm and stick with my official rating criteria: if I think there's a strong chance I'll reread it, it's a 4. In this case I probably won't, but any reader of children's books who loves books about bookshops, and Dublin, and Jonathan Swift (who figures a great deal in the story) will certainly find this a treat.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely gentle and meandering story, set in rural Ireland and Dublin.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a second hand bookshop in London, the title caught my eye because I love books about books! So of course I had to give it a shot, and I enjoyed it.
I liked the story and the atmosphere and all the characters, it was so lovely to read and to be on that journey with Shane.
Now I really want to read Gulliver's Travels and I'd also like to go to Dublin, because... "Doesn't the whole world come back to Dublin?"

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We will come back to Dublin, won’t we, Uncle Tim?”
“We will, lad! We will! Doesn’t the whole world come back to Dublin?”

[Mark Gannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for children. I love the fact that it encapsulates an historic side of Dublin. Five out of five stars- easily earned.

[Harihara Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

***This is not yet a review of the book!!*** That will, perhaps be included later :)

This was the first book I got to read, from the library, over 26 years ago. So I always had a kind of personal attachment to it, long after I forgot the storyline. Recently, I got a chance to revisit that old library, and happened to see this good old book once again. I just loaned it a few days back, and am planning to reread it, just for old times' sake.

For the present, I am just feeling the book, and nostalgically looking back to the past.

The first chapter is quite good, it is captivating how Shane Madden is introduced to the O'clery Family.

[Iseult Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a simple tale of family, and found family. Of the love of books bringing people together. There is happiness, tragedy, longing, loss and love.

Patricia Lynch has a talent for capturing the magic of the ordinary and every day. From descriptions of simple meals to night time journeys around the city, every detail becomes imbued with wonder.

I loved the character of Shane, his loyalty and anger, his pride and his steadfastness. Uncle Tim, with his restless feet. The O’Clery’s with their big hearts and heads lost in books.

These are real people, but they’re exaggerated too, yet Lynch captures the essence of a people, a culture and a time. The world in this book is nothing like the Ireland I’ve lived in, yet there are still echoes to be found in the people and places of the country today.

I loved this book and I’m so glad I found a copy. I wish her catalogue were reissued so I could read them all.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

the title is the best thing about it--so enticing! Sadly the characters didn't focus as single-mindely as I would have liked on the business of minding the bookstore, although young Shane did his best once he got taken in by the bookshop family.

[Páidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

[Patricia Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love any story that includes a bookshop in the narrative.

[Jesse Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet but nothing too special