Publisher's Synopsis
On a beautifully restored barge on the Seine, Jean Perdu runs a bookshop; or more accurately, a "literary apothecary", for this bookseller possesses a rare gift for sensing precisely which books will soothe the troubled souls of every customer. The only person he is unable to cure, it seems, is himself. He has nursed a broken heart ever since the fateful night, 21 years ago, when the love of his life fled Paris, leaving behind a handwritten letter that he has never dared open. The arrival of a tearful, mysterious new neighbour in his eccentric apartment building on Rue Montagnard inspires Jean to unlock his heart, unmoor the floating bookshop and set off for Provence, in search of the past and his beloved.
