Hoepli Libreria Internazionale

Via Hoepli 5, Milan

From the outside, you might think that this is a very exciting bookshop. This may also be the case if you speak Italian. However, I don't understand why this bookshop calls itself Libreria Internazionale when it hardly has any international literature.

I spent quite a long time in this rather lovelessly furnished shop, but only because I found it so difficult to choose a book. Not a single one appealed to me...

Elizabeth McCracken : The Hero of This Book

Ten months after her mother's death, the narrator travels to London, which she had once visited with her and which was her mother's favourite place.

She walks around the city, reflects on situations in her mother's life as well as their relationship.

This book is a hybrid of fiction and the processing of the death of the author's own mother.

I realized that I was emotionally very distant. The characters didn't reach me at all. But I also lacked the tension to want to learn more about the protagonists. 

A typical women's novel.

Bookshop: 

**

Book: 

**

Mondadori Duomo

Piazza Duomo, Milan

Located under one of the arcades next to the beautiful Milan Cathedral. The bookshop is arranged over three and a half floors and also has vinyl records.

It has a lot of space and of course the main clientele is Italian-speaking, which means that the range of international books is rather small.

Unfortunately, there were no Italian authors on display among the English-language books. I would recommend this bookshop, if possible, to recommend the same books in the English section as on the ground floor.

As for the interior, it reminds me a bit of Ex Libris branches. So not particularly classy.

John Boyne : Water

A woman arrives on an island. The first thing she does is change her name. Because it's not for nothing that she has chosen a small island to get away from her past. Her daughter Rebecca no longer speaks to her. Her husband is in prison. Her older daughter is no longer alive. Little by little, the reader learns why. 

John Boyne has created a wonderful novel, which impressed me both linguistically and in terms of storytelling.

This book is predestined to be made into a film. I can clearly see the images in front of me. Especially the ending...

Bookshop: 

***

Book: 

****

Rizzoli Galleria

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ll, Milan

The shop is beautifully located at the the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The bookshop is also very typical and the beautiful building gives it an inviting feel.

The international section is relatively large. What I particularly liked was the section with Italian authors in English. 

Very friendly staff for being right in the tourist centre.

Paolo Cognetti : The Lovers

The protagonist Fausto leaves Milan and his long-term relationship behind and takes a job as a chef in the remote village of Montana Fredda in the Italian Alps. There he meets 27-year-old Silvia, who is also looking for a change. The two become close.

The Lovers is a somehow simply written novel that describes the characters' relationships in a very beautiful way and leaves many things open. And yet Paolo Cognetti manages to describe nature and scenes in such a way that you have clear images before your eyes. Especially when he describes nature, which in the mountains does not only have beautiful aspects.

I found this book very enjoyable to read, but there was still something missing...

Bookshop: 

***

Book: 

***

Cartolibreria Leone

Via Principe Tommaso 19, Stresa

Barely bigger than a kiosk, but with two entrances, Cartolibreria Leone is located in the heart of the beautiful village of Stresa on Lago Maggiore.

I would even say that there were almost more goods outside the shop than in it.

The shop is small, but very friendly. Despite the language barrier, I found the gentleman extremely charming. I apologise at this point for my inability to adapt linguistically. My Italian is poor and very embarrassing. 

To my surprise, this bookshop/cardshop also had a whole revolving stand of English books (about a tenth of the entire book range). It is a little bit difficult to turn the stand and, as expected, has no staff picks. Before leaving the shop, I decided to buy the first book I saw on the English stand. Was that a wise decision?

Sukh Ojla : Sunny

There are probably more women like the protagonist Sunny than you might think. They often hide because they are ashamed. In search of recognition, dissatisfied with their own body, but also unwilling to take their destiny into their own hands.

In Sunny's story, there is also the cultural aspect that she not only wants to please her supposed friends, but also her parents, who are of Indian descent.

Unfortunately, Sunny didn't reach me as a person because she always saw herself as a victim and didn't want to get out of this role. I don't see much will in this character. Even if I had sympathised with her, it prevented me from taking her side. She sometimes annoyed me just as much as her superficial and over-privileged friends.

The book is written the way Sukh Ojla presents her programmes. Entertainingly written, but didn't reach me as a reader.

Bookshop: 

***

Book: 

**