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Q&A | May 16, 2012

Mark Kurlansky: IMG Powell's Q&A: Mark Kurlansky

0 comments By Mark Kurlansky

Describe your latest book. It is titled Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man, and it is coming out in May from Doubleday. This is the first... Continue »
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    Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man

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This title in other editions

eBook editions

Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.

by Jeremy Mercer

Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. Cover

ISBN13: 9780312347406
ISBN10: 0312347405
Condition:
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Wandering through Paris's Left Bank one day, poor and unemployed, Canadian reporter Jeremy Mercer ducked into a little bookstore called Shakespeare & Co. Mercer bought a book, and the staff invited him up for tea. Within weeks, he was living above the store, working for the proprietor, George Whitman, patron saint of the city's down-and-out writers, and immersing himself in the love affairs and low-down watering holes of the shop's makeshift staff. Time Was Soft There is the story of a journey down a literary rabbit hole in the shadow of Notre Dame, to a place where a hidden bohemia still thrives.

Synopsis:

In 1999, Jeremy Mercer fled Canada for Paris with nothing but his meagre savings. Nearly homeless, he met George Whitman, owner of Shakespeare & Co. In exchange for work in the legendary bookstore, Whitman allows struggling writers to live in and around the shelves. He offered Jeremy a cot. Here begins a charming story of Paris, passion, and, of course, books.
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About the Author

Jeremy Mercer was formerly a journalist for the Ottawa Citizen. He is the author of two crime books and founder of Kilometer Zero, a cult literary magazine currently being published out of Shakespeare & Co.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
kauyyek, July 1, 2010 (view all comments by kauyyek)
Having lived in Paris in the late 80s and early 90s, I was a frequent visitor and occasionally, a paying customer of Shakespeare & Co. This book took me on a wonderful trip down memory lane. I consider myself fortunate to have been invited to tea on a Sunday afternoon and I have a friend who actually spent a few nights there. I made a return visit to Paris last summer and had to stop in at my favorite bookstore and had the honor of talking with George's daughter. This book is a must read for everyone who has entered the crazy, lovely world that is Shakespeare & Co.
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cezmius, October 27, 2006 (view all comments by cezmius)
This is a wonderful journey across the sea to "the City of Lights."

I'll admit this memoir by a Canadian journalist took me back down memory lane. More than ten years ago, I spent my junior year in Paris studying french and international politics and the famed bookstore, Shakespeare & Co., backdrop for Mercer's tale, was a favorite (if temporary) return to the Engligh-speaking world.

If you think you'll enjoy reading about an unusual bookstore cum-Halfway House and the odd literary personalities it attracts, you should pick up Jeremy Mercer's "When Time Was Soft." Too, it makes a good companion if your planning a trip to Paris anytime soon.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780312347406
Author:
Mercer, Jeremy
Publisher:
Picador USA
Subject:
Europe - France
Subject:
Travelers
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
BIO026000
Subject:
Biography - General
Subject:
Travel - France
Copyright:
2006
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
20060931
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
272
Dimensions:
8.26 x 5.51 x 0.635 in
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Related Subjects

Biography » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Biography » General
Travel » Europe » France
Travel » Travel Writing » Europe
Travel » Travel Writing » France
Travel » Travel Writing » General

Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. Sale Trade Paper
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Product details 272 pages Picador USA - English 9780312347406 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by ,
In 1999, Jeremy Mercer fled Canada for Paris with nothing but his meagre savings. Nearly homeless, he met George Whitman, owner of Shakespeare & Co. In exchange for work in the legendary bookstore, Whitman allows struggling writers to live in and around the shelves. He offered Jeremy a cot. Here begins a charming story of Paris, passion, and, of course, books.
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