The girl who reads on the métro

Select an Action

Title:

The girl who reads on the métro

Author:

Féret-Fleury, Christine, author.

Uniform Title:

Fille qui lisait dans le métro. English

ISBN:

9781250315427

Edition:

1st U.S. ed.

Physical Description:

175 pages ; 19 cm.

General Note:

"Originally published in France in 2017 as La Fille qui lisait dans le métro by Editions Denoël"--Title page verso.

Subject Term:

Young women -- Fiction.

Books and reading -- Fiction.

Fathers and daughters -- Fiction.

Booksellers and bookselling -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Paris (France) -- Fiction.

Added Author:

Schwartz, Ros,

Summary:

Juliette leads a perfectly ordinary life in Paris, working a slow office job, dating a string of not-quite-right men, and fighting off melancholy. The only bright spots in her day are her métro rides across the city and the stories she dreams up about the strangers reading books across from her: the old lady, the math student, the amateur ornithologist, the woman in love, the girl who always tears up at page 247. One morning, avoiding the office for as long as she can, Juliette finds herself on a new block, in front of a rusty gate wedged open with a book. Unable to resist, Juliette walks through, into the bizarre and enchanting lives of Soliman and his young daughter, Zaide. Before she realizes entirely what is happening, Juliette agrees to become a passeur, Soliman's name for the booksellers he hires to take stacks of used books out of his store and into the world, using their imagination and intuition to match books with readers. Suddenly, Juliette's daydreaming becomes her reality, and when Soliman asks her to move in to their store to take care of Zaide while he goes away, she has to decide if she is ready to throw herself headfirst into this new life. --

Language Note:

TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	FICTION FER	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	FICTION FER	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION FER	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"With a cast of characters reminiscent of the French film Amélie , Féret-Fleury creates a world that is delightful and enchanting...Light and sweet as a bonbon, this little confection of a book is delicious." -- Kirkus Reviews

For fans of Amélie and The Little Paris Bookshop , a modern fairytale about a French woman whose life is turned upside down when she meets a reclusive bookseller and his young daughter.

Juliette leads a perfectly ordinary life in Paris, working a slow office job, dating a string of not-quite-right men, and fighting off melancholy. The only bright spots in her day are her métro rides across the city and the stories she dreams up about the strangers reading books across from her: the old lady, the math student, the amateur ornithologist, the woman in love, the girl who always tears up at page 247.

One morning, avoiding the office for as long as she can, Juliette finds herself on a new block, in front of a rusty gate wedged open with a book. Unable to resist, Juliette walks through, into the bizarre and enchanting lives of Soliman and his young daughter, Zaide. Before she realizes entirely what is happening, Juliette agrees to become a passeur , Soliman's name for the booksellers he hires to take stacks of used books out of his store and into the world, using their imagination and intuition to match books with readers. Suddenly, Juliette's daydreaming becomes her reality, and when Soliman asks her to move in to their store to take care of Zaide while he goes away, she has to decide if she is ready to throw herself headfirst into this new life.

Big-hearted, funny, and gloriously zany, The Girl Who Reads on the M é tro is a delayed coming-of-age story about a young woman who dares to change her life, and a celebration of the power of books to unite us all.

Author Notes

Christine Féret-Fleury is an author based in France. The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is her first book to be translated into English and is being published around the world.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Can the gift of a perfect book transform a person's life?Juliette, a whimsical Parisian, leads a life far too dull for her magical spirit. She has an ordinary office job in real estate and dates men who are positively yawnworthy. Her love of literature and her active imagination, however, set her on a path to becoming a matchmaker between books and readers. Juliette lives in an almost-alternate reality where passengers on the Mtro are actually reading paper books rather than texting friends, swiping Tinder, or even reading e-books. She is intrigued by the man in the green hat who makes his way through an entomology textbook and the hopeless romantic who sobs at page 247 of every book she reads. One morning, Juliette instinctively exits the Mtro a few stops early on her commute to find herself at the quirky Books Unlimited, where she meets Soliman and his young daughter, Zaide. There, she is recruited as a book passeur; her mission is to follow strangers and observe their lives in order to give them the gift of the perfect book for that moment in their lives. Part charming stalker, part literary pharmacist, Juliette is more fulfilled as passeur than real estate agent and dives deeper into this secret realm of bibliophilic cupids. With a cast of characters reminiscent of the French film Amlie, Fret-Fleury creates a world that is delightful and enchanting. As she flits about this new universe, Juliette discovers that the life she may change the most is her own. This is the author's first book to appear in English, and it's been deftly translated to maintain the lyrical writing of the original French text.Light and sweet as a bonbon, this little confection of a book is delicious. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Juliette often finds herself gazing around the crowded subway cars of the Paris Métro, filled with commuters, students, and families. She's especially drawn to the people who are reading, their entire beings focused on their books. Juliette hasn't felt consumed by anything lately; her real-estate job is uneventful, and her romantic life is painfully quiet. Until she stumbles into a used bookstore run by Soliman, an eccentric introvert with a charmingly extroverted young daughter, Zaide. Juliette and Soliman become fast friends and business partners, and Juliette falls deep into Soliman's world of pairing the perfect book with the perfect person. When Soliman suddenly disappears, Juliette has to decide how to care for Zaide and the bookstore, and how much of herself she's willing to give to his literary mission. Féret-Fleury's first novel published in English will speak to fans of Nina George and Kate Atkinson, and any reader who loves getting lost in a secondhand bookshop. The author's love of the written word comes through on from every page. Relatively light on plot but packed with atmosphere, this ode to finding the right book at the right time comes with its own suggested reading list for those hoping to widen their literary horizons.--Stephanie Turza Copyright 2019 Booklist

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Helpful Links

Research Links

Contact

Events and Rooms

Follow Us

Today's Hours