84 Charing Cross Road

A wonderful view of how beautiful relationships can form remotely, across large distances and times, through common interests and reciprocal kindness. It's a wholesome story with letters from a wide variety of characters, as Helene's simple words and gifts touched so many people, but as the years go on everyone's lives have ups and downs documented within the letters. Helene finds and loses work on the regular, the politics of post-war Britain finds people in various states, health declines and recovers in various points as people deal with life.

Despite being told through an incomplete, scattered collection of letters, with gaps clearly visible in how dates and conversations advance, we get a remarkably clear view of everyone's lives. There are obviously more to these people than can be visible in text on paper, and we are never quite allowed to forget that, but we can also clearly see how close Frank and Helene and the others grow over the years.

Just a really beautiful view of human relationships, especially in a time where we don't see such beauty depicted often. I gotta find a pen pal.

A beautiful little book. It's about nothing. A set of letters exchanged between the author and a bookstore in London.

Transactional letters at first, that over time become more personal, funny, loving, and move beyond the role relationships.

It reminds me about how so many plain moments in our lives are actually poetic, beautiful. Encompassing dimensionalities we can't even fathom when we are living those moments. And it's perspective which brings out the beauty in them, or not.

What a treat. Can't believe I never knew about this book before.