I think I am supposed to love this book. After all, it's about a real American living in Paris during the early 1900s who sells American literature to Americans living in France. She meets, and is friends with, several classic authors. Some of these authors I studied intensely in college, like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. (Alas, I have never read Ulysses, which is odd in and of itself. I guess I will have to rectify that omission.)
Although I admire Sylvia Beach and her passion and strength, I found the book a little slow to read. I had to force myself to pick it up and continue reading. It just didn't hold my interest like I thought it would. Usually I love to read books about books.
It wasn't terribly surprising that many of these well-known "classic" authors were self-centered, eccentric and unstable in their mental health. True artists often have these qualities, whether they are painters, singers, writers, actors or mathematical geniuses. A couple of them really annoyed me though, like James Joyce!
The fight to have Ulysses published was an important part of this novel of course. Sylvia Beach published it herself because no one else would touch it at that time. Then she illegally sent copies of the book into America. The book explains all the people involved in trying to get the book published, trying to keep the book banned, trying to stop others from publishing it since it wasn't properly copywrited. I couldn't keep all of the people straight - quite honestly because I didn't really care!
I am against the banning of books, and Ulysses was definitely a banned book at the time. So I appreciate the fight that was waged to get it published. Other than that, it was difficult for me to sustain my interest.
Wendy's Rating: ***1/2
