Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs by Jeremy Mercer
If you ever come to Paris On a cold and rainy night and find the Shakespeare store It can be a welcome sight Because it has a motto Something friendly and wise Be kind to strangers Lest they're angels in disguise. "Shakespeare and Company" in Paris is one of the world's most famous bookshops. The original store opened in 1921 and became known as the haunt of literary greats, such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Bernard Shaw, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. Sadly the shop was forced to close in 1941 when the owner, Sylvia Beach, refused to sell the last copy of "Finnegan's Wake" to an occupying Nazi officer. But this was not the end of "Shakespeare and Company"...In 1951 another bookshop, with a similar free-thinking ethos, opened on the Left Bank. Called "Le Mistral", it had beds for those of a literary mindset who found themselves down on their luck and, in 1964, it resurrected the name "Shakespeare and Company" and became the principal meeting place for Beatnik poets, such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, through to Henry Miller and Lawrence Durrell. Today the tradition continues and writers still find their way to this bizarre establishment, one of them being Jeremy Mercer. After his life as a crime reporter in a Canadian city takes a terrifying turn for the worse, Jeremy packs his bags and, on a whim, heads to Paris to see in the new millennium. With no friends, no job, no money and no prospects, the thrill of escape soon palls but, by chance, he happens upon the fairytale world of "Shakespeare and Co" and is taken in. What follows is his tale of his time there, the curious people who came and went, the realities of being down and out in the 'city of light' and, in particular, his relationship with the beguiling octogenarian owner, George.
"a small classic of literary lifeThere are enough shocks and secrets to make this account that unusual thing: the story of a bookshop that's a real page turner. " -- TERENCE BLACKER SUNDAY TIMES "Mercer sketches a history of the bibliographic shelter, crowding its bunks with literary wannabes... LIke the shop itself, Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs preserves the optimism of youthful ideals and perpetuates the sweet dream that any man can create - in words if not in reality - a better world." -- RORY MACLEAN SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "His touching book suggests that his time at Shakespeare & Company was well spent." -- NICHOLAS CLEE NEW STATESMAN "As well as the tourists and thieves, there are those who stay at the shop, and Mercer portrays them well. The ruls are simple, each day they must read a book and spend an hour helping in the bookshop... Thankfully, Shakespeare and Company lives on, almost believing its own myths." LITERARY REVIEW "Mercer's debut in Europe is a fascinating Odyssey into a historic bookstore as well as a confessional autobiography about having troubles with alcohol and drugs." PUBLISHING NEWS "Mercer knows a good story, how to craft it... a book and a writer with heart... impossible not to warm to him." HERALD "He entertainingly tells the story of his time there and the weird and wonderful people he meets." CITY LIFE "Tender, disenchanted, self-castigating and bittersweet, Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs is a book that is consistently surprising." THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY "with such stories to relate, the book cannot help but be charming" GUARDIAN
Jeremy Mercer is a Canadian ex-journalist who lives in Marseille, France.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780297850885 |
| ISBN 10 | 0297850881 |
| Title | Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs |
| Author | Jeremy Mercer |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Orion Publishing Co |
| Year published | 2005-11-10 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |