The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted

Apparently interest in the Holocaust extends to far away Australia. Setting his tale in rural Australia, Robert Hillman weaves a tale of love between Auschwitz survivor Hannah Babel and sheep farmer Tom Hope. The protagonist, Hope lend his surname to the underlying tone of the story. But not without multiple periods of anguish.

Hannah is not the typical love interest. For starters, she is a dozen or so years older than Tom. Furthermore, she naturally carries tremendous emotional baggage due to her experiences in World War II. Realistically, one can say she is running from her past. She hopes to leave the loss of loved ones behind. But she is struggling to bury the past.

Of course Hillman first created a situation of heartbreak for Tom. Naturally, the past threatens the future. The subplot adds some drama as well as subtle commentary. The reader glimpses the author’s thoughts on religion.

The love story is complemented with everyday description and events of rural Australia during the late sixties. Politics of the time are seen through the character of Hannah. Her character is deep and complex. Hillman is successful in creating reader empathy.

Comparison of Styles

Robert Hillman reminds me of the late author Kent Haruf. Both share stories that cannot be pigeon-holed into a genre. Both are descriptive with their settings. Finally both present subtle messages within their writing.

Hillman is a storyteller. The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted allows the reader to spend a few hours engaged in a heartwarming tale. The writing flows and most of the story is plausible. The flash back passages may bring tears to your eyes.

I bought The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted after seeing it on the To Be Read list of a fellow blogger. I enjoyed reading it and was glad to have a coupon to defray the cost. If you have such a list, I encourage you to add The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted.