Village Voices: A Memoir of the Village Voice Bookshop

This rich collection of interviews with and profiles of authors who gave readings at Hellier’s English-language bookshop, which she operated in Paris’s sixth arrondissement from 1981 to 2012, presents a stimulating portrait of the Parisian literary scene replete with transporting photographs and gentle gossip. The life of Hellier’s store dovetailed with the “Third Wave” of American expats in Paris, which brought countercultural figures including Kathy Acker, along with writers including David Sedaris and James Ellroy. Hellier fastidiously catalogs each author’s activities at the shop, compiling snippets of q&as she conducted from the ’80s through the early aughts, many of which portend contemporary conversations about identity (Sherman Alexie recalls being “amazed” after reading poems by Native authors for the first time) and political correctness, which Jay McInerney says he hates. An earnest and modest host (almost to a fault, as she hardly shares anything about her personal life), Hellier lets her generosity shine through, as when she expresses gratitude for being able to send Samuel Beckett an Oxford English Dictionary at his retirement home. While the sheer number of names and titles on offer can be dizzying, it’s all but impossible to finish this compendium without adding, excitedly, to one’s own reading list. For literature lovers, it’s a feast. Photos. (Sept.)

Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled the author’s last name.