Matthew Pearl has been on my radar for a while now. His books always look so intriguing since they are historic thrillers books…..about books…..but for some reason I just haven’t made it around to reading any of his books.
When this one came around to review I jumped at it since this was an author I have wanted to read.
The Last Bookaneer explores the dark side of publishing and the literary pirates who commandeered unpublished works by famous authors. Before 1890, loose copyright laws allowed for author’s works to be publish on the blackmarket so to speak, which ultimately gave rise to the bookaneers whose job it was to track down these unpublished gems at any cost.
With the new international copyright laws going into effect, the great bookaneer, Pen Davenport, embarks on one last adventure to recover an unpublished work by Robert Louis Stevenson on the exotic island of Samoa. But he needs help, Pen knows he can’t obtain the book alone so he enlists the help of his long time associate, Fergins.
Fergins is the narrator of the story and has enjoyed a nice, quiet life selling books…..and occasionally assisting Pen but he has never experienced anything like this. Before he knows it, he is whisked off onto a boat bound for the South Pacific with Pen to steal a manuscript worth thousands.
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Bryn Aven is stuck in social limbo, she has no social status in the Kanin kingdom she servers because she’s a half breed (part Skojare herself) but she longs to serve the kingdom in any way she can.
Lori Shepherd loves everything about her quaint town of Finch in the Cotswold country of England.
In the sleepy town of Midnight, TX there is not a whole lot to draw new residents.
This book is a literally massive. For years I have thought about reading it, and though I am not intimidated by the length or the wordy writing style….I kept putting it off.
The Lit Bitch 