The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn, trans. Melody Shaw, 320 pages.
Carl Kollhoff has a very predictable life, which is just the way he likes it. Everyday he delivers books to a list of regular patrons (to whom he has given his own literary names) and then he goes home to read. He has no need to leave his little neighborhood, or to vary his routine in the slightest. Until a little girl named Schascha decides that she's going to be his assistant, and there's nothing he can do to stop her. Soon she begins to shake him out of his day-to-day. Which is vital, because even the most stable life can't last forever.
This was an EXTREMELY wholesome book. It could perhaps be accused of being a little sentimental, but I always like a gentle book about community. Schascha and Carl's relationship was very sweet and surprisingly interesting. I also found the voice of the novel to be very engaging. This was clearly a book written by someone who loves books, and I always think it's fun when something like that shines through so clearly.
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