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heather4994's review
5.0
I've always been intrigued by The Green Man. Most of the images I've seen of him were of a laughing smiling man, inviting you to share in his mirth. But The Green Man book store is buried, In books (absolutely no pun intended), in layers of dust, memories, ghosts of better days and of the poets of the past. When O's father goes to Italy to research his book on Ezra Pound he sends her to stay with her aunt. At one point it seems like she might have had a choice to go with him or go to her aunt's, Italy would have seemed to be the logical choice for a girl in her teens, but spending the summer in a bookstore isn't terrible either. However, O. is not expecting the mess of a life she finds when she gets to her aunt's house and store. Emily, as her aunt insists on being called, is preoccupied with something and the store and house is in complete neglect as is Emily's health. O. forces her to stop smoking as she can't stand it and Emily has just suffered a recent heart attack. And as the summer progresses, O. slowly transforms The Green Man from the past, into the present, keeping the ghosts of the poets alive, but removing the clutter and dust of years of stasis.
Eccentric is what I'd call Emily. She's a poet, spent her life traveling around writing poetry never settling down until she found the Green Man. She walks around the ghostly figure of the poet Mallarme on the stairs that lead up to the apartment above the store. O. is startled at first, of course there is no one there, but she pretends and goes along with it. Her aunt also has no computer and piles and piles of boxes of books waiting to be shelved on the dusty shelves. O. notes as she goes to fix something to eat, "The fridge sat in the corner of the room, humming to itself and trying to look busy." (Kindle ARC) I pictured this rounded cartoonish refrigerator kind of buzzing with excitement hoping to be noticed. And it works because O. takes over the cooking and fills the shelves of the pantry and the refrigerator. No longer does she allow Emily coffee and cigarettes for breakfast.
The story is told sometimes for Emily's point of view and sometimes O.'s, but no matter who is doing the telling, it is clear that things are changing. They are becoming more alike. Something is up, something sinister, not like a murder or a robber, but something darker that's playing tricks on both of their minds and O. is realizing that she is a poet, that in order to be, she must write. The paranormal aspects of this novel were somewhat confusing at first because Emily is in her seventies and you don't know if it's the ramblings of an old woman's memories or if it's something believable. But it lends a feeling of creepiness to the latter part of the book. It also joins Emily and O. in a bond as more than relatives, they have experienced more than that and they are poets, together. The Green Man is aptly named as "the doorway between imagination and creation." (Kindle ARC)
This novel is very clean with a light air of romance, but more mystery to that too. It is perfect for anyone that loves stories about The Green Man, about poetry, about coming or age stories, stories about the three stages of life, about supernatural/bizarre stories. So, pretty much anyone would love this story. I thought the writing was subtle in what it was saying, and poetic, but not cryptic. Anyone with any interest in poetry would miss out if they didn't read this one. Just to note, it is not, I repeat, not written in verse. Just well written. Soft phrasing. Gentle nudges at what it's hinting at beneath the words. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I'll be picking up my own hardbound copy of this one.
Thank you to the publisher Tundra Books for the ARC via NetGalley. This in no way affected my review of the novel and no monetary compensation was received for my review.
Heather
Eccentric is what I'd call Emily. She's a poet, spent her life traveling around writing poetry never settling down until she found the Green Man. She walks around the ghostly figure of the poet Mallarme on the stairs that lead up to the apartment above the store. O. is startled at first, of course there is no one there, but she pretends and goes along with it. Her aunt also has no computer and piles and piles of boxes of books waiting to be shelved on the dusty shelves. O. notes as she goes to fix something to eat, "The fridge sat in the corner of the room, humming to itself and trying to look busy." (Kindle ARC) I pictured this rounded cartoonish refrigerator kind of buzzing with excitement hoping to be noticed. And it works because O. takes over the cooking and fills the shelves of the pantry and the refrigerator. No longer does she allow Emily coffee and cigarettes for breakfast.
