84 Charing Cross Road

Rating:
Summary: Utterly charming
Review: Charming, witty, and deeply moving without any dripping sentimentality. The correspondence between American writer Helene Hanff and English bookseller Frank Doel is a portrait of an unconventional friendship and a snapshot of postwar England taken by an American friend. Hanff's delight with English history and the bookstore staff's reciprocal pleasure in her interest are brought to life in this lively epistolary account.

Rating:
Summary: A Joy to Treasure
Review: I waited too long to finally read 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and I have no reasonable excuse for it. Someone had lent me a copy and it was the only book in my backpack on the commute to work one morning as I had forgotten to bring the book I was reading, so I started it and had one of the best journeys of my life. I immediately ran out and bought my own copy as I knew that I would read this book over and over again. It is very funny and, in the end, quite touching in ways that all readers will understand and appreciate. The best endorsement of this book is that it will get one to investigate all sorts of old classics and look at reading and writing in new and different ways. I personally will be letting used books fall open just to see what interested a reader from the past and what he or she is trying to tell me. I little trick gratefully picked up from the delightful Helene Hanff.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read!
Review: Though I somehow just went a week without finishing any of the books I've been reading (thank you upcoming store inventory, *grumble*), I must say this little gem got me through some of the worst of it! This book is just beautiful.

It is, put far too simply, a collection of letters between an American lady of fabulous wit and sarcasm and a few people of Marks & Co., a British bookstore on 84, Charing Cross Road. The letters suck you right in - what Helen says, one cannot help but read, and the wonderfully phrased return letters from (mostly) Frank Doel always made me chuckle in a "Gosh, I remember living in England," way. This is a correspondance that covers two decades, and though I often felt like some of the letters were missing (there are replies to questions you never see asked), it was a delight to read this.

It's rare I enjoy a nonfiction book that isn't on one of the narrow topics I enjoy, and biographical correspondance isn't normally something I pay attention to. Still, this is fabulous, and I suggest you go grab a copy, a cuppa, and just enjoy!

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: A Sentimental Story
Review: 84 Charing Cross Road is a sentimental and heartwarming story of a woman's love of literature and deep and lasting friendship she made with people across the Atlantic. It is a correspondence between the author Helene Hanff, and her favorite book store, Marks and Company, located in London, England.  Miss Hanff, who lived in New York, wrote letters to Marks and Company for a period of about twenty years, from 1949 to 1969. During this time she became a friend of the owner as well as the entire staff.  Helene always wanted to go to England to see the bookstore, and meet the staff, but she never made it.  It is an intriguing book because it shows us that prior to the invention of the internet and instant communication, people often had to communicate by letter which allowed for more personal contact, even over thousands of miles.  It was a rewarding relationship on both sides. We learn that it is possible to form  lasting and deep relationships with people that we have never physically met.  This book should inspire others to start writing. How many of us remember how exciting it was to receive letters in the mail, or how we felt knowing that one we had written was flying or sailing across the sea.   I remember how excited I got as a child when I relieved a letter in the mail.  Reading this book brought those memories back and made me want to start writing letters again.

Rating:
Summary: One Fantastic Experience
Review: I happened upon this first in the movie version, which starred Ann Bancroft. It was sensitive, subtle, intelligent, romantic and witty -- qualities seldom found in movies today. Shortly after seeing the movie, I discovered it was available in book form. I'm intensely aware of the gap between movies and the books they try to emulate, so I was anxious to read the print version.

WOW!

October 5, 1949. Helene Hanff is a writer who is determined to acquire a solid education in classical English literature so she writes a letter to a small bookshop (at 84 Charing Cross Road) to ask about some rather obscure works she'd like to read. She's seen their ad in the Saturday Review of Literature and is encouraged by the fact that they specialize in out-of-print books.

Thus begins, with one short, polite inquiry, a chain of events that changes Hanff's life and eventually (in 30 years) catapults her into fame.

