The Little Paris Bookshop

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-18

Chapters 19-27

Chapters 28-36

Chapter 37-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Lavender Room

The Lavender Room in Perdu’s apartment symbolizes his time spent with Manon and his grief in losing her. In a testament to The Impact of Loss and Grief, Perdu has blocked off the room with a bookshelf and has not opened the room since Manon left him 21 years ago. The room’s name was chosen by Manon, inspired by the color of the walls, and by the plant, which is popular in her home region of Provence. The room was a happy place where the two spent a lot of time together: “There were candlesticks and whispering, full wineglasses and music. Dancing shadows on the wall, one of them tall, one of them strikingly beautiful. There had been love in this room” (4).

When Perdu opens the room, he is symbolically opening himself up to the memories of Manon. Once that happens, he is forced to confront his grief, and instead of choosing to shut himself off again, he chooses to undertake a journey that brings him back to the joy he felt in that room with Manon.

The Literary Apothecary

Perdu’s boat, the Literary Apothecary, also called Lulu, represents Perdu’s healing journey. The boat, a long river barge that Perdu converted by hand, features a bay window on the back end, which looks out over the water. There are two cabins, a small kitchen, a reading area with a comfortable chair, and many shelves of books. Perdu also cares for two stray cats, Kafka and Lindgren, who are on-board when he sets out unexpectedly from Paris. The cats represent Perdu’s nurturing instincts, which he has largely closed off since Manon’s departure.

The boat is a physical representation of Perdu’s love for literature. Tied up and stationary in Paris, it also represents the frozen state of Perdu’s life at the opening of the novel. When Perdu decides to cast off from Paris, the boat is his means of escape. It becomes his home and an important source of income to support him, Max, and Cuneo on their journey.

When Perdu reaches the last leg of his journey, which he must travel by land, he leaves the Literary Apothecary to Cuneo and Samy, who he knows will continue to use it as a means of connecting with others through their love of literature. Releasing the Literary Apothecary shows that Perdu has completed his journey and is ready to begin his new life.

Light

The recurring motif of light reflects The Beauty and the Significance of Human Connection, as light is mentioned most often in relation to Manon’s love of nature and in the book title Southern Lights.

On the train from Paris back home to see her family, Manon writes in her diary that she wishes she “were the light in Provence when the sun goes down. Then [she] could be everywhere, in every living thing” (157). Here, the image of light is associated with the power of connection, as Manon wishes that she could feel truly free to love both Luc and Perdu without the risk of hurting or disappointing anyone. Throughout the novel, Manon continues to use the imagery of light to conceive of her love being everywhere and lasting past her death. In her final diary entry, she imagines that she “will become light” (354) so that her loved ones will always be able to find her and so that she can be wherever she wants.

The Southern Lights subplot uses the motif of light to emphasize the significant relationships forged between Perdu, Cuneo, and Samy. Perdu follows the figurative light of the book down river to find Samy, meeting Cuneo along the way. His ensuing friendships with both Samy and Cuneo are instrumental in his healing process and the resolution of the main plot.

Perdu’s Encyclopedia of Small Emotions: A Guide for Booksellers, Lovers, and Other Literary Pharmacists

Perdu’s encyclopedia represents The Healing Power of Literature. On one level, as the full title of the encyclopedia implies, Perdu writes the book as a tool for “other literary pharmacists” who seek to use literature as medicine. The book includes entries detailing a myriad of complex emotions, like “the feeling that washes over you when another summer nears its end,” or “nostalgia for the air of your childhood” (23). The book symbolizes Perdu’s unique understanding of human emotions and his firm belief in the strength of books to soothe and heal.

The encyclopedia also symbolizes Perdu’s own healing process. Before he sets out on his river journey on the Literary Apothecary, he has the idea for the book but has not begun to write it. It is only once he feels hopeful enough for the future and inspired enough to create something new that he is able to begin writing. As his healing journey progresses, he starts to take notes in a notebook, motivated by his conversations with Max and Cuneo. He begins to work on the manuscript in earnest only in the epilogue, in the home that he shares with Catherine. In this way, Perdu’s book represents his own healing and becomes a tool he creates to share that healing with others.