PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Almost any traveler with an interest in literature will want to go to Paris eventually. This is a remarkable city with a wonderful history of literary giants. One of the landmarks in Paris for the literary traveler is the bookstore Shakespeare & Co. This store specializes in used books and also served as an unofficial hostel for would be writers who couldn't afford decent lodging.

The author uses this book to tell his personal story and also the remarkable story of a truly unique bookstore. There is also plenty of interesting biographical content on store founder George Whitman. Whitman is a fascinating figure. I believe he is still alive and running the store even into his 90s. The author made it to Paris for the Y2K after problems arose in his hometown in Canada. He writes of how he stumbled upon the store and his misadventures while there.

Mercer was a journalist cover crime for a newspaper in Canada. He writes a bit about the psychology of crime writers as they begin to hope for the worst in order to get the story. By his own admission, he had fallen into a rut. It was getting into a fix with a local criminal that led him to fear for his safety. He revealed the identity of an individual involved in suspect activity and was threatened. This inspired him to make the trek over to Paris. That is the beginning of this fable.

Mercer is very careful to note that there is a difference between George Whitman's store and the original Shakespeare & Co founded decades earlier by Sylvia Beach. Whitman's store was originally called La Mistral. He did eventually change the name to honor the original store. Whitman was known for allowing travelers to stay in the store for free. They would often be called upon to help out in the store by doing odd jobs. Whitman also hosted many poetry readings. A lot of the Beat Generation writers did readings and frequented the store.

Shakespeare & Co is an old bookstore which is hard to maintain due to the numbers of people living in the store. Whitman has his own room upstairs and also maintains nicer spaces upstairs for more noted guests. Many people in need of a place to stay happen upon the bookstore and ask for a place to stay. They sleep wherever room will allow it. Mercer describes it as less than ideal living conditions but it serves a purpose. Most of the people who stay there are poets and artists or simply shoestring travelers.

The story of Whitman is an intriguing one. He was born in 1913. His father was a scientific teacher and writer. Perhaps there's a trace of poetic justice that his father's first name was Walt. George was exposed to the world as his father did take on a job in China for a year. Whitman had a deep affection for all things Chinese throughout his life. As a young man, Whitman traveled the world on foot with the clothes on his back and a book. He would eventually land in Paris to open this bookstore in 1951.

Whitman liked to serve food to anyone who stopped in. Eventually he began to allow people to stay in the bookstore when they had no other place to go. One of his early guests was poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti who would later open City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco.

Whitman has held Marxist views throughout his life which has gotten him in trouble with the French government. I will not get into any argument over politics because I do greatly admire what Whitman has done with his life. His view was that one should try to make the world a better place and help as many people as one can in life.

Mercer writes of the interesting cast of characters that live in the bookstore. There is the old poet Simon who Whitman is trying to evict. There is the Argentine Gaucho and Chinese Ablimet who spoke in both French and English depending on the day. Kurt was another young man living in the store. They learned how to live frugally. Mercer learned all the cheap places to eat and drink in Paris. They would also fall in love. Mercer fell in love with a Romanian girl Nadia who lived in the bookstore briefly before moving on to Italy.

There were many trials and tribulations. The tenants had to learn to deal with Whitman's mood swings and eccentric personality. The title of the book comes from the author's observation that criminals going to prison had to do hard time. In the bookstore lifestyle time was soft. One becomes addicted to the laid back lifestyle where one doesn't have to observe a clock or the day to day work life.

 Of course, most of the tenants do move on . Mercer wrote of different people who moved on and how they managed to fall into their own lifes. He also wrote on the business end as to how Whitman is concerned about the future of the store. The hope is that his daughter Sylvia will take over after he passes.

The book is very interesting. It's not a particular deep or powerful read but it does tell a tale that should be told. Whitman has created something special on the Left Bank of Paris. Vagabonds and poets have a place to reside for awhile until they get their act together. The book is written in a very casual and accessible style. Mercer obviously still looks back fondly on his soft time at Shakespeare & Co.

This book should be read by those interested in Bohemian type lifestyles and alternative poetry. It's not going to appeal to more conservative types or those with more rigid views on how life should be led. It's just a well written tale of how a remarkable individual managed to carve out his own special niche in the universe.