Let me just say that this is one of the most delightful and humourous books that you will read this year! It's a true story of a twenty year correspondence between Helene Hanff, a New York writer and Frank Doyle, a book seller in London and his co-workers, wife and neighbours.
The book wont take you very long to read (about an hour) and it's such a wonderful testament to the dying art of letter writing, which ought to be revived as it's so much more personal then a few lines dashed off in an email. The correspondence begins as a request for obscure books (imagine -a leather bound first edition for $2!) and develops into a series of friendships between people on both sides of the Atlantic who have never met. Aside from books, it also tells of the generosity between Miss Hanff and the book sellers as she sends much needed food parcels to alleviate the continuation of post-war rationing and even includes passages about the importance of nylons, one or two recipes and touches upon embroidery and the theatre.
Here is the trailer for the film with Anne Bancroft and Sir Anthony Hopkins.
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