It is Hanff's personality that carries the story. Writer-like, she infuses it onto paper as she comments on the books she receives and requests more. As WWII ravages England, Hanff sends food packages of rare treats to the penpals she develops at the bookstore. Employees write to her, she exchanges recipes with them and shares her observations as she reads.

The manager of the store, Frank Doel, slowly evolves into a romantic figure as Hanff cajoles, teases and chides him and he responds in a particularly British manner.

If you love books and people, abhor violence and gratuitous sex, and if you're content with subtleties in relationships combined with sensitive observations about life and literature, this is your book. It's normal, healthy, charming and funny -- a far cry from everyday movie and "literary" fare.

Rating:
Summary: Serendipity...84 Charing Cross Road Strikes Again!
Review: This book is incredible. I laughed out loud and I felt her pain and sorrow. Helene Hanff is a fabulous writer. I went to England with her as she told her story. I received my copy of this book in a very ironic way. If I can become half the writer she is I will have succeeded!

A co-worker of mine went to see the play "84 Charing Cross Road" in London last week and someone had left a copy of the book on a shelf during interval on purpose. The label on the book said "On the run!! Help me readch new horizons! Look inside and check out www.Bookcrossing.com"

Oddly enough, I received this book that started in London in memory of Allistar with Bookcrossings.com and hundreds of copies are purchased and released in her name. I will be releasing the copy that I found soon and will purchase another copy on Amazon.com to release into the wild on her behalf.

If you are interested in buying a book and helping out Allistar with Bookcrossing.com just go there and join.

The book is that good; what can I say. Buy it and I promise it will become a part of your book collection that will be re-read over the years.

Rating:
Summary: For Every Book Lover
Review: On October 5, 1949, a woman in New York sent a letter to a London bookstore she had read about in the Saturday Review of Literature. She was anxious to purchase a few out-of-print books, so she enclosed a list and money with her letter. She had no idea that she had ignited a relationship through letters that would last for 20 years.

Helene Hanff and Frank Doel enjoyed one of the most unusual relationships ever recorded in print. If you're a book lover, this is one book you must have. In less than 100 pages, you'll discover two people that embrace books with an intense passion. Touching, funny, and personal, 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD is a great way to spend an hour or two.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful, heartwarming book
Review: I just finished this book yesterday and have the heartfelt desire to establish a long distance correspondence, in the hopes of finding a kindred spirit. In '84 Charing Cross Road', Helene Hanff finds such a person when she responds to an ad for reasonably priced antiquarian books. Over the course of 20 years and numerous letters back and forth you discover the hidden personalities of each person involved--and how all become friends from a distance. Whether it is in the physical gifts of food and other rationed items that Helene sends to Marks & Co, or the prayers that Frank and Nora's children send out to Helene in the hopes that finances will enable her to come out to England. I found myself heartbroken at the turn of events that befell Frank Doel, and made an inner promise to myself to seize the moment. I hope that all who chance upon this book will walk away with something as wonderful as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Reaffirms My Belief in the Power of Correspondence
Review: This charming little book is a collection of letters between New York author Helene Hanff and London bookseller Frank Doel. In the course of 20 years from Hanff's first book order from Marks & Co,, till Doel's death in 1969 they connected through the mail they exchanged and built a wonderful relationship. While Hanff became friends with Doel's family and his co-workers at the bookstore, what the two had was something special, revolving around their love of literature. Despite plans to do so, the two never met as Hanff didn't make it to London until after Doel's death and the publication of the letters. This book beautifully demonstrates the power of correspondence and how two people can connect, solely by the written word.

Heartwarming, funny, sad, all rolled in one. I went on to read other books by Hanff where she describes her trips to London. After reading her books, I too went on a pilgrimage to 84, Charing Cross Road.

Rating:
Summary: A tiny bit of perfection
Review: Admit it or not, we all like to read other people's mail. This wonderfully charming book of letters between a New York book lover and a London book seller is like a perfectly wrapped exquisite little gift. It's so brief you can easily read it in one short sitting, but it's so intimate, funny and warm I can guarantee you'll read it over and over.