Play Book Tag discussion

I saw the ad last week for the movie adaptation of this book, and I was confused about a few points. (view spoiler)[The ad made it look like a romantic relationship, and the racial casting wasn’t accurate. In the book the father is Indian, and he adopts a black child. (hide spoiler)] I downloaded the book just to remind myself of the beginning, and I ended up reading the whole thing right away. This is despite the fact that I was in the middle of two other books, and the author’s new book is waiting for me.- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

This is a wonderful book about a widowed book store owner, and how he builds a new life. It spans a couple of decades and includes a couple of interesting subplots and other characters. I was charmed this time by the local police chief and his book club for cops. I had forgotten about the mystery of the missing rare book. I loved the book recommendations (and personal notes) in each chapter. These are easy to miss in the audio though, so I need to find a list. This book reminded me why I wanted to read A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories.

I had a couple problems with this book- I am bothered when a child shows up in a book because they were left/abandoned and has no trauma about what has happened. They seem to be in the story to make the adults feel good and give them purpose. Same thing in A Gentleman in Moscow. Also (view spoiler)[ , how dangerous are the roads on this small island that 2 different characters get killed off in car accidents? That’s just lazy writing. (hide spoiler)]

I thought of it as a modern-day fable. Yes, there were unrealistic elements, but most fables have unrealistic elements. I rated it 3*** (which, for me, means it's a perfectly good book, not great and no major problems).

I really liked this author's next effort Young Jane Young which I rated 4****.