Love, Death & Rare Books

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Chas. Johnson & Sons, a venerated rare bookstore in urban Chicago, has been a family operation for three generationsgrandfather, father and son. But when it comes time for Gabe Johnson to take the reins of the business, the world of books has changed, and the combination of the Internet and inner city rents forces the store to close. But instead of folding his hand, Gabe decides to risk everything he has and reopen the shopand, in a sense restart his lifein a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Haunted his entire life by an obsession with a former lover, he finds her again only to be faced with yet another even more difficult challenge that threatens the well-being of the revival of the bookstore as well as the fate of his rekindled relationship. It is rare, indeed, to find fiction that is both passionate and erudite; and in his previous books, Robert Hellenga brought us tales of love, learning and of loss. But now, with Love, Death & Rare Books, he celebrates an industry that has brought us the written word and his novel is a paean to the independent bookseller.

Reviews

"We learn about the rare book trade, auctions, the appraisal process, and the escalating price warsa supporting cast of colorful eccentricsthe story never failing to instruct and entertain."

Author Bio

Robert Hellenga(1941 -2020) was educated at the University of Michigan and Princeton University. He was a professor emeritus at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and the author of the novelsThe Confessions of Frances Godwin,Snakewoman of Little Egypt,The Sixteen Pleasures,The Fall of a Sparrow,Blues Lessons,Philosophy Made Simple,The Italian Lover, and the short story collection,The Truth About Death.