Synopses & Reviews
An anonymous love letter
arrives in Helen MacFarquhar's mail one summer morning. Written by an
unknown lover to a mysterious beloved, the letter becomes Helen's
obsession.
The proprietress of a bookstore in a quaint New England town,
Helen is content with her calm, controlled world, running her life like
a well-oiled machine. A merry divorcee with a bright, lovable
11-year-old daughter, she has settled happily into a sensible daily
routine of selling books, motherhood, and charming the local townsfolk.
How do you fall in love? the letter asks. To her dismay, Helen finds
out. Johnny is the college student who works in Helen's bookstore, a boy
with all the irresistible modesty and arrogance of youth. Helen knows
she is too old for him, and too wise, but the letter's ardor is
overpowering and Helen is swept up in an unlikely, but fiercely tender
love affair.
Review
"Like the love letter of the title, this book enchants and seduces." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"[Helen's story] is a
familiar one...but Ms. Schine renders it in these pages with such
deftness and good-natured humor that the reader can't help but be
enchanted." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Review
"Rarely less than sublime....A sophisticated and witty valentine of a novel." People
Synopsis
Cathleen Schine's The Lover Letter is "...a sophisticated and witty valentine of a novel." --People
Independent, irresistible Helen MacFarquhar is the owner of a bookstore in an idyllic seaside town in New England. A happily divorced mother who enjoys a playful relationship with her customers, Helen's life is turned upside down when an anonymous letter arrives, penned by an unknown lover.
About the Author
Cathleen Schine is the author of
They May Not Mean To, But They Do,
The Three Weissmanns of Westport, and
The Love Letter, among other novels. She has contributed to
The New Yorker,
The New York Review of Books,
The New York Times Magazine, and
The New York Times Book Review. She lives in Los Angeles.