Lisa of Troy's Reviews > 84, Charing Cross Road
84, Charing Cross Road
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When I was last in London, I dropped by 84, Charring Cross Road. Guess what it is now?
McDonald's! Put that on as one of life's major disappointments!
84, Charing Cross Road is a book which contains selected correspondence between a New York book lover in New York City (Helene Hanff) and a used bookseller in London (Frank Doel). The correspondence starts in 1949 and lasts for 20 years.
This book started off strongly as the reader is a voyeur into the lives of Helene Hanff and Frank Doel. The love and enthusiasm that Helene Hanff oozes for literature is almost palpable and highly contagious. She also tries to help her favorite British bookstore. However, Helene refers to so many pieces of obscure literature. Many of the books I have never even heard of (although I do know William Blake and Jane Austen unfortunately). It would have been more poignant if it was referring to modern pieces of literature or at least more well-known works. Thinking back on some of my literary discussions, I found them to be more entertaining and endearing than this book.
This book did transport me back in time (alright well I wasn’t born in 1949 or even 1969), but I do remember a time when people actually took the time to sit down and write letters. They put time and thought into it, and it meant the world to hold that letter in your hand. It was a special event to receive a letter from someone. Now, we have email where you get adverts from a company after you purchased one bottle of nail polish. People give you a hug while checking their Smartphones. Once upon a time, there was a time when someone sat down and focused on correspondence without 26 email notifications, 385 Twitter notifications, and 16 text messages. Would Helene have been able to craft such a relationship today? Maybe she could chat with a virtual assistant.
Overall, this book is worth a read once, but I’ve encountered livelier bookish discussions on GoodReads.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
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McDonald's! Put that on as one of life's major disappointments!
84, Charing Cross Road is a book which contains selected correspondence between a New York book lover in New York City (Helene Hanff) and a used bookseller in London (Frank Doel). The correspondence starts in 1949 and lasts for 20 years.
This book started off strongly as the reader is a voyeur into the lives of Helene Hanff and Frank Doel. The love and enthusiasm that Helene Hanff oozes for literature is almost palpable and highly contagious. She also tries to help her favorite British bookstore. However, Helene refers to so many pieces of obscure literature. Many of the books I have never even heard of (although I do know William Blake and Jane Austen unfortunately). It would have been more poignant if it was referring to modern pieces of literature or at least more well-known works. Thinking back on some of my literary discussions, I found them to be more entertaining and endearing than this book.
This book did transport me back in time (alright well I wasn’t born in 1949 or even 1969), but I do remember a time when people actually took the time to sit down and write letters. They put time and thought into it, and it meant the world to hold that letter in your hand. It was a special event to receive a letter from someone. Now, we have email where you get adverts from a company after you purchased one bottle of nail polish. People give you a hug while checking their Smartphones. Once upon a time, there was a time when someone sat down and focused on correspondence without 26 email notifications, 385 Twitter notifications, and 16 text messages. Would Helene have been able to craft such a relationship today? Maybe she could chat with a virtual assistant.
Overall, this book is worth a read once, but I’ve encountered livelier bookish discussions on GoodReads.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
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84, Charing Cross Road.
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Reading Progress
December 8, 2021
– Shelved
March 26, 2022
–
Started Reading
March 27, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile
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Mar 27, 2022 06:50AM
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I just finished this one, too. I loved the nostalgia in it, and you are so right in pointing out the lost art of letter writing.
Thanks, Rosh! The interactions these days are very sterile and anonymous. Instead of calling one single person to help you, it is a call center. The person is being judged by how quickly they get you off the phone. They are absolutely not interested in building a relationship with you. This book really made me nostalgic for the past.
I just finished this one, too. I loved the nostalgia in it, and you are so right in pointing out the lost art of letter writing."
So agree, Julie! Now it is all autoform, Dear ______, Enclosed is your copy of ______. LOL!
Sadly, letter writing is indeed a lost art, and smart phones has changed our way of communicating.
Fab review, Lisa!
Enjoyed your review, Lisa, but I found the book to be much more rewarding. I owned a bookshop starting back in the 80s and the nostalgic memories of customers coming in for this book and talking about it has probably influenced my thoughts. It's like one of those situations where you had to be there, so to speak. Different strokes ....
I didn't recognize alot of the works Helen mentions either but it makes sense to me that she would have a strong love of "the classics", especially after she explained the meaning they held for in her upbringing.
A sweet note about people writing letters; years ago I gifted my Nana a box of hand painted notecards with hummingbirds on them. After a 3 week visit with us in Arizona she wrote a lovely thank you note to me on one of those cards that recalled many of her fun times here despite her Alzheimer’s.
Sadly Nana died about 7 years ago but I still have that letter and I use it as a special bookmark.
Sorry for the unrelated story but your comment about people writing letters made me think of that priceless letter.
A Test for Your Spy Bona Fides: I’m enjoying your reviews, Lisa, and also noting that your reviews of books I’ve read often align with my views. So, when reading this review (in search of something new), in which you fault the actual book discussions in this novel as opposed to the premise of an epistolary novel about books, it made me think of (as a positive example) a book by Dan Festerman called The Double Game. It’s a clever and witty tribute to (and send-up) of all the great spy novels. It’s based on the premise that so many of them were written by actual retired spies. And Fesperman makes use of some actual history of the CIA and MI15 to authenticate his tale, with marvelous snippets of juicy trivia about the spymaster denizens of Foggy Bottom. It’s an exciting challenge to follow the twists and turns and, as a bonus, includes a spectacular list of spymasters turned author, from which I found many books I had yet to read. If you don’t already know this book, I’m thinking you might enjoy it.
I don't agree with the discussions not resonating because they were dated.. It was wonderful to see literature alluded to that has nothing to do with what we know about today. Leaves a lot for us to imagine, and we can relish her adoration of the works without having to read/understand it. And her notes on the quality of the paper stock used in various books that were shipped to her, and book bindings/covers were all delectable!