Synopsis: Told in letters from 1949 to 1969, Helene lives in NYC and searches for old books. She corresponds with Frank at Marks & Co., in London, which sells vintage books, and they write letters back and forth over the years.
Review: A short, sweet read that is probably best read all at once.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff was an enjoyable book. It is very short, my copy is 97 pages long, and it is told in letter format, so many of the pages only have a paragraph or two on them. I picked this book up because I needed a quick book I could read in a day, and I also needed a physical book, not an e-book. I was thrilled to find this on my bookshelves, and it was the perfect read for what I was looking for.
“I just never saw a book so beautiful. I feel vaguely guilty about owning it. All that gleaming leather and gold stamping and beautiful type belongs in the pine-panelled library of an English country home; it wants to be read by the fire in a gentleman’s leather easy chair – not on a secondhand studio couch in a one-room hovel in a broken-down brownstone front.”
Told in letters from Helene in New York City, and Frank at Marks & Co in London, my copy is billed as a “love-affair-by-mail”, and I just did not get any romantic vibes between Helene and Frank. The only love I felt was friendship, and love of old, used books.
There isn’t a whole lot to say, really. 84, Charing Cross Road is nonfiction, the letters are real, and the address of Marks & Co., the used bookstore, is real, but according to Wikipedia it is now a McDonald’s. This is extremely sad to me.
There was a movie made based on the book, starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft. I saw this movie years and years ago, and remember nothing about it. I’d be interested to see the movie now and see how the book is adapted to the screen and what additions and changes are made.
I liked peeking into the lives of the different characters. You get a sense of Helene’s humor, and Frank’s dryness and love for his family. Since the letters span twenty years, you really get a sense of time and life, and various people come and go, and I wanted just a bit more information about what happened to certain characters.
Since there isn’t a whole lot of plot, it’s probably best that you plan to read this in one sitting, so you aren’t pulled out of the rhythm and atmosphere of the letters.
“I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages some one long gone has called my attention to.”
The letter writing somewhat reminded me of book blogging, and the book bloggers that I interact with. We only know snippets of each others lives, we are brought together by love of books, and it’s fun to think that some blogging relationships may last for years!
Bottom Line: A sweet, cute read that is best read all in one sitting.
Links to 84, Charing Cross Road at Amazon and Goodreads
Links to the movie 84, Charing Cross Road at Amazon and IMDB
Link to the Wikipedia entry for the book 84, Charing Cross Road
Have you read 84, Charing Cross Road? Have you ever seen the real-life location? What are your thoughts on the movie – is it worth watching?
luvtoread 
This sounds interesting! I like the idea of letters sent throughout 20 years.
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Yeah – the letter aspect was wonderful. I loved the brief snippets into life.
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Curse McDonalds and their taking over used bookstores. This sounds like a delightful read.
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It is a delightful read! Perfect way to spend an afternoon. And uggh. McDonald’s! The worst!!
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Haven’t read it or watched the movie, but sounds pretty interesting! A book about books!
Great review 🙂
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Thank you! And it’s a perfectly short book too.
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I haven’t seen the film but I loved the book. The “sequel” of sorts, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, is also very good. Hanff finally comes to London in that one.
I think all book lovers will like this book – as you say it’s really a story about the love these people share of books rather than a romance!
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oh wow!! I had no idea there was another book. I’ll have to read that one soon! So glad she finally gets to London. I’m curious to see if the film tries to make more of a romance out of it.
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The movie is available as a download through Amazon Prime; not free though… worth watching! I hadn’t herd of the sequel that Claire mentions so need to look for that now… I think the movie is very well done. Judi Dench has a very minor role which is interesting.
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The DVD is available on Netflix. I’ve apparently rated it 4 stars, but I can’t remember the movie at all!! Looking forward to watching the movie and reading The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street!
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Sounds like a fun and interesting read. After which, one would have to see the movie just to see what they did with it. (Judi Dench has a minor role – how old must this movie be? 😉)
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Looks like the movie is from 1986! Anthony Hopkins looks so young in the picture. Judi Dench steals everything she is in – just look at what she did with a “minor role” in Shakespeare in Love! 🙂
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I loved this book, must re-read it sometime. I think I’ve read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street too, years ago.
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I’m looking forward to The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and spending more time with the characters!
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Nice review. With the book being just 97 pages long, your own review would have clocked some 5% of its bulk! 😆😆
And yes, blogging can be a lot similar to what that book is about.
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Thanks! 🙂 Ooh that’s a good way to put it! Ha ha – hadn’t thought of it that way!
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I really like the last thing you said, about this book being like a pre-computer version of book bloggers. That’s so sweet! I think I get just as much thrill from a thoughtful comment from a bloggy friend that I do when I get a letter. Sometimes, physical mail feels like a responsibility because the only things people send to me anymore are birthday or Christmas cards. Do I throw them away? Keep them forever? Give them two weeks and toss them?
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Thanks! I also enjoy thoughtful comments on posts 🙂
I do enjoy seeing cards in the mailbox, those are really all I ever get in the actual mail. I’ve gotten so that I will recycle those cards – it’s taken years but I’ve finally realized I don’t have to hold on to every single birthday card! 🙂
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Loved the book AND loved the movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.
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Oh glad to hear the movie is wonderful! I need to watch it. I’m interested to see if they change it up at all.
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