Thursday, September 15, 2011

I love these bachelor brothers

There's nothing like going to your neighborhood grocery store on a Sunday morning, checking out the few books they have in the bargain bin, and then walking away with an unexpected book purchase that turns out to be one very pleasurable read. So that's how I spent last Sunday -- reading Bill Richardson's delightful work, Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast.

The blurb on the front cover says, "This quiet charmer is a bibliophile's delight." And fortunately, it is! BBB&B is a fictional work concerning two bachelor brothers in their 50s who run a quaint bed and breakfast somewhere in an isolated village in North America. (I'm guessing Canada.) The bachelor brothers, named Hector and Virgil, tells various episodes about their lives by chapters, and they also keep a log for their guests to write something about themselves. This log eventually becomes somewhat of a journal, with their guests telling wonderful snippets of their everyday lives.

I'm not sure whether BBB&B can be considered a work of fiction, for it definitely wants of a plot. The work doesn't appear to be headed anywhere, except to expose the reader to the comedy that happens to Hector and Virgil, their guests, and other various personalities in their village. Richardson's work is very funny, I'm telling you.

I keep imagining myself checking in at the bed and breakfast, where the conversations are hushed, the food is rustic but filling, the company quite agreeable, and the love of reading is felt all around. The bed and breakfast, after all, is a haven for bibliophiles. Hector and Virgil are both voracious readers, and their charming abode is where you find guests always holding a book -- from the doorstop that is War and Peace, to Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, and the thrillers of Ruth Rendell.

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast is really the kind of book to finish on a lazy afternoon. It's also the perfect title to recommend to your fellow book-loving friends. Nobody will be able to resist the charms of Hector and Virgil.

Read this book if:
  1. You love book-toting bachelors.
  2. You want to read about people reading the classics and enjoying themselves.
  3. You understand the need to be around fellow bibliophiles.

7 comments:

Stepford Mum said...

I want to read this! Speaking of serendipitous bargain bin finds, I had one today as well! Sitting quietly in the corner of A Different Bookstore's sale table was an NYRB book in excellent condition.

I had Cupcakes by Sonja, and I thought of you :)

Peter S. said...

Oh my goodness! Two of my favorite things -- NYRB and Sonja's cupcakes!

ram said...

love it too...

Peter S. said...

Hi, ram! Oh, you've read this? Aren't the bachelor brothers so lovable?

ram said...

you bet...

Tina said...

Peter...you always manage to find such gems! This one sounds delicious and I'm off to track down a copy. Thanks for steering us to another fun read.

Peter S. said...

Hello, Tina! You're welcome!