Carsten Sebastian Henn

[3.75] Prepare for a touching novella-length story about a peculiar friendship between an elderly man and a young girl, both of whom celebrate the transformative power of books. It’s an ode to the magic of reading and a celebration of friendships. I have to say there was some undefined force that made it challenging for me to truly “connect” with the main characters. Could it be that characters weren’t developed fully? Or perhaps the translation from German to English created invisible speed bumps? How I wish I could put a figurative finger on the problem. Having said that, I enjoyed Henn’s work and recommend it to those who believe that books are doors that lead to amazing worlds.… (mere)

A woman, Kati, promises to leave everything in her life behind and start fresh somewhere else. Then things start to happen. She sees a man at a lake who seems to be looking at her, then flees the creepy situation. One of the homeless men she gives weekly haircuts to is that same man, only now the situation is not creepy anymore. That man slowly enters her life and they start falling for one another. It turns out that both have a lot of baggage in their lives, but despite twists and turns they cannot seem to escape their mutual attraction. Will she stay for him and scrap her plans to leave everything behind?
Die Butterbrotbriefe would probably translate to 'letters written on sandwich wrapping paper'. As it is usually very thin and transparent in Germany sandwich wrapping paper is also used for arts and crafts purposes and learning how to draw. Now, how does this relate to the plot of the novel? When Kati was young her father collected sandwich wrapping paper (not always unused) and gave his daughter a box of his collection before he died. The purpose: her daughter is supposed to write letters on this paper to deal with people that have shaped her life, both in a good and a bad way. And that is what she does, her plan being that once she has written letters to all those people she can finally start fresh. So, before actually leaving she writes letters to many people, including a friendly cashier in the local supermarket, the local hairdresser who has treated her like a daughter, her ex-husband, her uncle and also her deceased mother. Kati makes it a condition to deliver the letters herself and read them out loud to the person they are addressed to. The letters always end with her saying farewell to that person.

While I liked this novel, I did not find it especially captivating. The story was enjoyable overall, the background stories of the two main characters are interesting enough and the novel is a quick read. Still, I found it to be lacking depth or a more surprising element. 3 stars.… (mere)

A lonely book employee delivers books to customers in a small village. A young, lonely grade-school age girl shows up one day to join him. She is precocious and wise and determined to accompany him on these deliveries. He slowly learns to open up and enjoy her company and she gets to know his clients and what books will make them happy. A feel good story.
Goodreads: The charming international bestseller about an elderly bookseller who delivers his recommendations door-to-door and an unlikely friendship with a nine-year-old girl that changes his life, for fans of The Midnight Library and A Man Called Ove.

The bookseller Carl Christian Kollhoff delivers books to special customers in the evening hours after closing time, walking through the picturesque alleys of the city. These people are almost like friends to him, and he is their most important connection to the world.

When Kollhoff unexpectedly loses his job, it takes the power of books and a nine-year-old girl to make them all find the courage to rebuild their bonds with each other.

A bestselling phenomenon internationally, Carsten Henn’s The Door-to-Door Bookstore is a feel-good novel about books and friendship.… (mere)

Carl Kollhoff ist der Buchspazierer, der auf seiner abendlichen Runde bestellte Bücher zu den Kunden der Buchhandlung seines Freunds Gustav bringt und sich damit auch ein wenig Geld verdient. Es sind immer die gleichen Adressen, die er besucht - und zu jedem und jeder hat Carl eine passende Figur aus einem der gelesen Romane im Kopf. Denn wenn er nicht in Ruhe und allein seine Runden spaziert, liest er. Genau wie seine Kunden, die aus unterschiedlichen Gründen ihr Haus nicht verlassen, beschränkt sich Carl auf sein Quartier und überschreitet seine selbstgesetzten Grenzen nicht.

Die Veränderungen beginnen schon vor der eigentlichen Geschichte - Gustav übergibt die Buchhandlung an seine Tochter, die zwar mit Carl groß geworden ist, ihm aber auch das enge Verhältnis zum Vater neidet und die Buchhandlung jetzt modernisieren will - Carl ist nur noch geduldet, wenn auch bei der Kundschaft für seine passenden Buchvorschläge beliebt. Und auch die zweite Veränderung ist weiblich - Schascha, ein neunjähriges Mädchen, das beschließt, Carl - ob er will oder nicht - auf seinen Runden zu begleiten. Nur ist das nicht mit Schaschas alleinerziehendem Vater abgesprochen.

Angereichert mit liebenswerten Figuren zeigt Carsten Henn, wie wichtig es ist, sich umeinander zu kümmern und nicht immer im gleichen Trott zu verharren - das Leben spielt sich nicht nur in Büchern ab.

Ich war schon länger auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden, hatte es bislang aber ignoriert, da ich befürchtete, dass die Geschichte zu kitschig wird. Aber nachdem mein Mann es lesen wollte, habe ich es ihm geschenkt und kam so auch in den Genuss dieser feinen Geschichte. Vielleicht traue ich mich dann auch an die anderen Geschichten von Carsten Henn, denn z.B. das Apfelblütenfest hatte ich mir auch schon vor längerem als vielleicht lesenswert notiert.… (mere)