Paper Moon, Rehana Munir

Paper moon

⭐️⭐️⭐️

By Rehana Munir

A story of a girl with a book shop 

There are many levels of book lovers

There are readers, then there are big readers one with book shops and library fetish, then there are those who review what they read and discuss about them and even go to book clubs or good reads, then there are ones who want to write someday and finally the ones who want to spend their lives amongst books with a dream job in a library and if money is a non issue then have a bookshop someday. 

And there you have it Paper moon- a love story by a reader to their ultimate dream of owning a book shop. And of course money is not a problem with a surprise inheritance and a purpose. And all those parts were appealing to me in every way, further the book shop was named after a classic song and based in the heart of Bandra in my fav city Mumbai in a refurbished vintage home. This probably ticks all the items on my checklist if I ever do open a bookshop. 

However after the initial love for reading and passion for the book shops, it soon turned into a full chiclit - a girl with complex daddy issues stuck in a love triangle, wooed by two men but not the way she dreamed. They were no Darcys and Heathcliffs but a millennial boy friend and an old poet lover, and these three men coupled with a mercurial artist mother makes her literally abandon her book shop. However the times of pride and prejudice, to Roman holiday, and then again ending with the prime of Jean Brodie. 

The bookshop once settled, jumped into another book lovers dream with a visit to the most famous setting of classic novels and the genesis of all English fiction world- the London and the book festival. Honestly I enjoyed her love for the cities of Mumbai, London and Edinburg. I have enjoyed the stories and the cities. The rainy grey London to the rainy chaotic Mumbai, the Edinburg’s literary cobbled streets bars to suburban Bandra corners and Colaba corridors, from east Gough London bars to fancy Bandra Totos. There is recurring mention of Armaan Khan or let’s just say it - Salman Khan, which seemed like an unnecessary diversion or to satisfy the need for a punching bag for the cheeky intellectuals. You hate to love them but you can’t ignore them. 

Overall a fun read but below expectations, with the promise of an intellectual love story around books, it ends up being a chiclit with not a happy ending but a euphemism of feminism and self love. I can take that but only of the book is to my taste and mood. I think relationships have to be simple and effortless, if they are unclear or tiring then they are not worth it. And at other times they need effort and hard work. 

3 stars for the treat to a book lover and probably some tips how to be lucky to get a book shop gift but in lieu of a dysfunctional family.