thedisquietedpen's review
3.0
This was not really what I had expected. It was very good —believable characters, realistic motivations, a compelling and complex plot —but it didn’t show the sparks of joy about reading that I expected for a book named after a bookshop.
georgiaand's review
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
girlgeekcyclist's review
3.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. I really liked Tom and Peter but I felt that Hannah was written in a way that makes her seem really stubborn and unlikeable. Also the ending was kind of a letdown, I don't know what I thought would happen but maybe something more.
olaprade100's review
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
textpublishing's review
‘The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a beautifully written, nuanced tale of three lost souls who find in one another the comfort and solace they each need. I loved this disarmingly affecting novel, which is full of insight into the human condition and the nature of tragedy and love and redemption. Read it and let it touch your soul as it has touched mine.’
Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Sudden Light
‘I couldn't put this book down. An unforgiving Australian landscape backdrops characters so finely drawn you can smell their sweat, searching for many forms of redemption. With skill and grace, Hillman explores the heights and depths to which humans will go while trying to mend their own or another's broken heart. Poignant humour, sweet spots, and fear all roll into a timely period piece that draws you in. Prepare to lose a day.’
Wendy Welch, author The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap
‘A beautifully woven tale of love and loss that shines a light on one of human’s most remarkable gifts: our capacity for hope. Hillman is a storyteller of such spell-binding skill that readers will desire nothing more than to curl up in a quiet corner and devour this wise, warm, and transporting novel in one sitting.’
Meg Donohue, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Crazy and Every Wild Heart
‘It is not often that a novel is both a great read and a sobering chronicle about the painful possibilities of human behaviour…Robert Hillman’s The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is such a one.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘A beautifully written and haunting story of love, loss, and redemption. With his vividly drawn cast of characters in rural Australia in the late 1960s, Hillman explores what it truly means to love another person, and what we’re capable of doing to protect the ones we love at all costs. A gorgeous, heartfelt gem of a novel.’
Jillian Cantor, author of The Lost Letter and In Another Time
‘The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a stunningly beautiful work, a fully imagined world with a rare combination of compelling, vibrant, and tender characters who inhabit the story with courage...The compassion and grace that suffuse this novel are rarely captured in such beautiful language. As Tom and Hannah discover the courage to continue living, we are both torn apart and mended in the same breath. All that can be imagined of the heart comes to life in this extraordinary story.’
Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop at Water’s End and The Favourite Daughter
‘On the face of it, The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a love story between two people with broken hearts. Hannah cannot escape the agony of the things that happened to her and her family at Auschwitz; Tom endures the humiliating wound of abandonment by a wife he loved the best he could. But, like all great books, this novel is about so much more than that. I don't think I've ever read anything that comes down so solidly on the worth of investing in life, which makes no promises but offers such dazzling gifts. Every character in this story stole my heart, even the minor ones, including the sheep! There is wonderful, laugh-out-loud humour in these pages, there is anguish, there is frustration. But most of all there is hope and humanity. When I finished reading the book, I wept, not because I was sad, but because the story was so uplifting and so true, in the deepest sense of that word. I can't remember the last time I read a book this full and rich and rewarding. I can't remember the last time a book held up so well, from first page to last. Try it yourself. Sit down with it and read the first few pages. Then buy it. This one's a keeper.’
Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles
‘A beautifully written, tenderhearted story. This is the kind of book that remains present even while you’re doing something mundane – like washing dishes. It lingered in my mind long after I’d finished the last page.’
Sharon Peterson, Readings St Kilda
‘This book is a masterclass in producing maximum emotional impact without embellishment.’
Otago Daily Times
‘Hillman provides a skillful portrait of the Australian landscape and those who live in it, including the psychic postie and flirty butcher. It’s a simple story, well told.’
North & South
‘The writer conveys depth of character, emotion, time and place with skilfully succinct prose.’ NZ Women’s Weekly
‘Hillman’s vivid poetic imagery blends with the realistic descriptions of the horrors of war and its futility…Even though there is much heartache and sadness, this story was a pleasure to read with its inspiring philosophy and compelling characters.’
Good Reading
‘There is a tender, limpid flow to Hillman’s beautifully-paced prose that makes it a joy to read as it gently privileges seasons, weather, steadfastness and love, and the farm’s expansive outlook across the countryside over inevitable episodes of violence, loss and pain.’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a celebration of the re-creation of families after heartbreak, and in particular the love between father and son. Highly recommended.’
New Zealand Herald
‘The writer conveys depth of character, emotion, time and place with skilfully succinct prose.’
NZ Women’s Weekly
‘Robert Hillman entwines, with risk and skill, different and seemingly incompatible stories…He adds heft to the distinguished fiction of rural Australia.’
Australian
‘Hillman’s ability to conjure up the rhythms and texture of rural life is a source of joy…This is a novel about the importance of freedom as well as the redemptive qualities of love – and how facing up to the past can be the key to both freedom and love.’
Saturday Paper
‘I found that the novel beautifully represents Hillman’s inherent understanding of Australia and its people. This is a novel of desolation, and it is ultimately a love story. Frankly for me it doesn’t get better.’
Readings Monthly
‘This is a story with love and laughter, guilt and grief, cruelty and kindness. All this is wrapped in beautiful descriptive prose… A wonderful and moving read.’
