84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff is a delightful read that explores the long lost art of communication by letters. This is a series of correspondence between Helene and Frank, an employee of a book store in London. What begins as a business relationship ends up becoming one of friendship. The letters are insightful into the world of London just after WWII ends and the rationing that still remained. The letters give glimpses of the political fronts of both countries at the election of Churchill and the campaign of Stevenson. The series of letters is a wonderful glimpse into the lives and careers of both Frank and Helene. I am certainly glad I read this book.
I originally selected this book as a non fiction read for the epistolary book but ended up discovering it was written the year I was born so I was able to use it for that prompt as well. It was a quick, enjoyable read for this time of the year.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This proved to be a very charming and heartwarming book. I really had no idea what to expect when I selected it. It was a fascinating experience to watch the relationship between Helene and Frank grow over the years. The sarcastic nature of both their tones is hard to pick up initially but really added to the book as you read along. It is amazing to watch Helene's career grow alongside their correspondence. All in all a good book.
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge - Book #134
- 52 Books in 52 weeks #6- Written in the 1970’s
- Book List Queen #51- Borrowed From a Friend
- 20 in 20: #Read20in2020 #11 An epistolary book
- 2020 TBR #2020TBRReadingChallenge #2- book published the yr you were born
- TBR Book #57 #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
- Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO- Everything nice- as a feel good book
- Memoir One you want to reread
- Historical NonFiction Book 3
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