Summary of Jeremy Mercer's Time Was Soft There

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I went to a bookstore in Paris, and the clerk was collecting coins from a wishing well. The books were written in Russian.

#2 I went to a bookstore in Paris, and the clerk was collecting coins from a wishing well. The books were written in Russian. I bought a copy of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798350000313

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I came to the bookstore one winter Sunday. It was a gray winter Sunday, and the skies had opened up into a downpour. I needed to find a shelter, so I crossed the river and entered the bookstore.

#2

I visited a book store in Paris called Shakespeare and Company. I bought a copy of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and when I went back upstairs, the clerk gave me a bright smile and stamped the title page with the store’s crest.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I used to be a crime reporter for a newspaper in a midsize Canadian city. I enjoyed the job, but it was also a means of dealing with my own personal issues. I enjoyed exploring the dark corners of life and dragging out all that was vile and diseased.

#2

I was sent to cover the murder-suicide at an affordable apartment building in Brooklyn. When the doors opened, the molasses stink of decomposing flesh made me gag. The lead detective eventually emerged, tugging a blue hospital mask from his mouth so he could speak.

#3

I was a reporter for a tabloid newspaper, and I was constantly covering crime scenes and stories that involved morally questionable activities. I began to drink heavily, and my relationship with my girlfriend began to break down. I couldn’t bear to talk to anyone but police officers or defense lawyers.

#4

I had become the most despised of street creatures. I had quit my job at the newspaper, moved out of my apartment, and given away most of my belongings. I twitched nervously at each approaching footstep. Then, three days before New Year's, I flew to Paris and left it all behind.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

Paris was preparing for the New Year’s Eve celebrations, which were also feared to be a perfect time for terrorists to strike. I, on the other hand, was preparing to graduate from university.

#2

I had spent a year frittering my money away, and when the phone call came, I had exceeded the limit on my credit card. I barely had enough cash money for a bus ticket to Montreal.

#3

I had to do something about the future, but I