Readers frequently describe books as magical. We’re being metaphorical about how stories can transport. But in Cassandra Fairfax’s world, books really are magic. Books that have been touched by the mysterious power of a river and Lady Fate can boost confidence or reveal secrets or even change history. Select bookshops sell these books for fairy-tale prices (teeth, firstborn child, etc.) and are fiercely fought over. Georgia Summers’s The Bookshop Below takes us into the mysterious world of magical books, territorial booksellers, and a fractious fight for power.
Cassandra had thought she’d thoroughly exiled herself from the book world after committing a terrible crime and being thrown out by her mentor and the only father she’s really known, Chiron. She was always taught that stealing books and misusing their powers was unforgiveable. So when a letter arrives from Chiron offering her his legendary bookshop, she is stunned. It can’t be true, but the lure of the bookshop is too strong to ignore—especially since her last illicit job went absolutely pear-shaped. The situation only makes a little more sense when Cassandra discovers that Chiron has been murdered.
Being out of the book world for so long means that Cassandra has very little idea who much have killed the man who brought her up. We readers have a little more idea what’s going on from interstitial chapters that let us peak into meetings of a secret society of booksellers. This sinister group, who disguise themselves as Tarot characters, are more than willing to use violence to get what they want, which appears to be complete control over the bookshops and their magical stock. Cassandra only has access to what she can learn from what Chiron left behind in the bookstore and a very reluctant ally, fellow bookseller Lowell Sharpe. Lowell is as uptight as Chiron used to be about the proper way to care for books and the bookshops that drives Cassandra up the wall. And, to make things even worse, it appears that the river that feeds all of the magic is fading away.
The Bookshop Below is one of the few book-based fantasies I’ve read that genuinely satisfies. It doesn’t just pander to the love of reading. It goes beyond the metaphorical magic of reading with an original system of magic with real stakes and limits and wonder. I loved how temperamental the books and the shops were; they will let their owners know when they’re unhappy. Summers also provides excellent character development in Cassandra and Lowell. Cassandra not only has to contend with the threats to the bookshops and the books, she also has to come to terms with her criminal past and her grief for Chiron. Lowell, meanwhile, has to learn to loosen up and break rules in the cause of a greater good.
I can full-heartedly recommend this novel to my fellow bookish folks.