Part
memoir, part ode to the written word, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene
Hanff is a charming book of 1950s letters from Hanff, a screenwriter in New
York, to Frank Doel of Marks & Co, an antiquarian bookshop in London. Hanff
finds an advertisement for them in the Saturday Review of Literature, and as
she wants books that are either out of print or that she can't find in New York
in affordable, satisfactory editions, she makes Marks & Co. her personal
book source. The trans-Atlantic correspondence between Hanff & Doel (and
others associated with Marks & Co.) evolves from business to the personal
as they become friends. You not only get to explore their deepening
relationships but you also get book recommendations, a window into the English
antiquarian book trade, and a glimpse of an early 1950s Britain still
recovering from WWII.
I
have a weakness for both epistolary stories and books on books, so this one
brings delight both ways. We don’t get all the letters, only the ones (I'm
guessing) that go beyond business and offer some insight into the characters,
their settings and relationships. Helene Hanff is a lively writer with a
wonderful sense of humor, who's not afraid to express herself, and the sense of
distance provided by the nature of writing to somebody means she's far less
restrained than she (or most anyone) would be in person, which only makes it
funnier. The tonal contrast between her letters and Frank's, who comes across
mostly as a proper Englishman, may be due to differences in American and
British culture or the fact that he is representing a business, but you can
tell it's not due to a lack of affection.
I
recommend this book as a heart-warming, quick read (my Penguin edition is 97
partially-filled pages) that pulls you into a world of books and unexpected yet
fulfilling relationships. Every time I read it I come away with a smile on my
face and a renewed appreciation of the importance of embracing the small joys
that leaven the lumps of everyday life.
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