The Emporium of Imagination

Title: The Emporium of Imagination

Author: Tabitha Bird

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Genre: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, General Fiction

Year of Release 2021

Release Date: 30^th March 2021

Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis

Welcome to The Emporium of Imagination, a most unusual shop that travels the world offering vintage gifts to repair broken dreams and extraordinary phones to contact lost loved ones.

But, on arrival in the tiny township of Boonah, the store’s long-time custodian, Earlatidge Hubert Umbray, makes a shocking realisation. He is dying . . .

The clock is now ticking to find his replacement, because the people of Boonah are clearly in need of some restorative magic.

Like Enoch Rayne – a heartbroken ten-year-old boy mourning the loss of his father, while nurturing a guilty secret.

Like Ann Harlow, who has come to the town to be close to her dying grandmother. Though it’s Enoch’s father who dominates her thoughts – and regrets . . .

Even Earlatidge in his final days will experience the store as never before – and have the chance to face up to his own tragedy . . .

Review

Welcome to Boonah; Queensland, a small town in need of some magic! The Emporium of Imagination arrives one night, The Emporium’s current custodian Earlatidge Hubert Umbray puts his ability to hear the grief of others to use he sets off around town to find a new Shop keeper and custodian to care for the emporium, will he be able to find the right people before it is too late?

Earlatidge won’t abandon this community in their time of need but he also knows that if he cannot find the right people the Emporium will no longer travel the globe allowing people the opportunity to connect with lost loved ones, nor will someone receive vintage gifts in the hopes of rediscovering dreams once thought to be out of reach or lost.

 Local residents Ann Harlow and Enoch Rayne are both struggling with raw grief that feels as if it will swallow them whole, with no view of the other side can the mysterious Emporium of Imagination help them find a way through their fog as the man new to town claim it will? Do they deserve to be helped after what they did? Should they even try?

The Emporium of Imagination opens all of the emotions; I experienced moments of joy and wonder and moments of complete sorrow, this story rips your heart out of your chest and stomps all over it, I felt like I ended up emptying what buckets of tears, so consider yourself warned.

This reader feels like author Tabitha Bird has paid very close attention to every detail when putting pen to paper, visiting The Emporium she has written an original plot that I know others will love. I found myself flying through the pages thanks to her skilled writing, the plot flows effortlessly throughout and it was hard not feeling a little sad when it was over.

I found I wanted to take extra care when exploring this space, I felt like I could just reach in and pull out a ladybird. If books were art this would be a masterpiece, I cannot remember the last time I read a book where I loved all sides this story has to offer.

When it comes to the characters and the township of Boonah, I felt like the small community had a strong bond as small towns do, this is always a detail I enjoy when reading. I could relate to their grief; their dreams are believable, and I wanted their second chances to become available to them. My favourite character was Pickled Onions, if I was in the position of naming her, I would’ve called her Phyllis, she makes for a wonderful companion for Enoch.

Defiantly one you should make room for on your shelf. A favourite read of 2021.

Continued thanks to Tabitha Bird and Penguin Books Australia for sending this copy to read and review.