The Door-to-Door Bookstore: A Novel

If you liked or loved the international bestseller A Man Called Ove by the German author Fredrik Backman then you will also likely appreciate The Door-to-Door Bookstore by the German writer Carsten Henn. This short novel by Henn was also a bestseller, originally released in 2020. Now readers in North America have the opportunity to enjoy the story.

As with Ove, The Door-to-Door Bookstore concerns a crusty older gentleman who has hit the point in life where there’s little left for him to value. The one thing that former bookseller Carl Kollhoff does highly value is books. “Carl understood people who collected books like others collected stamps.” After Carl loses his job at the bookstore, he’s set adrift on an ocean of confusion and depression. Until, that is, he meets a young girl and a stray cat who allow him to see matters through their bright eyes. It’s no accident that the book touches upon what the young can learn from their elders and vice versa. Perhaps relationships are exactly what life is about!

Although this book – actually a novella – is short at less than 240 pages, its ending is pure genius. Mr. Henn: Please write us another heartwarming story.