84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
84 Charing Cross Road, Finished 1-20-15, rating 3/5, 97 pages, pub. 1970
It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene’s sarcastic and witty letters are responded to by the stodgy and proper Frank Doel of 84, Charing Cross Road, a relationship blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years.
from Goodreads
Oh, bah humbug! I chose this universally loved short book for my first Classics Club read and now I’m not sure if I’m even going to count it. Is it too short? Should it be a novel? Is it even a classic? Feel free to add your two cents.
Okay, now to my second problem, I just didn’t get all the fuss. I’ve read lots of reviews (some by you!) to try to convince myself that I liked it more than I did but it just isn’t happening. I feel like the only kid in the classroom who doesn’t get it and while I hate to raise my hand and show my cluelessness, here I am doing just that.
This book is a series of letters sent between Helene, a New York writer, and Marks & Co., Booksellers, a London bookstore, between the years 1949-1969. Helene is searching for hard-to-find books and Marks & Co. is happy to send them her way. Since this takes place during wartime and some foods are being rationed, Helene takes it upon herself to send the bookstore treats through the mail. The staff fall in love with her letters and her generosity. She mainly corresponds with Frank Doel, but many of the workers there send her letters and she sends them customers when friends travel to London.
Helene seems like a very cool New York woman who loves to read and educate herself. I would have loved to have met her in person. This sentiment is repeated in everyone who read her letters to the store and they were all hoping that they would get to meet the writer, but 20 years go by with just the exchange of letters and occasional gifts. The letters themselves were sometimes interesting, sometimes not, and often there were so many years between letters that it just fell flat for me.
That being said I am planning on watching the movie with Anthony Hopkins and Ann Bancroft and see if that can bring it to life for me 🙂
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What Jane Austen heroine are you?
I hope the movie is better for you! I haven’t read this and, I’m ashamed to say, didn’t even know what it was about until your review. I may pass on it and just see the movie. It doesn’t sound very interesting.
It’s nice to know I wasn’t the last to read it 🙂
I haven’t read the book, but the movie is wonderful. Anne Bancroft is one of my favorite actresses, and I would watch her read the phone book. Anthony Hopkins isn’t too shabby either.
I have to think with those two as the leads I will definitely like the movie better!
I think it is legitimate to count novellas as “books” :–)
Yay! One vote for counting it!
I’ve hear a lot about this book, too, but haven’t read it. Sorry you didn’t love it.
At least it was short so I didn’t have to devote too much time to it!
First, yes, count it. Who cares how long the book is? Second, I’ll confess. I didn’t like it either and didn’t even finish it. I did like the movie better. OK, I read it because I usually love epistolary books (books written in the form of letters, texts, emails, etc. – not saying you don’t know this, Stacy, just in case someone else isn’t familiar with the term). I did not love this one. And so many people love it dearly. Just goes to show – there’s a book for every person and person for every book and they may not be the same.
P.S. Read Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE or a Mary Stewart book or any other Christie book – oh, read DEATH ON THE NILE or MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Those are classics. 🙂
It’s nice to find another reader that didn’t love it. Thanks Kay! I did know epistolary but it’s one of those words I don’t use because 1 I don’t care for it and 2 I always have to figure out how to spell it 😉 I will probably go more standard classic next time around since this one was the opposite of that. Thanks to you and Jill I do think I’ll be counting it.
Hm, I saw the film way back when (don’t remember much about it) and now I’m surprised there was enough to even make a film. I’d still count it for the challenge though.
Thanks for the yay vote 🙂
I haven’t read it. I liked the movie, though. But yes, count it!
waiting on the movie from the library 🙂
novellas should absolutely count but bit of a bummer that it didn’t do it for you … I really thought it was going to be a winner. I’m going to read it just because it’s short lol but sounds like the movie is the way to go 🙂
It won’t take you any time at all to get through it!
You should definitely count this for Classics Club! Sorry you didn’t love it though… I need to watch the movie one of these days.
I know I’m in the small minority. Since you say so, I’m counting it!
Yes, of course COUNT IT!
Ha – that’s ok if you don’t find it as charming and delightful as I did. I recall exactly where I was when I was reading it and laughing out loud and looking up to see people looking at me. You know i love writing letters and I was charmed at how they were able to build a friendship in this way and I thought she was so smart and daring; reading such ‘hard’ books to educate herself and live life her way. I loved it.
But no, Hitchhiker’s felt stale to me – but I bet if I had read it when it was originally pub’d, it would have charmed me more.
I feel like such a fuddy duddy for not loving it. I wonder if I read Hitchhikers nbow it if would feel dated? Maybe.
Yep. Count it. And I didn’t get all the fuss either. I did think it was good (3.5/5), because I like epistolaries, but not for much more.
I love this book – did not know about the movie.
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