About

Behind the bay doors of the 1930s WPA-built firehouse in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, a mysterious adventure has been unfolding. In the spirit of The Haunted Bookshop, perusing the stacks here you might bump into Franz Kafka reading an insurance text, Theodor Herzl reading a work on Palestine in the 19th century, Sigmund Freud pondering a piece by Stekel, Abraham Heschel reading a tome on mysticism and Bruno Schulz chatting under the sign of the crocodiles.

Wandering the aisles is an intellectual journey that stretches into 19th century Vienna and Berlin and ends up in the modern world. It is the kind of place to linger and delight in the journeys of others and commence your own pilgrimage. It is a respite from the maddening pace and pressures of modern life, a place of solace and also community.

Schoen Books specialties are: Judaica in all languages, but especially German Judaica, books on the Holocaust, exile and refugee writers, Israel, and psychoanalysis. Ken Schoen catalogs recent acquisitions and sends lists out to subscribers.

Schoen Books maintains an open shop during weekdays and on Sunday by appointment. South Deerfield, in Western Massachusetts is about 90 miles west of Boston (just South of Route 2), about 80 miles East of Albany, and 30 minutes North of the Massachusetts Turnpike and Springfield. Browsers are welcome, but calling ahead is advisable.