Books: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London By Garth Nix (2020)

“In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.”

Garth Nix’s The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is a familiar tale, but executed with some wondrous characters, shot with vivid, but cartoon, violence and sardonic, witty humor. While another take on the Chosen One trope of Harry Potter and others, Nix adds  elements of Percy Jackson and the quest for hidden secrets, lost fathers, ancient Gods of good and evil, and love.

The book is a fun caper, though, of alternate London and realms of fairy. As a former bookseller, this tale hits in all the right spots –we were warriors of some meddle, trying and hoping to keep the world retail books pumping in the Age of Information. The setting of 1980s was a great choice, but also an odd one. Beyond the fact that communication was limited to payphones and landlines, this book could’ve been set in 2022. Still, Nix’s world building is fun and believable, but not as deep as the Harry Potter franchise got.

Nix is well-known in the YA and kids book genre, and despite some of the violence and few choice swear words, the book is suitable for kids whose parents are not dicks about elements of magic. But it never devolves into anything horrifying –it’s just stuff we see every day on TV and movies. I mean, in the end, it’s an urban fantasy novel which any average kid or adult (because there are some complex adult issues here) will enjoy.

But books are magical, none the less, and Garth Nix has had a wonderful career creating tales that both kids and their parents can enjoy. And I found this standalone (?) tale a fun, often witty read.