The Awakening of Miss Prim

Starred review from May 15, 2014

Prudencia Prim, a self-assured, erudite young woman, leaves academe behind and takes a job as a personal librarian in a remote village in France. Her academic prowess makes her a bit overqualified for this "no experience required" position, but the charming and enigmatic town of San Irenoe de Arnois is hard to resist and her employer, "the man in the wingchair," is equally charming and enigmatic, albeit curmudgeonly. Could Mr. Darcy really exist? Miss Prim is intrigued but irritated by his questioning of her reading taste. The townspeople have a curious approach to modern life: at once very old world and startlingly progressive. Schooling is haphazard, but the children who sit at the feet of Miss Prim's employer are intelligent, multilingual, and possess admirable grasps of the classics and philosophy. How can one town be so preciously idyllic? As she proceeds with the work of organizing her employer's books, the women of the village begin to gently nudge Miss Prim from her rigid view of life into one that might even include love. VERDICT Readers who loved Joanne Harris's Chocolat or, more recently, Jessica Brockmole's Letters from Skye or Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry will be charmed by the blossoming of Miss Prim. Already a best seller in Europe, this charming and intelligent debut novel is certain to be a hit with book groups. Highly recommended.--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

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