The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

Mary Cynthia Swanson, Fiction, Harper, Tandem Literary
  • the bookseller (Mar3)Title:  The Bookseller
  • Author:  Cynthia Swanson
  • Genre:  Fiction
  • Published:  March 2015 – Harper
  • Source:  Publisher

My take: The Bookseller is about Kitty, a thirty-something woman in 1960s Denver, CO who owns a book store with her best friend. Lately, Kitty has been having some vivid and strange dreams where she’s living a parallel life that is quite different from her real life. She is called Katharyn and has a husband and three children. In her dream life she finds herself daydreaming about her life as Kitty. She can’t figure out what’s going on until the dreams begin to jog some memories. As confusing as this might sound, I found it easy to follow.

Cynthia Swanson’s dual-storylines kept me turning the pages. It was apparent to me what was going on about midway through but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel. It made me think about the imperfections in life and how they can change our idea of what would make us happy or content. The natural order of life, as well as unexpected circumstances, can make our lives turn on a dime.

The Bookseller is Swanson’s debut novel. I think it would be a good selection for readers looking for something a little different.

20 thoughts on “The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson”

  1. Hi Mary,

    I was really intrigued about this one, when another fellow blogger mentioned it and have been waiting for a couple of reviews before making up my mind whether to add it to my list or not.

    I think now, that I might have been too easily swayed by the great cover art and the notion of the story being set around a bookshop.

    Comments from just about every review, have all highlighted that whilst they did enjoy the story, they all knew where the final outcome was heading, from about half way through the book.

    I think that I have more than enough books on my ‘Want To Read’ list, which would interest me more, but thanks for your honest and well balanced review 🙂

    Yvonne.

    Like

  6. I got my copy from Vine, and did enjoy it. I liked the alternate lives, and I know that we often think of “what if,” after we have made our choices in life. Thanks for sharing.

    Like

  15. Really enjoyed your review, it’s on my wishlist just because the cover calls me lol but yours is the first review that has me actually wanting to read it.

    Like

Comments are closed.