Title: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
Author: Garth Nix
Pages: 393
Finished: October 3, 2020
First Sentence: It was 5:42 A.M. on May Day, 1983, in the west of England, and a sliver of the sun had edged above the ridge.
Summary: While searching for clues as to her father's identity, Susan Bauer walks in on the dashing young Merlin killing her "Uncle" Frank with what looks to be a silver hatpin. Suddenly, the room starts filling with a black fog and Susan follows Merlin into the world of Booksellers, both left and right handed who help keep the Old World from spilling too much into the New World. The Old World that seems particularly interested in Susan...
Thoughts: Wow, this is a fast paced novel. I think the entire thing takes place in the course of a couple days maybe? This has a bit of a Neil Gaiman or Charles Delint feel to it with the whole Old World encroaching on the New World bit. Characters felt mostly realistic. It says it's a young adult book, but I'd say it's more geared towards the 18 - 25 year old crowd. Susan is 19 I believe, but feels older in many ways. The world was fun, particularly anytime they slipped into the Old World or the Bookshops. And really, anything about bookshops or booksellers is fun.
The plot itself is fairly simplistic though. The antagonists are broadcast pretty early on, but the characters frustratingly don't clue in until super late in the novel. Susan's origins are fairly obvious from the start as well... which again takes a long time for the characters to figure out. Still, it was really nice to have a quick, engaging read.
The plot itself is fairly simplistic though. The antagonists are broadcast pretty early on, but the characters frustratingly don't clue in until super late in the novel. Susan's origins are fairly obvious from the start as well... which again takes a long time for the characters to figure out. Still, it was really nice to have a quick, engaging read.
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