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A review by jmiae
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión
3.0
I wanted to enjoy this book more. The premise is appealing and I was half hoping it would be a similar approach to Bookshops that Alberto Manguel's A History of Reading is to the act of reading. But it fell somewhat short of that expectation, though I don't think it's entirely fair to judge a book for what it is not, rather than for what it turned out to be.
As other reviews have mentioned, there are a lot of obscure references throughout. Depending on your perspective, of course. Those who are well-versed in Latin American literature and literary theory may have an easier time of it. I'm familiar with Jorge Luis Borges and have read Cesar Aira and Julio Cortazar, but many of the others were lost on me. This in itself is not problematic, except this book is marketed as perhaps more accessible than it actually is. It's not exactly a layman's history of bookshops, and it is certainly far more cerebral than I was anticipating.
Again, taking a more theoretical tack is perfectly fine, provided the arguments are laid out clearly. But Carrion is a little too overzealous in his ratio of literary references per paragraph, and his ideas hop around strangely through each chapter, making the writing feel disjointed and his train of thought difficult to follow. One gets the impression that he is haphazardly stitching together thoughts he's had to mirror a vague pattern that only faintly reflects the chapters he has organised them into.
Despite these issues, there were many morsels scattered throughout the book. Depending on your familiarity with the bookshops in different major cities, you will likely find at least friendly, familiar shop and it was a pleasure to read about Carrion's experiences travelling to these different pilgrimage sites, whether or not I had been there myself. He offers some interesting thoughts on the evolution of bookshops over the recent decades. And he introduced me to some new titles and set me on the trail to visit a few bookshops I'd not heard of before, and at the end of the day that is all I really want from any publication that falls into one of my most favourite book genres (if it can be considered a genre): books about books.
As other reviews have mentioned, there are a lot of obscure references throughout. Depending on your perspective, of course. Those who are well-versed in Latin American literature and literary theory may have an easier time of it. I'm familiar with Jorge Luis Borges and have read Cesar Aira and Julio Cortazar, but many of the others were lost on me. This in itself is not problematic, except this book is marketed as perhaps more accessible than it actually is. It's not exactly a layman's history of bookshops, and it is certainly far more cerebral than I was anticipating.
Again, taking a more theoretical tack is perfectly fine, provided the arguments are laid out clearly. But Carrion is a little too overzealous in his ratio of literary references per paragraph, and his ideas hop around strangely through each chapter, making the writing feel disjointed and his train of thought difficult to follow. One gets the impression that he is haphazardly stitching together thoughts he's had to mirror a vague pattern that only faintly reflects the chapters he has organised them into.
Despite these issues, there were many morsels scattered throughout the book. Depending on your familiarity with the bookshops in different major cities, you will likely find at least friendly, familiar shop and it was a pleasure to read about Carrion's experiences travelling to these different pilgrimage sites, whether or not I had been there myself. He offers some interesting thoughts on the evolution of bookshops over the recent decades. And he introduced me to some new titles and set me on the trail to visit a few bookshops I'd not heard of before, and at the end of the day that is all I really want from any publication that falls into one of my most favourite book genres (if it can be considered a genre): books about books.