Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.

"Hard Time" is common slang for a prison spell in a maximum-security facility or otherwise highly restrictive conditions. "Soft time" is incarceration in a country club prison. In 2000, author Jeremy Mercer spent four months living at Shakespeare and Company, a legendary bookstore in Paris, on the Left Bank with a view of Notre Dame. He writes, "Time at Shakespeare & Co. was as soft as anything I'd ever felt."Sylvia Beach owned the original Shakespeare and Company, famous for publishing Joyce's "Ulysses" and as a between-the-World-Wars mecca for "Lost Generation" writers. In 1951, George Whitman, another American, opened a reincarnation of sorts of Sylvia Beach's bookstore, as it too became a mecca for au courant literary types, many of whom by then were members of the Beat Generation. After Beach died, and with her permission, Whitman renamed his store "Shakespeare and Company", and his iteration has become almost as famous as the original. As special a bookstore as his establishment was (and continues to be), what most distinguished it was that Whitman operated it as a sanctuary for down-on-their-luck writers. Whitman was a communist -- a major reason why he left the United States -- and he liked to think of Shakespeare and Company as "a socialist utopia that masquerades as a bookstore."There are five principal strands to TIME WAS SOFT THERE. One of course concerns the bookstore itself, as well as the "socialist utopia" where over the decades as many as 40,000 souls were given overnight shelter. In the book world, there is a sub-sub-genre of "books about bookstores"; I have read at least a dozen of them over the years and TIME WAS SOFT THERE is somewhere in the middle of the pack. The second strand to the book is a biographical profile of George Whitman. In 2000, Whitman was eighty-six, still feisty but starting to get concerned over what would happen to his bookstore when he died. (In the event, he lived until 2011 and the age of ninety-eight.) A third strand, minor yet edifying, has to do with life in Paris. A fourth concerns the lives of about ten of the "inmates" of Shakespeare & Co. during the period Mercer was there. And the fifth strand is a memoir of Jeremy Mercer, including the events that landed him in Paris with very little money at the age of twenty-nine after five years as a newspaper crime reporter in Canada.In terms of interest to me, those five strands as listed go from most interesting to least. True, the book is designated "a memoir", but I believe it would have been better with less of Jeremy Mercer's biographical rough edges and baggage. Mercer's biggest achievement in the book, by the way, is that he had a hand in reuniting Whitman and the woman who would succeed him at the helm of Shakespeare and Company. The prose is better than average, although it is far from free of hackneyed formulations (difficult to shed, no doubt, after five years as a crime reporter). Finally, in case a second edition ever is considered, the word "mercurial" on page 31 almost certainly should be "mercenary".I like the "Author's Note" at the beginning of the book, in which Mercer writes that "[i]n writing a memoir such as this, the truth becomes liquid", and that "this is as true a story as can be told at this time."

This is the story of a bookstore turned into a literature lover's flophouse. Mercer lived there, worked, there, learned to get along with Shakespeare and Companies' eccentric owner George Whitman. It also about getting along in a strange city, befriending writers of varied backgrounds, coping with unsanitary surroundings, writing, and learning a whole lot about life and love.Jeremy Mercer has written a gentle story about life in a gritty sanctuary/commune for those who need a place for awhile to create. I found it quirky, but I'm glad to have read it.

I really enjoy the writing style of this author. The book is long but I wouldn't mind if it were even longer frankly! He was a messed up guy and he writes about what led him (which is less than admirable) to Paris and Shakespeare & Co , it's history etc... most of the book is about his time at the bookstore. I've been to Paris but never made it to the bookstore and honestly after reading this book I'd be a little reticent to go inside!! All those people unshowered unbathed, the place is dirty, the owner cares little for hygiene or getting rid of cockroaches...ewww! yet just ike Paris - it's magical at the same time, Romantic with a capital R...writers, poets and all that. What keeps me going is his writing style, I really enjoy it. All that said he was lucky to have that experience, though I would not want to end up in that position. I haven't finished the book but am enjoying it very much.

This was not a book that stride up a lot of emotions. An easy and fun read.

Great, lower-than-expected price for a difficult-to-find book in pristine condition.

