The Haunted Bookshop

For our anniversary last May Paige and I went to Leavenworth, Washington, one of our favorite spots. While snooping in one of the stores found a pair of books by Christopher Morley, Parnassus on Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop. The books celebrate a love of literature and the truly noble occupation of being the proprietor of a bookshop. Roger Mifflin's love of books provides the backdrop for a series of adventures - the first ending in Roger's marriage to Helen and the second ending in another likely union.

Morley's frequent allusions to works of literature he considers essential reading and easy style of writing made reading through the books an easy task. Parnassus on Wheels in particular was a cleverly orchestrated love story bringing the characters together around a love of books - a love that one of the them didn't share at the start.

Written on the heels of World War I, the war is ever in the background in the second volume and provides a considerable amount of the story line. The indifference to religion is definitely symptomatic of the times and the humanistic assessment of why we shouldn't go to war any longer empty. Nevertheless the plot unfolds with ease and kept me questioning what was next and, what's more important, wanting to know. The love of books is palpable and the wonder of romance artfully displayed. A worthwhile diversion.