For recent college graduate Ronald Hastie, a job at the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop offers the perfect occupation during a summer abroad in Paris. Working part-time in exchange for room and board leaves plenty of freedom to explore the city once visited by his literary hero, Robert Louis Stevenson, and things only get better when he meets a collector who claims to have the original manuscripts of both the first draft of Jekyll and Hyde and the never-published The Travelling Companion (both thought to have been destroyed). Then Ron meets the man's mysterious assistant, and a reckless obsession stirs inside him. As the life he knew back home in Scotland fades from memory, he desperately seeks the secret lying within Stevenson's long-lost pages. . . .
OPENING'MY FRENCH isn't very good,' I told him.
WHAT I THOUGHTI enjoyed The Travelling Companion but didn't think it was anything special. I loved the cover and this made me want to read the novella. I liked the concept behind the novella, finding rare books by a celebrated author, who wouldn't love that. The Travelling Companion plays out well and I liked the twist at the end. I just don't think there was anything special about it that made it stand out or want to read it again or recommend it to anyone. It served its purpose and that's about all there is to say. I was a bit disappointed by The Travelling Companion. The best bit about the novella is that it's set in my favourite city Paris and I loved the fact it takes place in a famous bookshop.