A review by mariebrunelm
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This book is a bookworm’s dream. I’ve had it on my radar for years and have finally read it and kept giggling every other page. This short book is the correspondence between Helene, a New-York-based writer, and the employees of a second-hand bookshop in London, spanning 20 years of witty banter. I had to check these were the actual letters these people sent because they are too funny and touching to be true, but they are. And for letters written in the 1950s and 1960s they ring so modern! I guess book-loving never goes out of style. Hanff is the funniest, her outraged letters are a mood. If you enjoy books, and especially second-hand ones, please read this!

In my edition, the letters are followed by a sort of sequel, Helene’s diary when she visited London in 1971. That part wasn’t as charming, but it was still very enjoyable and helped me ease out of the epistolary section with my heart relatively intact.