The story is told sometimes for Emily's point of view and sometimes O.'s, but no matter who is doing the telling, it is clear that things are changing. They are becoming more alike. Something is up, something sinister, not like a murder or a robber, but something darker that's playing tricks on both of their minds and O. is realizing that she is a poet, that in order to be, she must write. The paranormal aspects of this novel were somewhat confusing at first because Emily is in her seventies and you don't know if it's the ramblings of an old woman's memories or if it's something believable. But it lends a feeling of creepiness to the latter part of the book. It also joins Emily and O. in a bond as more than relatives, they have experienced more than that and they are poets, together. The Green Man is aptly named as "the doorway between imagination and creation." (Kindle ARC)
This novel is very clean with a light air of romance, but more mystery to that too. It is perfect for anyone that loves stories about The Green Man, about poetry, about coming or age stories, stories about the three stages of life, about supernatural/bizarre stories. So, pretty much anyone would love this story. I thought the writing was subtle in what it was saying, and poetic, but not cryptic. Anyone with any interest in poetry would miss out if they didn't read this one. Just to note, it is not, I repeat, not written in verse. Just well written. Soft phrasing. Gentle nudges at what it's hinting at beneath the words. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I'll be picking up my own hardbound copy of this one.
Thank you to the publisher Tundra Books for the ARC via NetGalley. This in no way affected my review of the novel and no monetary compensation was received for my review.
Heather
megatsunami's review
3.0
Decent young-adult mystery featuring magic (sort of). The mystery was well put together but somehow it just didn't really grip me. Also, something seemed not fully 3-dimensional about the characters. I was thankful the Green Man didn't turn out to be evil .
Spoiler
(in fact, was a source of protective magic)mora55's review against another edition
This was not that great. I reread it simply because it had so many quotes that have stuck with me for years and years.
What little plot there is was underdeveloped and anticlimactic and a little confusing, and I didn't care about any of the characters. However, the writing is beautiful and there are a lot of good quotes. (Not enough that I would recommend you read the book to find them, though.)
(Though I started reading this on Saturday, August 8, which has a lot of significance in the book, and the coincidence kinda creeped me out in a cool way!)
What little plot there is was underdeveloped and anticlimactic and a little confusing, and I didn't care about any of the characters. However, the writing is beautiful and there are a lot of good quotes. (Not enough that I would recommend you read the book to find them, though.)
(Though I started reading this on Saturday, August 8, which has a lot of significance in the book, and the coincidence kinda creeped me out in a cool way!)
lazygal's review
2.0
"The Green Man" is a bookstore, owned by Emily, a 70-year-old poet; O, her teenage niece has been sent to spend the summer with her while O's father travels to Italy to research Ezra Pound. The store is dilapidated, with an almost Hoarder-esque interior and O sets out to clean and organize. She realizes that there's something odd about the store: she sees people that aren't really there, hears noises and smells roses where there are none.
Interspersed with O's story is the tale of a night at a magic show for children and the tricks the magician does (like the Indian Basket and the Human Salamander). The problem isn't the tricks but the overwhelming sense of evil that emanates from Professor Mephisto.
Over time the odder, eerier elements take over and the "rips in the fabric of time" more evident. While the bookstore's poet-ghosts are benign, it's unclear what the motives of "Rimbaud" and several other characters are. Ultimately, everything comes together but the climax doesn't live up to the build-up.
ARC provided by publisher.
Interspersed with O's story is the tale of a night at a magic show for children and the tricks the magician does (like the Indian Basket and the Human Salamander). The problem isn't the tricks but the overwhelming sense of evil that emanates from Professor Mephisto.
Over time the odder, eerier elements take over and the "rips in the fabric of time" more evident. While the bookstore's poet-ghosts are benign, it's unclear what the motives of "Rimbaud" and several other characters are. Ultimately, everything comes together but the climax doesn't live up to the build-up.
ARC provided by publisher.
cmbohn's review
3.0
Themes: secrets, magic, books/stories, poetry
This one was an ER book I got through Library Thing. It had a definite supernatural theme going through it, with ghosts, evil magicians, secret identities and so on. But it also revolves around a bookstore and features two women, one younger, one older. I did like this one, and didn't really foresee who the Big Bad Guy was, but it had a little too much going on. A little confusing at the very end. But it was pretty good.
This one was an ER book I got through Library Thing. It had a definite supernatural theme going through it, with ghosts, evil magicians, secret identities and so on. But it also revolves around a bookstore and features two women, one younger, one older. I did like this one, and didn't really foresee who the Big Bad Guy was, but it had a little too much going on. A little confusing at the very end. But it was pretty good.
avanders's review against another edition
5.0
Review based on ARC.
