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Title: 84, Charing Cross Road
ISBN: 1559211407
Author:
Helene Hanff
Frank Doel
Publicate Date: 1995-04
Publish: 1995-04
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.33
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $10.30
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.53
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Charring Cross
The book was delightful. The copy was old which gave me the feeling that I was reading the book when it was written. I'll pass it on to another book-lover friend.
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2: A passion for books (3.5*s)
This book is a collection of a series of letters exchanged by the author, Helene Hanff, a New York writer, and the employees, though primarily Frank Doel, of Marks & Co, a London-based antiquarian bookseller. These letters occurred over a period of twenty years from 1949 to 1969.
This book of letters is special because it captures so well the passion that both the author and the company had for rare and classic books, not to mention the friendships that were engendered because of that shared passion. The author demonstrates by far the most emotion as she both chides Frank for his failure to either obtain a book or his sending an inferior version and sings his praises for sending along an especially pristine version of a finely crafted classic. The author softens her sharp letters by shipping tins of meat and eggs during a period when such were being rationed in England.
The question arises as to whether all of this constitutes a love story. The author herself writes that Frank would likely not like her writing "love" letters to others at the firm and that furthermore only he understands her. Perhaps the question is irrelevant - obviously high regard existed. The author constantly made tentative, unrealized plans to visit England and the bookstore, but when her friends visited, they were practically mobbed by the employees as being representative of Helene.
The relative merit of the book is difficult to judge. Only scraps of information about the individuals involved are conveyed; there is little in the way of discussion concerning ideas. The book conveys best that our connections with others can originate in the most unusual manner, especially if we are open to them. Helene could not possibly have known that a simple request for books would evolve into a lifetime of heartfelt communication. One would not necessarily have to be a book lover to appreciate the book.
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3: 84 Charing the Book
84 Charing Cross Road is a great read! The premis simple, but the characters are full and rich. Worth reading again, even if you have seen the movie.
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4: Killer charm
Given the amazing reputation this book has had for over thirty years I wanted to like it so much more than I did. Helene Hanff, a television screenwriter living in Manhattan after World War II, collected a series of letters she wrote to the workers at Marks & Co., a bookstore along London's famous Charing Cross Road, over the course of two decades, from her initial requests for certain books she had trouble acquiring in the United States through her later lasting friendship with the Marks & Co. staff. The book has often been advertised as being all about a common love of books, yet that's really not what comes through in the letters: the bond Hanff forged with the booksellers had much more to do with her over-the-top personality, which fortunately they found quite charming. While their letters to her are very restrained and respectful, hers are pretty zany, filled with all kinds of strange punctuations and with forceful declarations: of enthusiasm when her book orders live up to her expectations, and of mock outrage when they are not. As the letters make clear, she is also extraordinarily generous to the booksellers especially during the lean years in Britain between the War and the Coronation, and sends them all kinds of commodities and foodstuffs which were very hard to acquire during that time (like eggs, bacon, and nylons).
If this were an epistolary novel it might be a bit hard to take the incredible zestiness of Hanff's wild enthusiasms, and even the poignancy added by knowing it is all true only curbs your exhaustion a bit at her gigantic personality. (You even wonder at times whether the Marks & Co. are as delighted by her so much as they're just cowed by her.) It's a sweet little book, but you do feel as if Hanff were trying to clobber you -- and the booksellers -- over the head with her forceful charm.
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5: 84 Charing Cross Road
After seeing the wonderful film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, I was anxious to read the book. It did not disappoint. I enjoyed the book even more than the film. It was so nice to peek into
the friendship that developed between Helene and Frank through their
letters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
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