‘The Librarianist’ by Patrick DeWitt
Meet Bob Comet - tidy, methodical resident of the mint house in Portland, Oregon. Now aged 72 and a retired librarian, Bob walks each day seeking moments outside his solitary existence. It is on one of these daily walks that he aids in the rescue of ‘Chip’ and returns her to the aged-care residence, Gambell-Reed Centre. That was a turning point and Bob began to volunteer, reading to the residents and finding joy in the camaraderie amongst the residents Linus, Jill and staff worker Maria.
But who is Bob and what is his story of a life now mostly lived?
The Librarianist covers a year in Bob’s life but also peels back the significant chapters of Bob’s boyhood in the last days of World War Two, 1945; then 1959 when the love of his life, Connie and his best friend Ethan share his life. It’s in the reading of these unfolding chapters that we discover an endearing Bob and all his quirks and literal interpretations of life!
From genuine empathy for his character to a great belly laugh at his oddities or the friends he meets, Bob Comet is a serious introvert living an ordinary life that you embrace as a reader.
Canadian author, Patrick deWitt brings to life and celebrates being an introvert, normalises this and then brings humour, wit and quirks that make this a tale that both satisfies and causes you to ponder. But mostly you’ll love it as a fellow book enthusiast, Bob Comet defines it best when he sums up the life of a reader.
'“Bob had been amassing books since pre-adolescence and there were filled shelves in half the rooms in the house, tidy towers of books in the halls. Connie, who had been Bob’s wife, had sometimes asked him why he read quite so much as he did. She believed Bob was reading beyond the accepted level of pleasure and wondered if it wasn’t symptomatic of a spiritual or emotional deformity. Bob thought her true question was, ‘Why do you read rather than live.’
ISBN 9781526646934
Get your copy in store or on our website.
