"The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald ****

> Orig. published 1978
> British author

> p.1..."She had once seen a heron flying across the estuary and tryng, while it was on the wing, to swallow an eel whch it had caught. The eel, in turn, was struggling to escape from the gullet of the heron and appeared a quarter, a half, or occasionally three-quarters of the way out. The indecision expressed by both creatures was pitiabe. They had taken on too much." ----sums up the entire story

> haunted by a poltergeist, commonly referred to by the locals as a "rapper"

> p.88...."The shop had been transformed into a silent battleground in a nominal state of truce.".....midway through the story

> p.102..."I don't know that men are better judges than women, said Florence, 'but they spend much less time regretting their decisions."...True?

> p.103..."I value most the one virtue which need not therefore be referred to as a virtue. I refer to courage."

> p.108..."A good book is the preciuos life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured upon purpose to a life beyond life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity."....Florence

> p.158...Closing line..."As the train drew out of the station she sat with her head bowed in shame, because the town in which she had lived for nearly ten years had not wanted a bookshop."

> LibraryThing Review: Another charmer by Penelope Fitzgerald! The courageous Florence Green attempts to open a bookshop even though the local odds are against her. Or should I say that the odd locals are against her?! The shop supporters battle valiantly against the social matriarch of the small community....you have to love the local vet, Raven, the 10 year old knuckle rapping Christine, and the recluse who comes out to battle to the death for the bookshop, Mr. Brundish. This is a novella perfect for a long afternoon read in your favorite chair!