The Bookseller

You’ve had those “What if?” thoughts, right? What if I had picked the other college I loved, meaning I’d never have met the man who became my husband and the father of my children? What would my life look like right now? Not that I’ve longed for a different life, but I have to admit that I’ve had those very musings at times. This theme gets a little twist in Cynthia Swanson’s new novel The Bookseller, for the protagonist Kitty Miller isn’t consciously wondering, but instead begins experiencing a different version of her life after she goes to sleep.

In 1962, Kitty’s life is somewhat atypical for a woman of the time, for in her late-thirties, Kitty is unmarried but content with the important relationships she does have with her parents and her best friend, Frieda. Having been close since high school, Kitty and Frieda run a small bookshop in Denver. Though business is sparse, Kitty enjoys her quiet days at work, followed by her predictable and even quieter evenings at home in her small apartment. But then she begins to dream of an alternate life, closing her eyes one night and waking up in the middle of this very different existence.

In this dream world, Kitty is still herself, though she apparently had dropped her more informal nickname in favor of her given name Katharyn. As Katharyn, she finds a new identity as a wife and a mother, no longer working outside of the home. At first, the dreams are brief, though intense, but as time goes on, they become more intricate and give clues of the connections between what Kitty knows to be real and what she thinks to simply be dreams. At some point, those lines become more and more blurred, leaving Kitty distressed, wondering which she would choose given the option to do so.

Without giving too much away, it’s safe to say that Swanson builds a story of twists and turns as she presents Kitty’s life and the alternative, both hinged on one key night, with her future depending on something as simple as the moment she decides to hang up the phone. Each life has its advantages and challenges, and some of those are directly at odds with each other when comparing the two.

Kitty herself is an interesting character, but one who is still not quite fully self-aware, even as she approaches forty. Perhaps this factor, like several others that address common societal views and beliefs, could be attributed to the time period. Particularly detailed passages abound in many places in the novel, such as specific song and book titles, explanations of decorating and architecture styles, and clothing descriptions that paint a vivid picture and place the story in a very specific time and place, but these sometimes felt awkward or clunky within the first-person narrative.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel as an escape into a different time and as an exploration of the different paths one life could possibly take. Though I couldn’t always predict the direction each chapter would take, I was satisfied with the resolution, perhaps because it wasn’t a perfectly happily ever after ending, giving it one last dash of reality in the end.

We’re happy to be participating in the TLC Book Tour for The Bookseller.

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