Sunday, February 23, 2025

Book Review: "The Bookstore Keepers" by Alice Hoffman

“…aloneness breeds loneliness, and loneliness will come between you and your beloved before you know it and drive you apart.”

I have been loving this series of stories Alice Hoffman has written! The first two stories, The Bookstore Sisters and The Bookstore Wedding, were packed with so much emotion and beauty, and the newest one is just as exceptional.

Sisters Isabel and Sophie run a bookstore together in their hometown of Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Both have weathered major upheavals in their lives and were apart for a number of years, only to find their way back to one another. And while their lives are intertwined, they each have carved out their own space.

One morning, Isabel’s husband Johnny awakens from a dream, crying. What he saw in the dream, and how it manifests itself in real life, has a significant impact on both him and Isabel. Sometimes, when the one you love is struggling, the best thing you can do for them is be a safe harbor when they need you.

Meanwhile, Sophie’s daughter Violet returns to the island after college, and everyone expects that she will take over the bookstore at some point. Yet she has dreams of her own, but how do you know if it’s the right time to live for yourself?

Hoffman’s writing is so beautifully poetic and full of heart. I love the way she creates a fully realized world in a short number of pages, and I’ve been carrying these characters in my heart. I always say that the mark of a good book is one that makes you wish you knew the characters in real life. That’s definitely the case here.

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