The bookshop of the broken hearted

Title:

Author:

Hillman, Robert, 1948- author.

Personal Author:

Hillman, Robert, 1948- author.

ISBN:

9780525535928

Physical Description:

293 pages ; 24 cm

Abstract:

1968, rural Australia. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah Babel is passionate, brilliant, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Tom Hope has only ever read one book in his life when Hannah hires him to install shelving for the shop, but the two discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife, Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy. But Hannah is haunted by memories: twenty-four years earlier, she had been marched to the gates of Auschwitz. Will they be able to transform their lives... and mend their broken hearts? -- adapted from jacket

A gorgeously written, tender, and wise novel about love and forgiveness in 1960s Australia, in which a lonely farmer finds his life turned upside down by the arrival of a vibrant librarian.

Subject Term:

Bookstores -- Fiction.

Farmers -- Fiction.

Holocaust survivors -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Australia -- Fiction.

Genre:

Love stories.

Romance fiction.

Summary:

A gorgeously written, tender, and wise novel about love and forgiveness in 1960s Australia, in which a lonely farmer finds his life turned upside down by the arrival of a vibrant librarian.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Belmont	Book	FICTION HILLMAN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Main Library	Book	FICTION HILLMAN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... North Avenue	Book	FICTION HILLMAN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Westover Hills	Book	FICTION HILLMAN	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Can one unlikely bookshop heal two broken souls?

"Beautifully written . . . Full of insight into the nature of tragedy, love, and redemption."--Garth Stein

"A poignant journey of unthinkable loss, love, and the healing capacity of the written word."--Ellen Keith

It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met--she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife--and still missing her sweet son, Peter--Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy. But Hannah is a haunted woman. Twenty-four years earlier, she had been marched to the gates of Auschwitz.

Perfect for fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and The Tattooist of Auschwitz , The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted cherishes the power of love, literature, and forgiveness to transform our lives, and--if we dare allow them--to mend our broken hearts.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

When Tom Hope, a practical sheep farmer in 1960s Australia, married Hannah Babel, a twice-widowed Auschwitz survivor many years his senior, not everyone thought it was a good idea.But then again, Tom was easily swayed by women. His first wife, Trudy, had left him. Twice. The first time, she returned pregnant with another man's child. The second time, she joined a Christian commune, saddling Tom with raising her son, Peter. Tom and Peter became an amicable pair, herding sheep, pruning trees, and fixing engines together. So when Trudy returned two years later to claim Peter, it nearly broke both Tom, who refused to live alone again, and Peter, who had no love for this mother he didn't know, much less the Jesus Camp. Luckily, for Tom, Hannah comes to town, eager to open a bookstore. She hires Tom to help renovate the old shop building, and the two quickly become lovers. Although Hannah has survived the Holocaust, the memories of those she lost, including her son, Michael, haunt her. Meanwhile, unluckily for Peter, the pastor in charge of Jesus Camp is a controlling patriarch who believes heartily in thrashing the spirit of God into misbehaving boys, especially those who run away, like Peter. And although Tom would gladly fight to keep Peter, both the law and Hannah are against him, for Peter isn't Tom's biological son, and Hannah can't bear to love a boy again, a boy who could be lost just as Michael was. Can Tom and Hannah find a way to bring Peter home? Hillman (The Boy in the Green Suit, 2008, etc.) crafts a compelling tale, toggling among Tom's, Hannah's, and Peter's perspectives, as he delineates the stripping of each heart and draws together the ties that bind them together again.A heart-wrenching tale of love enduring all things in the face of evil. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.