In 1960s Australia, Tom Hope, a farmer, has recently suffered the
abandonment for the third time by his impulsive wife Trudy and his
stepson Peter, who he raised as his own ever since Trudy came back
pregnant with another man's child. But this time, the separation might
be more permanent because Trudy desires to raise Peter in a place
Tom dubbed as "Jesus Camp" and Tom is not allowed to have any
contact with the boy he had grown to care for as a son.
However, Tom is soon hired for his carpentry skills in building
bookshelves for a bookstore owned by Hannah Babel, a twice-widowed
woman from Hungary, about twelve years older than Tom. Hannah,
however, suffering from deep wounds by what the Nazis and
concentration camps inflicted upon her soul, has a difficult time in
letting people inside her heart, especially children who remind her too
much of her dead son Michael.
When Peter escapes from camp and Tom finally gets a chance to
permanently be with the boy he designated as his son, can Hannah
make peace with her past, or are she and Tom destined to break apart?
With a cover as beautiful as the story inside it, THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED by Robert
Hillman is a treat to be savored. The time within THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED moves
quickly, and we are offered a mere glance of the characters and the
lives they lead. But their lives are indeed full of potential to be
expanded into concrete blocks and something more tangible than a
mere dream. I found myself wishing the pace of the book would slow
down when it came to the characters, to enjoy the scenery instead of
being rushed along through the plot. Also, it should be noted that this
book does contain scenes of violence towards animals. For a reader
seeking a tale of second chances and older protagonists, THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN
HEARTED by Robert Hillman should be a wonderful read for this
spring.
A gorgeously written, tender, and wise novel about love
and forgiveness in 1960s Australia, in which a lonely farmer
finds his life turned upside down by the arrival of a
vibrant librarian.
Can one unlikely bookshop
heal two broken souls?
It is 1968 in rural
Australia and lonely Tom Hope can’t make heads or tails of
Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike
anyone he’s ever met—she’s passionate, brilliant, and
fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown’s first
bookshop.
Despite the fact that Tom has only read
only one book in his life, when Hannah hires him to install
shelving for the shop, the two discover an astonishing
spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife—and still
missing her sweet son, Peter—Tom dares to believe that he
might make Hannah happy. But Hannah is a haunted woman.
Twenty-four years earlier, she had been marched to the gates
of Auschwitz.
Perfect for fans of The Little Paris
Bookshop and The Light Between Oceans, The
Bookshop of the Broken Hearted cherishes the power of
love, literature, and forgiveness to transform our lives,
and—if we dare allow them—to mend our broken hearts.
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