The name of the shop comes from one of Jean Giono's books -- with Charlot having written to the master for permission to use the name. Bir gün kitabevi açma/yayınevi kurma hayali olan tüm okurlar için Charlot’nun öyküsü oldukça heveslendirici ve motive edici. Sadece okur olarak kalmak isteyenler ise Camus, Exupery, Gide ve pek çok başka yazar hakkında bilgi sahibi olmakla yetinebilirler. Bence hiç de az buz bir şey değil! 😊 Against this setting Charlot energised the local writing industry, launching many writers. Though avoiding political affiliations, he had been wrongly accused by the Vichy regime of being a Gaullist and communist sympathiser and imprisoned. At other times he sought to mingle with and support leading thinkers and creators, such as Andre Gide and de Saint-Exupery. Charlot achieved greater fame when he started a publishing house. He published early works by Camus, Rilke, Garcia Lorca and Gertrude Stein. Charlot was daring. He pushed the limits of what could be published. He was imprisoned by the Vichy authorities for a time as a Gaullist and communist sympathizer. An entire press run of one of Lorca’s books was seized and destroyed by police. It's a struggle but he reports already in the fall of 1945 that they're: "managing to publish 12 to 15 books a month"; by 1947: "Sales are reaching 100,000, and much more for some titles"; by 1949 Éditions Charlot has flamed out, bankrupt.

El relato de Adimi, una biografía novelada del prestigioso editor parisino, está compuesto de tres hilos argumentales que se trenzan a lo largo de la obra hasta formar un delicioso y vibrante fresco donde la librería actúa como epicentro de la narración. Proyecto editorial, estandarte político, refugio para desamparados, testigo de acontecimientos históricos y cuna de escritores como André Gide o Albert Camus, Las Verdaderas Riquezas constituye en sí misma un fascinante personaje que, olvidada ya su época de mayor gloria, está a punto de ser convertida por su nuevo propietario en un puesto dedicado a la venta de buñuelos. A sort of meeting place for friends, but with a Mediterranean outlook too: bringing together writers from all the Mediterranean countries, regardless of language or religionLater scenes from Charlot's life (i.e. notebooks) include the turning point of Camus' death and the final years of Algeria's battle for independence. All along, the Algerian struggle against the French loom over much of what happens -- and then more recent domestic struggles. The is an old Arab man who worked in the bookstore for much of his life. He ‘stands guard’ across the street watching all the activities. He attempts to acquaint the young man with the rich history of the bookstore. The author was born in Algeria (1983) and now lives in France. This is her third novel and it was nominated for the Prix Goncourt.

Kaouther Adimi's novel is multilayered in its presentation: there are sections set in 2017, when the tiny storefront -- measuring only some seven by four meters -- has been bought by someone who plans on letting his nephew open a beignet shop in its stead; the engineering student Ryad travels from France to take on the job of clearing out the place and repainting it for the handover, while Abdallah, the longterm caretaker of the place warily watches what happens to the establishment. TW: Although generally this is a feel-good book about books, bookshops and publishing, there are some disturbi I liked the story. It flowed smoothly although a bit slow at times, but we expect that of a book about a bookstore, don’t we? LOL. The variety in the structure of the chapters keeps it interesting. Ryad's story in the present day setting is more of a comedic fish-out-of-water tale as the young intern tries to cope with his task. There is somewhat of a reconciliation and appreciation that grows through his struggles. Kaouther Adimi, çok kapsamlı bir eser ortaya koyuyor. Yakın ve uzak geçmiş ile bugün arasında gelip gidiyor..Hem Cezayir hem Fransa tarafını anlatıyor. Sadece Charlot ve kitabevinin hikayesini değil; Abdallah ve Ryad karakterleriyle de başka bir evrenin kapılarını aralıyor. Abdallah’ın sadakati,Ryad’ın kafa karışıklığı, kitabevinin bulunduğu sokaktaki sakinler.. Tarihsel gelişmeler bu öykülerin beraberinde geliyor; bir bakmışsınız ikinci dünya savaşı cephesine gönderilen Cezayirli asker olmuşsunuz; bir bakmışsınız 1961’de uğruna savaştığınız, size güzellikler vadeden aynı ülkenin nehrine atılmışsınız..Barbar olduğunuz ileri sürülerek.. Çamaşır suyu katılmış sular püskürtülmüş yüzlerinize, sizin dilinizi alıp kendi dillerini öğrenmeniz için var olan okullara kabul edilmemişsiz..

