The London Literature Club

This charming book is a collection of letters between Helene Hanff, a feisty New York writer, and Frank Doel, a reserved and knowledgeable bookseller at Marks & Co., a bookstore located at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. Spanning two decades, their correspondence reveals a growing friendship and shared love for books, offering a poignant and often humorous insight into their lives and the post-war world.

The attendance fee is to ensure participation (as much is possible). Please get in touch if is presents a hardship as it is possible to waive the fee for students, those on low incomes, people who are not employed etc.

Per Goodreads:

The Ladies Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) recounts the rise of the modern department store in late nineteenth-century Paris. The store is a symbol of capitalism, of the modern city, and of the bourgeois family: it is emblematic of changes in consumer culture, and the changes in sexual attitudes and class relations taking place at the end of the century. This new translation of the eleventh novel in Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle captures the spirit of one of his greatest works.

Book summary from Goodreads:

In Thirst for Love*, Japan's greatest modern writer created a portrait of sexual torment and corrosive jealousy that is as delicately nuanced as* Madame Bovary and as remorseless as Justine*. Yukio Mishima's protagonist is Etsuko, whose philandering husband has died horribly from typhoid. The young widow moves into the household of her father-in-law, where she numbly submits to the old man's advances.*

"My Brilliant Friend" is the first novel in the "Neapolitan Novels" series by Italian author Elena Ferrante. Set in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, the story spans the 1950s to the present and follows the intense friendship and rivalry between two girls, Elena Greco (often referred to as Lenù) and Raffaella Cerullo (known as Lila). From their childhood through their adult lives, the narrative explores themes of friendship, education, family, and the complex social and economic dynamics of their neighborhood. Ferrante's richly textured novel delves into the personal and political struggles that shape the lives of its characters, against the backdrop of a changing Italy. The story is as much about the intricacies of female friendship as it is about the history of Italy in the latter half of the 20th century. The novel has been praised for its depth, emotional intensity, and vivid portrayal of its setting and characters.