The Bookseller at the End of the World
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 4,932 ratings, 689 reviews)Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Bookseller at the End of the World. Please add this book to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
The Bookseller at the End of the World
A rich, immersive, funny and heartbreaking memoir of the charming bookseller who runs two tiny bookshops in the remote village of Manapouri in Fiordland, in the deep south of New Zealand.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! DescriptionAn extraordinary story. Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life. She's sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl with her husband, Lance.
Underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with Lance, and her delightful sense of humour. This will make you weep and make you laugh and make you want to read more books - and make you want to visit Ruth and her two wee bookshops.
Shaw's writing is pragmatic and restrained; her voice is so strong and assured that when grief appears you gasp at its intrusion and your heart stops a second. Alexa Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn
Amazing! Jack Tame, Newstalk ZB
A fascinating, funny and moving story. Nicky Pellegrino, New Zealand Woman's Weekly
Shaw can write about these peaks and troughs [of her life] without a skerrick of maudlin introspection or mawkishness. Battered and emotionally bruised, she marches on. In a word, dauntless, and it's exactly this quality that makes this memoir so readable. Chris Moore, NZ Listener
Utterly charming and filled with equal measures of heartbreak and humour, Ruth Shaw's memoir will have you booking the first flight to New Zealand to share a cup of tea at her Wee Bookshops. Shaw has been a cook, a nurse, sailor and world traveller, and endured immeasurable loss. But with Lance, the love of her life, Shaw has found her place bookselling in Fiordland. Booksellers' Choice Australia
Compelling. Shaw tells her own story free of over-sentimentality or self-pity; she's straightforward, frequently humorous... Her resilience, optimism and willingness to help others is to be admired; her remarkable story is to be read and reflected upon as it adds another vital perspective to a NZ life. Dionne Christian, Sunday Star Times
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781988547756
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 01 April 2022
Country: New Zealand
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 222.0mm
Width: 148.0mm
Height: 27.0mm
Weight: 470g
Pages: 320
About the Author
Ruth Shaw runs a cluster of wee bookshops in remote Manap?uri in the far south of New Zealand. She lives with her husband, Lance. In 2022 she published her first memoir, The Bookseller at the End of the World, which has since become a critically acclaimed national and international treasure. It has been translated into Italian, Dutch, German, Turkish and Chinese and will be available in Swedish, Russian, Slovakian and Korean soon. Her second bookBookshop Dogs came out in October 2023, and instantly became a NZ bestseller. It will be coming out in the UK (Sept 2024), in the US (Nov 2024) and will be translated into Italian and Russian.
Also by Ruth Shaw
View allMore from Biography & Memoir
View allWhy buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent specialist on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our cozy 200m2 warehouse in Auckland holds over 10,000 books in-stock so you're not waiting for books to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Pick Ups
We're an online-only store but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.