84 Charing Cross Road

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Summary: The perfect pen-pal.
Review: Who wouldn't love to have Helene Hanff as a pen-pal? Witty, outspoken, caring . . . read the book, listen to the audio tape, watch the movie. Immerse yourself in 84, Charing Cross. You will emerge a better person. Helene Hanff was one of a kind.

Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: This is a true story about a friendship that bloomed between a woman in New York who loved books and the entire staff of a used bookstore in London. After reading 84, CHARING CROSS ROAD I went in search of Helene's other 5 books. I loved each of them and I plan on reading them all again someday! I recommend all of her books to you if you liked this one.

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Summary: charming and haunting.
Review: Do we ever appreciate the here and now when we're in the here and now? That's the thought that I was left with after reading this fabulous book. The time after the war may have been tough for both Helene and Frank, but those moments spent in correspondence were probably the best moments of their lives--and they didn't even know it. There's a lesson here. We shouldn't always look to the past or the future for our definition of happiness. We may be living it right now.

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Summary: A classic
Review: I read this book years ago and remembered it with great warmth; following a discussion with a distinguished academic who grew up in the Uk and was there in the post-war period when food was so scarce and his family received parcels from people in Iowa they didn't know, I told him about 84, Charing Cross. He had never seen it so I ordered a copy from Amaxon and he was enthralled. I have also reread it with great pleasure and am now reading for the first time the Duchess of Bloomsbury, which I am finding equally delightful.

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Summary: Addictive
Review: Once you read 84 Charing Cross Road you are bound to be hooked. I found this amazing book by chance in my local library and had to read it more than once. Since then I have read all the other books written by Helene Hanff and feel as if I know New York like it was my home town, she even bought London to life for me like no other writer has. Thats what I call a good book!!

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Summary: The only book I ever read again right after finishing it.
Review: I live in the U.S. and I got this book as a birthday gift from someone in Northern Ireland that I have never met. I have corresponded with my friend via email for almost two years. After reading this book, I can no longer wait to meet my friend. 20 years are far too long to wait to meet someone as nice as Frank was. This is by far the best birthday gift I ever got!

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Summary: Charing Cross road has lost its most revered shop.
Review: I still have the hardback, first edition of 84, Charing Cross Road that I bought after reading the Readers Digest condensation. I've read it several times, and have lent it to countless friends to read. Last month while in London, I walked up Charing Cross Road to find the bookstore that Helene had so longed to see. Sadly, I found the old shop closed and empty, the name removed from the front. You could still read "Marks &" in the faded paint. I stared in for a moment or two, trying to visualize what it would have looked like filled with books and people. As I began to walk away, I noticed the brass plaque mounted at the side of the building identifying the site of the bookstore that had been made famous throughout the world because of the book written by Helene Hanff. This had become her monument.

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Summary: 84 Charing Cross Road
Review: Some years ago I saw the movie with Anthony Hopkins and tried to find the book in German. Unfortunately it's only available in English. Years later - now I'm about 20 and speak English fairly well - I remembered the film, but not the title or the author. However, finally I remembered Helen Hanf and ordered the book. It's just great - and very sad.

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Summary: How I adore this charming little book!!
Review: Straightforward and simply written with more than a little dose of humor, these perfectly lovely letters bring to life a friendship that spans an ocean, and twenty years. Whether you are a fanatic booklover or not, this story will make you smile, laugh, and maybe cry a little. This is the book I lend to everyone I know, but always wind up re-reading before I hand it over.

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Summary: A friendship steeped in humor and vivid imagery.
Review: Throughout this slim volume of correspondance, Hanff reveals the sort of human interaction we all cherish. She is witty and often painfully blunt. I found myself murmuring "Bravo!" and chuckling outloud. Hanff's very British bookseller penpal is as prim and proper as she is forward and brash. It provides a marvelous juxtaposition of personalities. The images in 84 Charing Cross road are vivid, the letters describe their 20+ year friendship in poignant detail. In a characteristic gesture, Hanff allows us to share in the 20 year development of a treasured friendship.