Found In A Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

 

The Lost For Words bookshop offers a click and collect or postal service during Covid restrictions. When they realise that they are losing out on those customers who browse the shelves, not sure of exactly what they want in a book, they set up a book pharmacy. Email them outlining the type of book you want or the issue you are struggling with and they will curate a list of books for you. 

When I started Found In A Bookshop I struggled. I didn't like the writing style and found it difficult to get my head around the constantly changing characters. However, I stuck with it and this book really grew on me. Some characters were fleeting but we regularly returned to the main ones.

Set during the first set of Covid restrictions during 2020 we are reminded of exactly how much life changed for everyone. Now that life is returning to normal we easily forget how normality simply stopped. I know that I personally view that time from my own perspective, what Found In A Bookshop does is show you how others were impacted. We meet restaurant managers, supermarket staff, domestic abuse survivors and the retired to name just a few. We are given a brief glimpse of their daily struggles, loneliness, anxiety or need to simply retreat from reality.

Through the book pharmacy we see that books are a form of medicine. They offer an escape, a glimpse into another life, greater understanding, comfort, nostalgia and hope. The communication between the staff of the bookshop and the customers also proves to be a vital lifeline for some. The most poignant being retired teachers Rosemary and George who have no family. Up until Covid they were content in their house by the sea, tending their garden and happy in each others company. Covid coincides with a major health issue and we learn how lonely existence became. 

Thankfully some of the characters are revisited throughout the book and I really warmed to them, wanting to know what direction their life would take. Not everything has a happy ending, just like life, but we do see how much community, support and hope matter.

Found In A Bookshop by Stephanie Butland will be published on 27th April 2023 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Headline for a review copy.