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 Shakespeare and Company Apr 07, 2008
This book arrived in excellent condition and during the time it was anticipated. It is a wonderful book of memoirs by Sylvia Beach about her book store and lending library in Paris during the 20's and 30's.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Shakespeare would be proud Apr 10, 2005
What a wonderful find! This book is truly a treasure and made me wish I had been an author in Paris during the 20's. Sylvia Beach ran her library Shakespeare and Company on the left bank on Rue l'Odeon for many years and served as the location for English language books in Paris. During that time she worked closely with Joyce and personally handled not only publishing Ulysses but also took care of all his mail and the shipping of his books to various customers around the world.
There is a rather funny scene she describes. Because it was so hard to get Ulysses into America (since it was banned), Sylvia had a dilemma concerning distribution. Hemingway, who proclaims himself Sylvia's "best customer", tells her not to worry and within a few days he comes back to let her know he has a friend who has moved to Canada who will personally bring the books into America by ferry, stuffed in his pants.
I cannot say enough what a beautiful book this is. Beach is as gifted as the authors she esteemed and brings to life a world you wish you could climb into.
I would also highly recommend A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway in conjunction to this.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 A Pleasant, Chatty Memoir Dec 31, 2004
I've been carrying a first edition of this book around from state to state for several years, and never really quite got around to reading it, as I was more involved with books by the writers Beach writes about, and with the more mundane details of life. What a shame. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and chatty memoir of one rather significant (but don't overstate this) expatriate member of the so-called "Lost Generation". The book is an easy read -- certainly no literary masterpiece, though I doubt it was intended as one. Beach recounts her efforts a running a little book store specializing in modern American literature (and, of course, publishing a small work by an Irish writer, as well), and details her encounters with various figures of the era, be they French, English or American. At times, particularly early on, Beach resorts to simple name dropping -- one day so-and-so came in, this person was a regular customer, etc.; but that is really just a quibble as the sheer volume of significant names brings to mind a roll call of the major modern literary figures of the English language. And "Shakespeare & Co." also has a nice little side effect -- it reminded me of some writers (and a composer - Georges Antheil) that I haven't read yet, or haven't read in a while. I highly recommend this book.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
not quite what I expected Oct 04, 2004
good, though not quite what I expected, September 12, 2004
I purchased this book knowing little about Sylvia Beach and her bookstore Shakespeare and Company, but hoping to find out more. Since this particular book is rather autobiographical, I figured I could learn a lot from it about her. Actually it was more about her famous friends (Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and many other writers and other prominent social and literary figures of the day; if you're familiar with the Algonquin Round Table and their expanded circle of friends, a lot of these people cross over), with only rather modest information provided about herself. It is still an interesting read, and the stories she recounts are well done and witty, but the spotlight is less on her own story and more on the people she surrounded herself with. I would like to seek out a more objective biography of her to couple to the information I've learned in this book. Still, do read it, especially if you are interested in the literati of the 1920s-30s.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
A real treat for book lovers. Sep 12, 2004
Every once in a great while I stumble upon a book I've never heard of and feel as though I've discovered treasure. This is such a book. Though I had heard of Sylvia Beach and her famous book shop/lending library, her memoir "Shakespeare & Company" was unknown to me. In an easy, conversational style, Beach gives the history of her shop and observational portraits of the various artists who treated her establishment as a salon of sorts. These artists included Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, T. S. Eliot and Andre Gide, among others. She expounds upon her experiences as James Joyce's publisher and benefactress to a considerable depth, while never overtly acknowledging the intimate nature of her relationship with Adrienne Monnier. Beach's life in Paris and her interactions with 'the lost generation,' was published almost fifty years ago, but remains engaging, enjoyable and relevant today. Indeed a treat.
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