What a lovely teen fantasy. Bedard pays tribute to bookstores, creativity and poetry, and the Green Man himself in his aptly named book. The Green Man is the bookstore owned by Ophelia's ("O") aunt Emily, named after the legend of the Green Man, a protector who stands between the worlds and where life began. While O's father travels to research Ezra Pound, he sends O to Emily for the summer in a dual effort to ensure both are taken care of. Initially, fifteen-year-old O and seventy-year-old Emily clash in some to-be-expected ways, but eventually their similarities and common love of poetry and all things related thereto draw them into a very close relationship. Although each believes she is really taking care of the other, Bedard has deftly created an actual dual relationship that feels organic and true.
While visiting Emily at the Green Man, O learns about not only the magic of poetry and poets, but also about a recurring sinister plan that continues to plague her aunt and the town in which she lives. Saying much more about the plot would ruin it, so I won't.
What I will say is that I loved this little YA novel that is atmospheric, soft, and lovely. It has ghosts and books and hot summers. It lifts up jazz and pays homage to the receding world of used bookstores. There is also darkness and hard life, an acknowledgment of the deterioration of such a world and the effects it can and does have on real people. It is somewhat gothic and somewhat romantic. It is simple as a YA, but will appeal to book and bookstore lovers alike. To me, it gave just a little of a lot, just enough to satiate, just enough to squeeze your heart and then leave you for a peaceful night's sleep.
Highly recommended.
FOUR AND A HALF of five stars (boosted to 5 on sites w/o halves).
I note that I am *not* typically a fan of poetry. While this novel is about poets at its heart, and the power of poetry to those moved by it, and while this novel occasionally drops a poem here and there, it is not overdone and definitely did not turn me off, despite my natural disinclination to poetry.
What a lovely teen fantasy. Bedard pays tribute to bookstores, creativity and poetry, and the Green Man himself in his aptly named book. The Green Man is the bookstore owned by Ophelia's ("O") aunt Emily, named after the legend of the Green Man, a protector who stands between the worlds and where life began. While O's father travels to research Ezra Pound, he sends O to Emily for the summer in a dual effort to ensure both are taken care of. Initially, fifteen-year-old O and seventy-year-old Emily clash in some to-be-expected ways, but eventually their similarities and common love of poetry and all things related thereto draw them into a very close relationship. Although each believes she is really taking care of the other, Bedard has deftly created an actual dual relationship that feels organic and true.
While visiting Emily at the Green Man, O learns about not only the magic of poetry and poets, but also about a recurring sinister plan that continues to plague her aunt and the town in which she lives. Saying much more about the plot would ruin it, so I won't.
What I will say is that I loved this little YA novel that is atmospheric, soft, and lovely. It has ghosts and books and hot summers. It lifts up jazz and pays homage to the receding world of used bookstores. There is also darkness and hard life, an acknowledgment of the deterioration of such a world and the effects it can and does have on real people. It is somewhat gothic and somewhat romantic. It is simple as a YA, but will appeal to book and bookstore lovers alike. To me, it gave just a little of a lot, just enough to satiate, just enough to squeeze your heart and then leave you for a peaceful night's sleep.
Highly recommended.
FOUR AND A HALF of five stars (boosted to 5 on sites w/o halves).
I note that I am *not* typically a fan of poetry. While this novel is about poets at its heart, and the power of poetry to those moved by it, and while this novel occasionally drops a poem here and there, it is not overdone and definitely did not turn me off, despite my natural disinclination to poetry.
groundedwanderlust's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really know how to express my feelings on this book. I liked it, but it had serious flaws. The fantastical elements were completely unexpected, and not in a good way. There was no hint of magic until it was suddenly there and very in your face. The romance wasn't developed at all. Like the magic, it wasn't there and then it was. I also didn't realize this book was a sequel. There are many parts of the book that didn't make sense, but might have if I read the other book first.
koz108's review
3.0
I received this book as a giveaway at the OLA Super Conference and I wasn't sure what to think of it. As I began reading, I thought that this was a coming of age story with O coming to better know herself through her poetry and her relationship with her aunt. While this was partially the case, there was a whole other element to this story with the mysterious evil magician.
I didn't realize this was a sequel, and wish I had read the first one before beginning this one. I don't usually read YA fiction (anymore) but I still found it enjoyable.
I didn't realize this was a sequel, and wish I had read the first one before beginning this one. I don't usually read YA fiction (anymore) but I still found it enjoyable.
scottyreadsstuff's review against another edition
5.0
I reread this book and like almost every other book I read for the second time; I loved it even more!!! :)