The Bookshop, The Gate of Angels, The Blue Flower (Everyman's Library)

I enjoyed all of her uses of German plus the insights into German life in the late eighteenth century!

Penelope Fitzgerald's three novellas are old school in the sense that they demand the full engagement of the reader, have meaningful plots with engaging characters, and are well crafted. They look forward, hopefully, because they leave the irony of our post-modern world behind in their faith that there actually is beauty and good humour in this life. This edition is a bargain because the price belies the physical quality of the book.

a really good read, perhaps a bit slow, but lovely none-the-less

I would recommend this quiet, magnificently constructed book to anyone who wants to enjoy fine craft, unadorned powerful language, and a plot worth following. It is a gem.Denise B. Dailey

Fascinating novels by a fascinating person!

Saw a biography of the author Penelope Fitzgerald and realized I hadn't read anything by her. The Bookshop is like a short novella about a woman in England who opens a book store. It's a quirky story with eccentric characters. The bookshop even comes with a rapping ghost. One of the powerful women in the town want the building for an arts center after it is somewhat successful as a book store. This is a rather melancholy story which gives you an idea of what a small town in England is like. I liked the main character and the writing is lovely. The author indicated that because life is made up of some many disappointments and small tragedies, it is good to make a comedy out of some of the material. I guess she wants us to smile, albeit grimly, at the foibles of the characters and the irony of the failure of a small bookshop which meant no harm. It's great to have three novellas under one cover.

Great author. Never heard of her before a recent New Yorker article--at the peak of the heap of great current authors.

Having read the six PF novellas published in two volumes by Everyman's Library, I can honestly say that, with the exception of The Beginning of Spring which is a truly delightful story, PF writes a lot about nothing. Her stories lack depth in plot and story line. For example, the crux of the whole story in The Bookshop is that a woman comes to town, opens a bookshop, cannot sustain the business and leaves town. Really, there is nothing in between that makes this novella worth reading. Why she is included in Everyman's Library is beyond me. I refer you to my review of her other volume by Everyman's which, based on the strength of The Beginning of Spring, I gave three stars. This volume, however, is only worth one star to me.

The Blue Flower is beautifully written; but, as importantly, it is original both in its conception and construction. Too often beautifully written means little plot or pretentious. The Blue Flower deals with some of life's most important issues with integrity and wisdom. Like many of Penelope Fitzgerald's other books, this feels like something she has been thinking about for years, so that the writing is distilled and every word perfectly chosen.

Have only read "the Bookshop" so far but loved the quiet humour and subtle but skilful character delineation and her grasp of the social nuances of the small town. Her evocation of the seaside town and the surrounding marshes is "Spot on"!

A very good piece of writing sad and not quite srntimental, which is rare.

This book arrived promptly from the seller, well packaged. A writer who should be loved and cherished but who is relatively unknown

Great stories