The sections focused on Ryad and Abdallah are more expansive -- though also touching on their lives beyond this brief episode -- and are a decent counterpart to the others. Those parts narrated by the omniscient group- we are a bigger sort of summing-up -- effective as such, and a useful complement to the other sections, but also somewhat limited. I loved this novel for its timeless adoration of literature. Stories withstand throughout all and that is truly beautiful. “Literature, at least, will never abandon me” being a fantastic quote to stand by this. There is so much gorgeous writing in this book, a credit to the Adimi, but also to Chris Andrews, the translator. Charlot's bookshop is named after a novel that he admires Les Vraies Richesses: (1937) by Jean Giono (1895-1970). Adimi adds many cameo appearances by young writers of the time that Charlot was to publish, notably Albert Camus (1913-1960) with his first works. She builds a complete timeline of Charlot's life through a series of diary entries that take us through all of the ups and downs of his career. I try not to give five stars too often. In my eyes, it diminishes the value of the books that truly deserve to be read. I suppose that you could argue that all books deserve to be read. I also suppose that you would probably be right in that argument.

Charlot is also active as a publisher -- his acquaintance with an up-and-comer named Albert Camus certainly helping; "Camus often drops by to lend a hand" .....Adimi gives a sense of the scale of these, and many of the lives affected, but when even a Camus figures as barely more than an incidental character it's hard not to think that (too) much is missing. I tried to see if I could locate 2 bis Rue Hamani (previously Rue Charras) via Google Maps but didn't get very far, but here is a photo of Rue Hamani in general: This book is a celebration of publishing industry and those who make stories available to the readers. It was as true in 1935 as it is now that’s it's hard to make money with a bookstore. But Charlot was quite an entrepreneur. The bookstore became a cultural center for the city, the largest city in Algeria. It served as a painting and sculpture gallery and he hosted events featuring local and visiting speakers. He started a subscription service where students could rent books rather than buy them. There are still books there when Ryad arrives, but he has little interest in them; still, he gets to know Abdallah and some of the locals, making for a nice small slice of contemporary life in Algiers -- and Ryad does get some sense of what is lost here.

Edmond Charlot – Buchhändler, Verleger, Freund von Schriftstellern. Nie gehört? Ich bis vor wenigen Tagen auch nicht. Charlot gründete in den 30er Jahren eine Buchhandlung in Algier, die von Beginn an viel mehr als eine Buchhandlung war. Von den 30ern bis ins Jahr 2017 folgen wir dieser Geschichte, mal in Tagebuchnotizen Charlots, mal aus Sicht des Studenten Ryad, der in der Gegenwart die ehemalige Buchhandlung ausräumen und streichen soll. Da passiert allerhand Geschichte so nebenbei; der Zweite Weltkrieg, der Unabhängigkeitskamp Algeriens… Camus redigiert in der Buchhandlung seine Texte, auch Saint-Exupéry gehört zu den engen Freunden. Zeitweise lenkt Charlot das Geschäft von Paris aus. Freundschaften werden zu Feindschaften. Vieles wird zerstört. Other sections purport to be excerpts from Charlot's notebooks -- his diary -- over the years: first 1935-6, when he has the idea for his publishing house and bookstore and sets them up, and then from later intervals -- 1937 to 1949, and then 1959 to 1961. Adimi's novel is, of course, an attempt to reconstruct much of this that had been lost -- though she does so only with the lightest of brushstrokes. Estoy absoluta y completamente enamorada del 2bis de la calle Hamami. Siento un flechazo absoluto por el entusiasmo de Edmond Charlot, por su amor a los libros y por fundar 'Las Verdaderas Riquezas', una librería/hogar donde he podido conocer los comienzos de Camus, Gide, Giono, Jules Roy y un montón de autoras y autores más que no he parado de apuntar. Siento que ese pequeño rincón, ya es un poco mío.

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Seguro que muchos de nosotros hemos pensado más de una vez en dedicarnos al sector editorial o a los libros. Incluso, muchos de nosotros habremos soñado con tener una librería propia. Y es principalmente de esto de lo que habla la novela, de libros y de sueños. Esencialmente de esto último. Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.