Jeremy Merced’s book is a coming of age rendition set in a Paris bookstore, which was a combined half way house as well.There were multiple background stories accompanying the residents, and how they came to spend at the store, some week and others for years. I found the book most engaging as the author wove detailed account of this famous “Bookstore”IMHO, well worth your time to explore.

Reading Mercer's memoir was like stepping back in time for me. I've been to George's book store many times, but it's been a few years. So reading his accurate account was a wonderful return back to a special place.I came across George and his book store in the early 90's and when I questioned if he had a book about Kiki and her memoirs, the answer I got from George was, "Come to the tea party Sunday afternoon." It was an experience I'll never forget and Mercer described that tea party perfectly....sitting there wide-eyed, trying to figure out what it was all about.I enjoyed his book tremendously and my only regret was that it had to end. I also wanted to give Mercer credit for "tying up loose ends" in regard to George, the book store and George's daughter, Sylvia. It was a great ending with good information. I'll be back in Paris in 9 weeks and very much look forward to a return visit to the book shop with Sylvia now in charge.If you love Paris or are planning a trip there....you won't be disappointed in this piece of history. It's the first book I've come across with so much detail and info on George Whitman.....who just happened to be raised in my hometown, Salem, Mass.

「何となくデザインが美しい！」という理由で買ってしまった一冊。パリのセーヌ川沿いにある，不思議な本屋さんのお話です。その名をShakespeare and Companyという。筆者・元新聞記者のJeremyがブラックメールを受け，パリに逃亡した所から物語は始まります。パリのホテルで数日過ごす内に，貯金が底をつき始め，街でぶらぶらしているうちに雨宿りの為に偶然に立ち寄った本屋，そこはなんと世にも不思議な居候の出来る本屋であった。オーナーのGeorgeの不思議な人柄に惹かれてか，風変わりな作家志望や詩人達，芸術家達が吸い寄せられる様に訪れ，去ってゆく。中には何と5年以上も居候している輩もいたりする。店内での不思議な出来事や，事件やら恋愛やらを描いています。恋愛と言えば，ここシェークスピアでの出会い結婚へゴールインするまでの確率はかなり高いとか？人生について不思議に勇気づけられ，最後のページを読み終わるのがもったいなく感じさせる様な一冊です。今日も，ここシェークスピア＆カンパニーでは，不思議な生活の新たなページを誰かが刻んでいるのでしょう。

If a trip to Paris isn't complete for you without browsing Shakespeare and Co I recommend this book. It's a romantic look back at how the bookshop has operated in the past, all very dreamy and idealistic. It might just make you want to embark on your own laissez faire trip though!

The irony of this book and Shakespeare & Co is completing it just as Notre Dame was reduced to a cinder. A sad epilogue maybe but Jeremy Mercer has rekindled my memories of Paris, long forgotten, which can also be cherished in the hearts & souls of many as the spiritual foundation of which it is annexed, who knows. A great and entertaining read.

Anglaise d'origine mariée à un français du sud-est ouest j'ai découvert Shakespeare and Co il y a quelques 45 ans. Nous revenions de vacances d'été en Angleterre et étions en attente de notre train de nuit pour Toulouse. Nos filles avaient à peu près 5 et 8 ans. Après avoir visité Notre Dame je me suis souvenu d'un article sur Shakespeare and Co donc nous y sommes allés pour découvrir si ce que j'avais lu était vrai. C'était " plus que vrai" . Nous avons trouvé Georges en train de manger du chocolate pudding, je me présente et de suite George me demande si je cherche " a bed for thé night"!! J'explique que nous sommes de passage et du coup il nous invite dans son studio à l'étage où il installe nos filles sur le lit avec une magnifique édition d'Alice au pays des merveilles ainsi qu'un bol de chocolate pudding. Quel homme charmant!! A mon mari et moi il nous explique un peu l'histoire de Shakespeare and Co et quand un étudiant américain passe pour dire que les courses sont faites pour le souper il demande à ce jeune de me faire visiter la maison. C'était incroyable.... C'est encore un rêve qui m'est revenu en lisant votre histoire. Merci , Barbara

This book is the same as baggettes bagels and bed bugs. They changed the title. So completely useless. And returning for a refund became impossible with cost of returning it and the postage I'd already paid and wouldn't get either back. It's gone in the bin.