BookMooch
‘While this tale contains darkness and heartache, they are accompanied by truth and love, and ultimately, hope, and the human capacity to overcome…A sensitive, enthralling story, destined to become a favourite.’
Books+Publishing
'A novel of great spirit and tenderness.'
Carrie Tiffany
Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Sudden Light
‘I couldn't put this book down. An unforgiving Australian landscape backdrops characters so finely drawn you can smell their sweat, searching for many forms of redemption. With skill and grace, Hillman explores the heights and depths to which humans will go while trying to mend their own or another's broken heart. Poignant humour, sweet spots, and fear all roll into a timely period piece that draws you in. Prepare to lose a day.’
Wendy Welch, author The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap
‘A beautifully woven tale of love and loss that shines a light on one of human’s most remarkable gifts: our capacity for hope. Hillman is a storyteller of such spell-binding skill that readers will desire nothing more than to curl up in a quiet corner and devour this wise, warm, and transporting novel in one sitting.’
Meg Donohue, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Crazy and Every Wild Heart
‘It is not often that a novel is both a great read and a sobering chronicle about the painful possibilities of human behaviour…Robert Hillman’s The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is such a one.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘A beautifully written and haunting story of love, loss, and redemption. With his vividly drawn cast of characters in rural Australia in the late 1960s, Hillman explores what it truly means to love another person, and what we’re capable of doing to protect the ones we love at all costs. A gorgeous, heartfelt gem of a novel.’
Jillian Cantor, author of The Lost Letter and In Another Time
‘The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a stunningly beautiful work, a fully imagined world with a rare combination of compelling, vibrant, and tender characters who inhabit the story with courage...The compassion and grace that suffuse this novel are rarely captured in such beautiful language. As Tom and Hannah discover the courage to continue living, we are both torn apart and mended in the same breath. All that can be imagined of the heart comes to life in this extraordinary story.’
Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop at Water’s End and The Favourite Daughter
‘On the face of it, The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a love story between two people with broken hearts. Hannah cannot escape the agony of the things that happened to her and her family at Auschwitz; Tom endures the humiliating wound of abandonment by a wife he loved the best he could. But, like all great books, this novel is about so much more than that. I don't think I've ever read anything that comes down so solidly on the worth of investing in life, which makes no promises but offers such dazzling gifts. Every character in this story stole my heart, even the minor ones, including the sheep! There is wonderful, laugh-out-loud humour in these pages, there is anguish, there is frustration. But most of all there is hope and humanity. When I finished reading the book, I wept, not because I was sad, but because the story was so uplifting and so true, in the deepest sense of that word. I can't remember the last time I read a book this full and rich and rewarding. I can't remember the last time a book held up so well, from first page to last. Try it yourself. Sit down with it and read the first few pages. Then buy it. This one's a keeper.’
Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles
‘A beautifully written, tenderhearted story. This is the kind of book that remains present even while you’re doing something mundane – like washing dishes. It lingered in my mind long after I’d finished the last page.’
Sharon Peterson, Readings St Kilda
‘This book is a masterclass in producing maximum emotional impact without embellishment.’
Otago Daily Times
‘Hillman provides a skillful portrait of the Australian landscape and those who live in it, including the psychic postie and flirty butcher. It’s a simple story, well told.’
North & South
‘The writer conveys depth of character, emotion, time and place with skilfully succinct prose.’ NZ Women’s Weekly
‘Hillman’s vivid poetic imagery blends with the realistic descriptions of the horrors of war and its futility…Even though there is much heartache and sadness, this story was a pleasure to read with its inspiring philosophy and compelling characters.’
Good Reading
‘There is a tender, limpid flow to Hillman’s beautifully-paced prose that makes it a joy to read as it gently privileges seasons, weather, steadfastness and love, and the farm’s expansive outlook across the countryside over inevitable episodes of violence, loss and pain.’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted is a celebration of the re-creation of families after heartbreak, and in particular the love between father and son. Highly recommended.’
New Zealand Herald
‘The writer conveys depth of character, emotion, time and place with skilfully succinct prose.’
NZ Women’s Weekly
‘Robert Hillman entwines, with risk and skill, different and seemingly incompatible stories…He adds heft to the distinguished fiction of rural Australia.’
Australian
‘Hillman’s ability to conjure up the rhythms and texture of rural life is a source of joy…This is a novel about the importance of freedom as well as the redemptive qualities of love – and how facing up to the past can be the key to both freedom and love.’
Saturday Paper
‘I found that the novel beautifully represents Hillman’s inherent understanding of Australia and its people. This is a novel of desolation, and it is ultimately a love story. Frankly for me it doesn’t get better.’
Readings Monthly
‘This is a story with love and laughter, guilt and grief, cruelty and kindness. All this is wrapped in beautiful descriptive prose… A wonderful and moving read.’
BookMooch
‘While this tale contains darkness and heartache, they are accompanied by truth and love, and ultimately, hope, and the human capacity to overcome…A sensitive, enthralling story, destined to become a favourite.’
Books+Publishing
'A novel of great spirit and tenderness.'
Carrie Tiffany
subparpeaches's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rikki_jade's review
4.0
I thought this was really good. I liked the characters, I liked the structure, and while it is a holocaust story, I didn't think it was emotionally manipulative (which would have been fine by the way...) it was much more subtle than that. I wasn't blown away by the book, but I was quite engaged by the story and was pleased to have read it.
meetyournextbook's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
read_nap_repeat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5