It is something that is also striking in another of her novels, The Bookshop, and it shows how minute, almost unconsciously taken decisions can have repercussions for the rest of our life. The second is the great pity she has for her subjects. Fitzgerald does not write about big history, she just describes how these new things touch quite ordinary people, and you can feel the fatigue of the Ancien Régime and the impatience of the young generations for the new times. The first is her talent of catching the atmosphere of a period in time, here the end of the 18th century, when Europe is in turmoil and changing, with the French Revolution still happening and Germany a still not-united assembly of independent states. This particularly well written historical novel brings two of the strongest points of Fitzgerald’s writing together. It looks into the years 1790 to 1797 when he was still a student, and especially into his infatuation with the 12-year old Sophie von Kühn who he meets at the home of the Rockenthien family and his immediate decision to marry her. The story is about a part of the life of the poet Novalis (1772-1801), real name Friedrich von Hardenberg, a Jena Romanticist. Ultimately, however, the movie doesn’t have the depth that viewers might expect if they’ve read the novel.Penelope Fitzgerald is one of the greatest post-war English writers, with two remarkable talents: both shine very clear in this beautiful book. Some adults and children aged over 13 years might find the movie entertaining and interesting for the way it blends Isabel Coixet’s reflective European direction with English melancholic humour. Although it’s beautifully made and has genuinely dramatic performances, the movie lacks the coherent and subtle political commentary of the novel. The Bookshop is a wistful adaptation of Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel of the same name. The Bookshop has some coarse language and name-calling. The following products are displayed or used in this movie: Nescafe coffee. There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie. Adults drink wine and dessert liqueurs at a party.A central female character smokes cigarettes.The Bookshop shows some use of substances. The book Lolita is discussed and sold, but there’s little reference to its content.An older male customer looks at an illustrated female exercise book.A scene shows some vaguely suggestive cartoon postcards.Edmund slowly and longingly kisses Florence’s hand.

A young female character implies that her older sister spends her days kissing a boy in secret.

The bookshop penelope fitzgerald review